Ana Navada, 1950
charcoal and conte
78.8 x 55.7 cms
31 1/8 x 21 7/8 ins
31 1/8 x 21 7/8 ins
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Ana Navada was a dancer Houthuesen saw perform at the Adelphi Theatre in 1946 in the ballet 'Los Caprichos.'
'And there was Ana Nevada. She was a remarkable looking girl and a beautiful dancer. In this particular thing ‘Los Caprichos’ I have never heard castanets speak as she made them speak. She was far and away the best of that company.
The little Spanish Ballet had this deep traditional idea rather that some lightweight amusing thing which filled in ten minutes. And since the artists were good – and I must underline that because it wouldn’t otherwise have come home so forcibly – I saw acted things that I had myself experienced in a very different way. It was really my Mama and it came home again and again, so terribly and incredibly. For Cath and for me, it was the story of how our marriage was too much for Mama. You either survived or you were wrecked. That’s why I made these little notes and why they mean so much to me.
The mother’s over-guarding of her daughter, and her inability to see that anyone could want simply to congratulate her daughter on her beautiful dancing – that she couldn’t get around that point and was herself such an incredible ‘Duena’ – was so unbelievably real. I think it was what wrecked that girl’s career and why one never heard of her again; because she was never alone. And an artist must stand on his or her own feet; otherwise it’s like having a millstone around one’s neck.
Nevada was a beautiful creature to watch - a sheer delight. She always brought the house down. In ‘Los Caprichos’ she did this fire dance beautifully and I simply marvelled that having made such an impression and been so remarkable, she goes out just like a candle and nobody notices that she’s gone.
I’ve seen some very remarkable ballets and I’ve been moved to tears through steps that I’ve watched because they have, for me, so vividly portrayed the emotions which one has experienced oneself. That’s why these dances have come about. They’re based on fact.
At the time, one only thinks of the dancer and the movement. Afterwards it may look like a wave of water going over a rock. But at the time, one doesn’t have that complicated sort of thinking.'
(From 'Walk to the Moon' Richard Nathanson © 2008, p140-148)
'And there was Ana Nevada. She was a remarkable looking girl and a beautiful dancer. In this particular thing ‘Los Caprichos’ I have never heard castanets speak as she made them speak. She was far and away the best of that company.
The little Spanish Ballet had this deep traditional idea rather that some lightweight amusing thing which filled in ten minutes. And since the artists were good – and I must underline that because it wouldn’t otherwise have come home so forcibly – I saw acted things that I had myself experienced in a very different way. It was really my Mama and it came home again and again, so terribly and incredibly. For Cath and for me, it was the story of how our marriage was too much for Mama. You either survived or you were wrecked. That’s why I made these little notes and why they mean so much to me.
The mother’s over-guarding of her daughter, and her inability to see that anyone could want simply to congratulate her daughter on her beautiful dancing – that she couldn’t get around that point and was herself such an incredible ‘Duena’ – was so unbelievably real. I think it was what wrecked that girl’s career and why one never heard of her again; because she was never alone. And an artist must stand on his or her own feet; otherwise it’s like having a millstone around one’s neck.
Nevada was a beautiful creature to watch - a sheer delight. She always brought the house down. In ‘Los Caprichos’ she did this fire dance beautifully and I simply marvelled that having made such an impression and been so remarkable, she goes out just like a candle and nobody notices that she’s gone.
I’ve seen some very remarkable ballets and I’ve been moved to tears through steps that I’ve watched because they have, for me, so vividly portrayed the emotions which one has experienced oneself. That’s why these dances have come about. They’re based on fact.
At the time, one only thinks of the dancer and the movement. Afterwards it may look like a wave of water going over a rock. But at the time, one doesn’t have that complicated sort of thinking.'
(From 'Walk to the Moon' Richard Nathanson © 2008, p140-148)
Provenance
Sir John RothensteinPrivate Collection