ACT 4 RETURN TO CANADA, AND THEN?
Homeward Bound
As indicated at the end of Act 3, David was not happy about leaving Britain. In his writings, he reflected on this difficult transition in his life and career: “My return to Canada in 1948 brought on a mix of good and bad feelings. I would see my family, my home city and a group of familiar dancers. BUT! I had for almost two years been earning a living as a dancer, I had been working with professional dancers and choreographers; I was a touring dancer. None of the above would happen to me in Canada. There was not a company that paid their dancers in 1948. There were several companies, but none that would support my needs. Still, I really had no choice in the matter. Military service did not come to mind as an alternative. If I stayed in Britain, that was exactly what I faced. No thank you!!”
Gweneth Lloyd sent David a letter outlining his assignments for upcoming productions with the Winnipeg Ballet. In David’s words: “I was to stage and perform Swan Lake (Act 2) pas de deux with Jean McKenzie, Spectre de la Rose with Margaret Hample, plus learn and dance the Popular Song in Gweneth Lloyd’s choreography for Façade. I had never performed the Swan Lake pas de deux, but knew it well. Spectre de la Rose had become part of my repertoire in the Metropolitan Ballet. The performances were scheduled for October 8th and 9th. I landed in Montreal on October 4th. Not much time, so I would have to get down to it soon after my arrival.” At the end of Gweneth’s letter to David, she wrote: “We are praying your boat won’t be late. Hope you have a great trip- looking forward to seeing you dance here again.”
On the 25th of September, 1948, David took the 8:45 train from Euston Station to Liverpool, England and then sailed on board the ship Ascania for Montreal, Canada.
David travelled first class for a total cost of $210. According to his daughter Janine, his mother Stella had booked his ticket well in advance, along with his rail ticket from Montreal to Winnipeg. He described his journey across the ocean in this way: “Things were fine until we got to Ireland. Then the rolling started. The rough seas lasted for seven days. I was the only person in the dining room for most meals. I enjoyed the journey. I did meet a few people- mostly Brits who were moving to Canada. I tried to fill them in on a few items.”
In one of my conversations with David in the last year of his life, he told me that he sang Chiquita Banana (a popular radio song in the 1940s) to some war brides on the Ascania. In the photo to the right, it looks like they had a good time together. David recalled that when the ship entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the passengers on the deck were screaming, terrified at the spectacular display of northern lights in the sky. They thought the war was starting again or, worse, that the world was ending. David explained to them what was happening.
Warm Welcome Upon Arrival
According to the Winnipeg press release to the right (October, 1948), prior to leaving England, David had been offered a scholarship to study with the Ballet Arts School in New York for six months. As it turned out, he had to decline the offer because of the strong possibility of being drafted should he accept. On the positive side, David was happy to see his family and friends from the Winnipeg Ballet, including the directors. It was quite the crowd that showed up to meet him at the Canadian National Railway station in Winnipeg for a warm welcome. In another Winnipeg press release from that time entitled Ballet Star Gets Warm Welcome, it was noted that “Mr. Adams spent a few happy moments wiping off the lipstick traces left by welcoming ballerinas.”
Havencroft
The Adams family had moved to a new home since David’s departure to Britain in 1946. In 1948, they sold their house at 197 Birchdale Avenue and moved to a large house on three acres of land. The property was located 25 miles north of Winnipeg in the small rural community of Little Britain, District of Selkirk. When David first saw the new place, called Havencroft, he thought it was magnificent. The following description from his personal writings indicates how much he valued it:
“Three floors, fifteen rooms, with glassed in porches at the front of the house on two floors. A glassed- in solarium at the back of the house on the second floor. My own bedroom on the second floor with a view of the driveway. A huge living room, with a fireplace I could stand upright in. An equally large dining room. Two kitchens- one with all the electrical appliances and the second with a wood stove, a huge entry doorway which led to the living room and staircase to the second floor. The whole main floor had dark wood panelling. After the house that I had left in 1946, this was quite unbelievable. I kept finding new places, new rooms, new cupboards. It was endless.
Outside was equally impressive- large lawns that had to be cut with a push mower, an orchard with plum and crab apple trees, and 75 feet of lilac bushes eight feet tall. A garage plus a chicken coop, with chickens and three geese. No vegetable garden as yet but asparagus was growing almost everywhere. During the summer, each evening meal had asparagus on the menu. The trees on the property had obviously been there for many years- they were large and lush. It took me some time to take in all that was there. It is filled with a long list of very good memories.
Due to financial problems, my family eventually had to sell it, which to this day hurts me. My only consolation is that I now live on three acres of land- not in a house with fifteen rooms, but I am very happy with what I have.”
David was able to revisit Havencroft in May of 1992, when some of his friends and former dancers with the Winnipeg Ballet drove him out to the property. To his delight, the original house was still there.
According to David’s daughter Janine, the Adams family eventually developed a vegetable garden at Havencroft and sold eggs from their chickens and geese. David’s younger sister Joan did most of the work involved with these endeavors, as well as cleaning the massive house and making family meals. In 1951, she would also be called upon to care for a new family member when David and Lois Smith brought their baby daughter Janine to live at Havencroft.
During this time, the Adams family reconnected with their long-time friend Miss Hayes, who, as mentioned in Act 1, had owned a tea house over looking the Red River. She stayed with the family at Havencroft for a winter in the late 1940s. In David’s words: “She was unable to fend for herself, yet fought for every piece of independence she could find. She made her usual Christmas cakes using the wood stove that was in the family house. No electric stoves for Miss Hayes- they did not cook properly!”
The family socialized with their friends from the Science of Being group and also with their neighbors. Quoting David’s daughter Janine from her Family History document: “Next door to Havencroft was the Lyall’s homestead. The two Lyall sisters maintained a friendship with the Adams family that extended to visiting with us after we had moved out west. One thing that really stood out to David in recalling the Lyall sisters was that they had Japanese Prisoners of War on their property; they had been chosen by the government of the time to house these people. This was three years after the war, but they were still there!”
The photo below is the view that could be seen from one of the upstairs windows at Havencroft. The Red River is across the road from the end of the driveway.
Unlike the rest of the family, David’s father Charlie did not have pleasant memories of Havencroft. He always resented the fact that the family gave up their home on Birchdale Avenue in Winnipeg to move out to Havencroft. In Charlie’s words: “…that was the biggest mistake we ever made, or that I ever made, to agree to ever sell the bloody place. We were going great guns there! Up until then, we never seemed to be able to make ends meet, but at 197 Birchdale, as I could see it, we were doing fine…and then, by Jesus, we gotta move out to Havencroft. And we just could not handle Havencroft. That’s all there was to it! It needed people with income twice what we had.”
Stella and Charlie often had differing points of view on various matters, Havencroft being one of them. In David’s daughter Janine’s words: “I can only think that Stella’s and Charlie’s comfort zones were totally opposite, and that neither one of them were able to meet one another half way. Instead, it seems that Stella made the decisions and Charlie begrudgingly went along with it all. It strikes me that my grandmother (Stella) was someone very willing to take high risks to go after what she wanted, whereas my grandfather (Charlie) wasn’t happy with high-risk situations; he preferred low risk comfort, where he could feel safe and settled.”
As it turned out, the Adams family lived at Havencroft until they moved to Vancouver in 1953, when Janine was three years old. She was to live with her grandparents and aunts for many more years and only saw her parents for periodic visits, but more of that to come in Act 5.
Staging the Classics
Canadian dance critic Michael Crabb described David’s return to the Winnipeg Ballet in the first of a series of articles he wrote entitled David Adams- His Dance Through Life (published by Dance Collection Danse in the fall of 2008). In his words: “While Adams would have preferred to remain in Britain, the Winnipeg Ballet welcomed him back- to dance and, for the first time, to teach and choreograph. With the choreography still fresh in his mind, Adams staged and danced in a number of classical excerpts for the company’s fall 1948 season and joined it for a November Eastern Canada tour that included an appearance in Toronto at the Eaton Auditorium, the very stage where the National Ballet was to make its debut three years later.
Quoting Max Wyman, who wrote The Royal Winnipeg Ballet- The First Forty Years: “It was David Adams who gave the company its first real taste of pure classicism.”
As mentioned earlier, David had very little time to prepare for his first scheduled performances with the Winnipeg Ballet after his arrival in Winnipeg. The last ballet class he had taken was before he left England, so he was anxious to fit one in as soon as possible. It was also necessary to start working with Jean McKenzie on the Swan Lake pas de deux from Act 2 immediately. In his writings, he commented on how quickly she was able to learn this challenging piece. David also had to learn a new role in Gweneth Lloyd’s ballet Façade Suite. He described this process as follows: “I had seen the Façade piece with the Winnipeg company and had performed in other parts of the ballet, but not the Popular Song. Learning it was something we were quite used to in Winnipeg. I got the 78rpm record out of the files and the notes for the choreography from Miss Lloyd. I learned the choreography from the notes. Cindy, the wardrobe lady, had made many costumes for me in the past so had no trouble coming up with something new for this occasion. Miss Lloyd had acquired the necessary 78rpm records for the performances. So, we did it- and David Adams, Guest Artist, was well received by the Winnipeg audiences. The press liked me as well.”
In a review of the performance entitled Mackenzie, Adams Draw Big Ovations, the Winnipeg dance critic I.M.B. stated: “The capacity audience again had the pleasure of seeing lovely Jean Mackenzie and David Adams teamed in Excerpts from Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky. Ovations met the accomplished performances of these artists- performances marked by surety, excellent coordination and control. It was a finely balanced interpretation with delicacy of expression and quiet grace.” The photo to the right shows how beautifully they danced together in this performance.
The same dance critic described the company’s dancing of Façade Suite as captivating and praised David’s performance in this ballet: “One of the brightest spots of the delightful satire was Popular Song, a solo by David Adams, which proved a splendid medium of expression for this young artist’s versatility in which his interpretation showed a fine sense of comedy.”
David also received good reviews for his performance in Spectre de la Rose with partner Margaret Hample. Quoting a review from a Winnipeg newspaper: “The Adams approach to dancing is of the definitely masculine order, and there is a sweep and a strength to his work which is compelling. Spectre de la Rose, truth to tell, is a pallid and silly ballet, but young Mr. Adams made it interesting because of his vitality. “
After this show, David became once more a member of the Winnipeg Ballet. In my interview with Joan Chasney (a former dancer with the company), she remarked that when David came back from England, he was much more polished in terms of strength and technique and that he had become more extroverted.
Party at Havencroft
David remembered that sometime in October 1948, before the weather took a turn for the worse, there was a special gathering at Havencroft. In his words: “My mother arranged a party to be held on the acreage. People from the Winnipeg Ballet were invited but also friends from the past, including Mrs. Bartholomew- a music teacher from my last year at school. She had known me over quite an extended period of time, earlier grades as well. With all that space outside and the large house, we had a great time. Stella, my mother, even came up with Rye and Ginger Ale- which, for a teetotaler person, was quite amazing. The driveway was filled with cars.”
Former Winnipeg Ballet dancer Joan Chasney remembered, in her words, “when the company went out to David’s family’s place in the country for a picnic. They lived beyond the end of the streetcar line, which was considered to be the country in those days. Everyone had a great time at the picnic.”
Dancing New Roles and Teaching for the Company
After his return to Winnipeg, there were new opportunities and challenges for David, all of which influenced the direction he would take in his career. Some of these were totally unexpected, such as being asked to teach classes. In his words: “Miss Lloyd approached me to teach classes for the company, for which I would be paid, so things improved slightly. I was also to expand my repertoire in the company. It was quite amazing to find myself dancing a principal role in a ballet where I had originally danced the part of a child. In Alice, I had originally been the Hero, who kills the Jaberwocky; in this period, I danced the role of the White Knight. In Finishing School, I was originally the Valet de Chambre; now, I was to dance the principal male role of The Dancing Master. From child to adult in the same ballets.”
In his personal writings, David reflected on his first teaching experiences with the company: “Gweneth Lloyd opened a door for me that took many years before it closed…teaching was not something that had crossed my mind during the journey from Britain to Canada. Once started, a whole new perspective came into focus. I began by emulating the teachers I had studied with in London, but then it went far beyond that. The classical technique has endless possibilities- there are no boundaries. The dancer sometimes takes this all for granted, not thinking of structure in a class. I began to see these elements the more I taught. Teaching, the basis of my life work in fact, gradually became the central thrust. 1948 introduced me to teaching ballet; 1999 ended that period in my life. After 51 years of teaching, I finally hung up my ballet shoes.”
David’s skill as a teacher developed throughout his career. His unique approach to teaching dance would have a huge positive impact on many aspiring dancers throughout his lifetime and beyond. His passion for the art of dance was passed on to generations of students, many of whom would become professional dancers.
Eastern Tour, November 1948
According to David, soon after the initial performances back in Winnipeg, news of a tour was announced. The company was to perform in London (Ontario), Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa. Adding to the classical repertoire for the company, David staged the following dances from the ballet Sleeping Beauty– Bluebird Variations, the Lilac Fairy, the Rose Adagio and eventually the grand pas de deux from the Finale. These, along with the pieces David staged from the ballet Swan Lake, were the first dances from the classical repertoire to be performed by the Winnipeg Ballet. When I interviewed Eva Von Gencsy, a former dancer with the company, she said “it was a big thing for the company to learn this classical repertoire from David. Gweneth needed this for the company.” Eva also mentioned that this time was a turning point for the dancers -they were becoming more professional. Up until this time, they had been, in David’s words, “a tits-and-teeth company- tremendous enthusiasm and vitality-plus on stage. Everything tended to be rather high powered- and that suited us fine, because that was what we were best at doing.” Eva considered David to be the first outstanding Canadian male dancer and stressed his importance in the budding professional dance life of Canada.
However, despite the hard work involved with staging and dancing these classical works, David expressed his frustration at the lack of appreciation he perceived, especially with the Bluebird Variations from Sleeping Beauty. He performed this piece with Viola Busday on the eastern tour in November of 1948. At one of the shows, the score was not available for this piece so the manager of the company, David Yeddeau, made the following announcement to the audience: “Ladies and gentlemen, at this point in the program, we usually have a little pas de deux to give the other dancers a rest. That pas de deux will not be performed tonight.”
“Little” indeed! David was furious with the manager and demanded an apology, which was not forthcoming. In his words: “Eventually I would use it as an excuse to leave. No luck with that pas de deux.” According to David, the Bluebird Variations dance was not mentioned in any review of the tour: “the critics did not want to compare us with other dancers that had performed the pas de deux, so they said nothing.”
I did find one complimentary review from a London Ontario newspaper dated November 20, 1948, stating: “Comedy stepped in most successfully in Blue Bird, a ‘pas de deux’ charmingly executed by Viola Busday and David Adams. Miss Busday is a witty and resourceful dancer, talented comedienne, and with Mr. Adams provided an enchantingly pictorial interpretation to Tschaikowsky music.”
When I interviewed Viola Busday, she recalled working with David on the Bluebird Variations and described him as a “kibitzer” (a tease). He would say things to make her laugh as he promenaded around her during rehearsals. She also mentioned he was an excellent partner and that their solos were very demanding.
Viola remembered they had to follow the music absolutely and that David’s solo demanded a lot of elevation and quick foot work. She also recalled having to wash the floors when they were touring because they had been polished and it would have been too treacherous to dance on them. In Viola’s words: “David was very strong. He lifted me high so that I ended up with my stomach on his shoulder, with arms in a high V. Then we walked off stage like that.” It was a good thing Viola weighed under 90 pounds and was very short.
David also needed to learn and perform the role of Tim (Nora’s Cop) in Chapter 13, a Gweneth Lloyd ballet. However, a major challenge had to be overcome regarding the score, which was a recording of George Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F. In David’s words: “There was a problem with the music. Ira Gershwin, brother of George, would not allow the company to perform the score as a ballet. Robert Fleming (a Saskatchewan-born composer based in Ottawa) was asked to do a rewrite. Every bar would be there, but with different notes. The ballet, with the new score, was performed in Toronto at the Eaton Auditorium. We began together and ended together- all the counts were exactly the same. I have often wondered what happened to that score. It was good.”
Quoting Max Wyman, author of The Royal Winnipeg Ballet- The First Forty Years: “The score has been widely spoken of since as ‘the first original score commissioned for a Canadian ballet company- and so it was, but what Fleming had done was to sit down at his music paper with a copy of the Gershwin music and compose new themes, melodies and arrangements on a matching rhythmic structure. The company might never have heard Fleming’s piece, but they knew the counts by heart.” As it turned out, the score was not completed until four hours before performance time!
Max Wyman goes on to say that the company’s eastern tour was a triumph: “Critic after critic spoke of the company’s freshness, its spirit, its liveliness, In the Montreal Gazette, Herbert Whittaker called the company ‘Canada’s most successful dance project to date.’ In terms of finances, the tour was yet another disaster, but that was no deterrent to Gweneth and her stalwarts. They returned to Winnipeg and the following January mounted their most lavish home season in many years- two gala tenth-anniversary performances with a 32-piece orchestra (under Walter Kaufmann, conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra) and the premiere performances of three new Lloyd ballets.”
In David’s writings, he recalled the following: “Ottawa we had seen back in 1945, but the other cities were new territory. Little did I know how often I would perform in those cities a few years down the road. I enjoyed the contrast of the English speaking and the French speaking cultures. This time, while in Ottawa, I discovered Hull. I enjoyed the food on the French side. If you had told me that I would end up living for over ten years in Toronto, I would not have believed you.That is a story yet to come.”
Stay in Canada or Return to Britain?
Despite David’s busy schedule with the Winnipeg Ballet during the fall of 1948, he often thought about returning to England. In his words:
“The desire to return was nagging at me, yet there were events that made me want to stay. The time away needed to be digested, thought through, sorted out. So many images, so many people- some so very positive, some negative. My head swam with events. The return was filled with the “Guest Artist” stamp. The staging of classical works helped up to a point but then the fears came in. I was not the same person that had sailed off to Britain in 1946. Would I be able to continue along the lines that Britain had introduced to me in my chosen profession? As each week and then a month went by, the conflict to stay or leave became more difficult. Professionally, I needed to get back there; personally, I dreaded the return. Was I still a Canadian or something in the middle of those two countries? In 1992, as I write this, I am not sure of the answer to that question. It will go with me to my grave.”
It took the extreme cold and a wondrous sight to finally resolve this conflict within David’s mind. The following is his story of a long journey home on a cold winter night:
“One night, after a busy rehearsal schedule in Winnipeg, I caught the last Selkirk bus to our family home in the country. It was very cold- minus 40, with lots of snow. The walk from the highway to the house was about half a mile through the woods. I was dressed for the cold, but not for minus 40. As I began the walk through the woods, the sound of the bus faded into the distance. Then there was silence, yet there was a sound not made by human means- a swishing, then a crackling sound. I looked to the sky and saw the source- Aurora Borealis, northern lights. The sky was alive with movement and color. It was all moving across the vast black sky at an incredible speed. The full color spectrum was there above my head- and that eerie sound. I stood there transfixed, oblivious to the cold. This was not new to me; I had seen displays like this before as a child. As I stood there watching and admiring nature in one of her spectacular moments, I knew that I needed to be in Canada. Where else could I experience anything like this?
By the time I reached the house, everyone was in bed. My watch told me that I had stood there in the cold for half an hour. It took time for my body to get back to a normal temperature, but my mind had been cleared. For the time being at least, I would stay in Canada. There is something about the cold that alters the way we think and operate. It is uncomfortable, yet it acts as a strange stimulant. It took thirteen years before my return to that spiritual home- the British Isles.”
I wonder if David ever linked the spectacular display of northern lights in the Gulf of St. Lawrence upon his return to Canada to this event of yet another magnificent manifestation of Aurora Borealis.
Choreographic Debut
David considered the idea of doing some choreography before he went to Britain; however, this would not come to fruition until his return to Canada. In his words:
“In my earlier days, being a choreographer was something special and not for every dancer or teacher. It was considered presumptuous to say you would create a dance work. I asked myself: what do I know about the process and what is my knowledge of music, of design? Wait- perhaps it will happen, but probably not.
The thought of creating a dance crossed my mind in 1944/45. I went so far as to choose some rather obvious music- the Warsaw Concerto by Richard Addinsell, as I remember, and began putting some movement together. It was not very good. I tried putting my vocabulary together but that was boring. I tried to tell a story but it did not transfer. I was left in the air, for I was busy and on my way to Britain.”
In the late spring of 1949, David approached Gwenneth Lloyd about choreographing a new work for the Winnipeg Ballet and she granted his request. This led to the creation of Ballet Composite, a work involving six dancers, set to the music Variations on a Theme by Haydn by Johannes Brahms. David described the creative process for this ballet in this way:“I started listening for music to use for a ballet. I finally found something that I felt I could deal with, something that gave me workable images. Finally, I began to write the movement down in long hand, following the example of Miss Lloyd. This worked up to a point, but was not complete. I needed a ‘hands on’ approach. The molding of the dance came from the music, not from a studied written script. Somehow, the creation was no problem; it flowed out of me non-stop. I used the combination of the people I was working with and Mr. Brahms. It came together. I had no thought of whether I was copying someone else- just that the constant new movement came to me. I completed Ballet Composite and it was performed. There were some problems with tempos- the conductor wanted the Brahms influence, whereas I preferred the Haydn influence. It worked, and was successful. Some thought the choreography was influenced by my work with people like John Taras. Perhaps it was; I shall never really know. The only thing I did know was that I could choreograph. It would happen again many times in my life.”
The first performance of Ballet Composite received good reviews. This must have been a source of encouragement for David, as a budding choreographer. Former Winnipeg Ballet dancer Eva von Gencsy recalled the fabulous ending David created for the ballet. In her words: “As the music built up to the final climax, the dancers all ran in from the sides of the stage to take the final position- a great moment!” Both Eva and Viola Busday, another former dancer with the Winnipeg Ballet, mentioned that it was a challenging piece for the dancers and a good work for the company. Ballet Composite became part of the Winnipeg Ballet’s repertoire and was also performed by the National Ballet in the company’s early years. In David’s words: “The ballets or pieces that came after Ballet Composite arrived because of that first excursion; I took the step over the line and knew the new territory.”
New Opportunities in Vancouver
Before the summer of 1949, David received a letter from Vancouver, inviting him to perform with the company Theatre Under the Stars. He accepted the offer and signed a contract, sent to him by Hugh Pickett- Company Manager. David would be cast as the leading male dancer in various musicals throughout their summer season. The prospect of earning more money and living on the west coast were both appealing to David at this time in his career and life. He had always hoped to go to New York, which was not to be, so why not go to Vancouver instead? Understandably, some members of the Winnipeg Ballet were not happy about his decision to leave the company.
Always the adventurer, David headed west to follow his aspiration of becoming a full-fledged professional dancer. In his words: “Another train journey meant that I had covered the Canadian scene, from coast to coast, in less than a year. Vancouver was warm, green and friendly. Theatre Under the Stars was a summer stock theatre. The process was: rehearse a show- perform it, while you rehearsed the next show; this continued throughout the summer. Days and nights of rehearsing and performing. The shows? Musical theatre or operetta- some old, some fairly new. We had to dance, but also sing upon occasion, and even speak. Nothing like the life of a ballet dancer.”
Soon after David began rehearsing with Theatre Under the Stars, an article appeared in a Vancouver newspaper entitled U.S. Army Draft Blows Top Canuck Ballet Star to TUTS . Quoting from this article: “The American army draft has blown Canada’s top male ballet dancer into the arms of Theatre Under the Stars. David Adams, 20, of Winnipeg, who spent two years in London with the Metropolitan Ballet and Saddler Wells Co., came to Vancouver because he can’t go to the U.S. Although Ballet Russe has been bidding for sinewy David, he will be drafted as soon as he accepts a full-time job in the U.S. He has nothing against army life, except that they don’t do much dancing. After dancing for 11 years, he’d like to be a principal dancer with a leading U.S. company. He was interrupted at Theatre Under the Stars rehearsals this morning to sketch this story.”
David enjoyed the stimulating, enjoyable atmosphere at Theatre Under the Stars. Aida Broadbent was the dance and ensemble director. According to David, stage shows and films were her speciality and Los Angeles and San Francisco were her central locations. Aida cast David as several different characters, including a gypsy, a Russian, and even, in David’s words, “a suave mover in white tie and tails.” He learned how to perform various styles of movement, for the sole purpose of entertainment. He commented that “after the way of working in a ballet company, this was something entirely different. ‘No, David, relax- this is not a ballet!’ It was an entirely different vocabulary and a very different way of moving. I got the idea fairly quickly.”
The shows David performed in with Theatre Under the Stars were: The Merry Widow, Bloomer Girl, Countess Mariza and Song of Norway. The outdoor theatre was at Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park, Vancouver. David described the theatre: “The performers were sheltered by the bowl and the audience was outdoors on folding chairs. Yes, it did rain from time to time, but on these occasions the audience received sheets of butcher paper, which is waterproof. They would make hats or whatever to protect themselves from the rain. Vancouverites are quite used to wet weather- the rain did not stop the show. The dressing rooms and costume rooms were behind the stage, plus there was a tiny space to do a warm-up.”
David was very grateful to his host Hugh Pickett. He goes on to describe what a wonderful situation it was for him in Vancouver: “Not only did I have a home with Hugh Pickett; I also had a chauffeur and a social life. It was quite amazing! The ‘kids’ (as I must call my fellow dancers) and I would rehearse, do shows and socialize together. We had our favourite eating establishments near the rehearsal hall, which was the Marine Building. There was a large room in that building with a view of Vancouver harbour and the North Shore.”
A Starry Romance
In his writings, David told the story of how he met and fell in love with Lois Smith in Vancouver during the summer of 1949:
“After-lunch walks took us to various places, but on one occasion, we met a group of young women. The dancers in our show knew them, so there was much with the greetings and hugs. They were dancers from the show Oklahoma and were home for the summer holiday. I was introduced to the group. One of them caught my eye. Her name was Lois- one of the ‘Smith girls’. Little by little, we saw each other. Little by little, we talked more. In between rehearsals, I discovered she was quite a good ballet dancer, so I started teaching her bits of classical ballets- pas de deux. We tried a few lifts. One day, we caught ourselves looking at each other in a different way. There was the first kiss at a beach party, and it went from there.”
Lois Smith described meeting David in her personal memoirs. It is clear they had a strong attraction for each other right from the start:
“While we were walking on a downtown street in Vancouver, I saw some of the dancers from TUTS (Theatre Under the Stars) across the way, on the other side of the street, waving at us. I, of course, waved back. There was much calling and excitement at seeing each other that it took a moment to notice someone I didn’t recognize. After a longer look, I knew we were destined to know each other very well. Right- it was the old love at first sight! I had never felt that way about anyone before and I didn’t even know him! I subsequently found out his name was David Adams- one of the dancers in TUTS that summer. I immediately wondered how I might find a way to dance in the shows too.”
As it turned out, David’s scheduled partner for the show Song of Norway had to withdraw, so the timing was perfect for Lois to take her place. Lois described the quick audition with Aida Broadbent in this way: “When Aida (the director) found out I was back in Vancouver, she was delighted because the last show of the summer was Song of Norway and I knew the choreography, didn’t I? Well, yes, I did remember it quite well, as a matter of fact. How would I like to be the leading dancer in Norway and help her with the ballet choreography? Who would be my partner? David Adams. The answer was a definite YES!”
This event marked the beginning of a dance partner- ship between Lois Smith and David Adams that would last until 1964. Little did they know they would eventually reach stardom as Canada’s famous ballet couple over the next few years.
According to David, the summer session with Theatre Under the Stars went well. He received good reviews for his Russian dance in the show Roberta and he and Lois received numerous standing ovations for their performances in Song of Norway. Because of its success, the show did an extended tour in Victoria.
At the end of the summer, David had to find a place to live in Vancouver or return to Winnipeg. He and Lois both decided to stay in Vancouver. In Lois’s words: “Once the show was over, then what? What would we do? There wasn’t much happening in the way of dance in Vancouver, but being young and in love, I guess it didn’t matter too much. David got a small room to live in- maybe I should say tiny, with only room enough for a single bed, dresser and maybe a chair too. He spent a lot of time at my parents’ place. We kept him fed at least.”
David and Lois did some teaching at Mara McBirney’s dance studio in Vancouver. Mara had emigrated from Britain and had coached David and others in Winnipeg for their Royal Academy of Dancing exams in 1946. According to Lois, they were able to take classes at Mara’s studio for free while they were teaching for her. Lois described Mara as one of her favourite teachers, despite her fondness for gin and her constantly dangling cigarettes. During their teaching stint at Mara’s studio, David and Lois had fun showing a few dance techniques to a Thunderbirds football player from the University of British Columbia.
In David’s writings, he expressed his concern for his financial situation during this time:
“I began teaching for Mara McBirney in the same studio that TUTS (Theatre Under the Stars) had rehearsed in. It was a very amicable situation; just not very much money. I found a place to live for $5.00 per week, which left me $5.00 to eat with. Rough times, so other work had to be found. My publicity with TUTS helped me with contacts, so I began doing nightclub work. There was my built-in partner: Lois. We did a whole series of numbers for that medium. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were my examples. I had seen all of the films, so I used their style, but not necessarily the actual steps. We did add something that Fred Astaire could not do- big overhead lifts. They went over well with the audiences.”
Lois’s memories of this aspect of their work together were not as glamorous. She wrote:
“Some of the nightclub work was pretty awful- lots of drinking, smoking, tables and chairs in the way- and it was so noisy that it was hard to hear the music, let alone dance to it. The floors were always slippery so we devised ways to glue rubber on our shoes, hoping we wouldn’t fall and break a leg. In one of the shows, we did a balletic dance in which David did a lot of overhead lifts with me. I was wearing a romantic tutu costume and I remember they were quite quiet for that one. David did the choreography for all of these numbers. They were certainly diversified: a French Apache dance (see photo below) depicting life in a Paris dive, a Fred and Ginger number and even an East Indian dance.”
All of these extra gigs helped David and Lois earn a little extra money. In David’s words: “We certainly did not make a fortune, but it all helped to keep the wolf from the door. There were the classes for me to teach every day, so once more I was very busy. At the McBirney studio there was a group of regular students, so I began choreographing ballets for them. Two of these would be performed the following year (1950) in Montreal for the third Canadian Ballet Festival: Theorem A and L’Auberge Deranger.”
Romantic Adventures in California
In the spring of 1950, Lois received a letter from choreographer Aida Broadbent, inviting her and David to dance with the Los Angeles Light Opera Company. Rehearsals for the operetta The Chocolate Soldier were to begin on March 29, with the opening show scheduled for April 24. They were also invited to dance in the second show of the season, Rose Marie, which would keep them employed until the end of July. David and Lois were thrilled at the prospect of earning a decent living as dancers in an exotic location- so, of course, they accepted the invitation. David wrote: “We had work! We would have money! Yes, yes, yes! Please! I had to borrow the train fare from Lois, but we made it. Even in those dim dark days, there were complaints about Canadians going to the U.S.A to work, but the Canadian prospects were not exactly glowing. We got our train tickets and were on our way.”
Lois had contacts in Los Angeles who booked them a room at Hotel St Moritz on Sunset Boulevard, for $2.50 per night. They would be within easy travel distance to the theatre. Once they were settled, they phoned the necessary people, discovered where the rehearsal hall was and also the best places to eat for cheap. According to David, everything progressed smoothly: “The first day of rehearsals, we met our new work mates- a very mixed bag of shapes and sizes. There were the mandatory photos and interviews. The photographers loved my big split jump, so that soon appeared in the newspapers.”
Their first show was The Chocolate Soldier, an operetta based on George Bernard Shaw’s comedy Arms and the Man, with music by Oscar Strauss. David was familiar with the name of one of the cast members- Salvadore Baccaloni, a popular basso buffo who played the role of Captain Massakroff. David had heard him sing in some radio broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera. The rehearsals for the show went well, with a few challenges along the way. In David’s words: “There was to be a fair amount of dance, but also the usual bits of business to fill in the gaps. Of course, Aida had me jumping over things and people. To add to the vocabulary, I had to climb a tall pole to reach a pillow and then throw it down to Lois. This was included in a scene from the show in which there was a village competition.”
David and Lois were each paid $75 per week for their performances in Los Angeles and $80 per week when they performed the show in San Francisco. According to David, the process was: rehearsing in LA, performing the show there for a month, then off to San Francisco to perform the show for another month.
David and Lois performed in eight shows a week at each location. According to David, it was exactly what they needed at this point in their lives and careers: “Coming from $10 per week in Vancouver, I felt rich, but here is the amusing part: eleven years later, when we were leading dancers with the National Ballet of Canada, we were paid that Los Angeles salary of $75 per week.”
Just in case people may have thought David and Lois were making big dollars as Stars of Canadian Ballet, they were paid only $60 per week- less than what David remembered!
Wedding in Between Shows
The California gig convinced David and Lois that they could make their living as professional dancers. They enjoyed their life together and decided to celebrate their love through the union of marriage. The ceremony was held the morning of Saturday, May 13, 1950- at the Los Angeles Hall of Justice, with Judge Ida May Adams presiding. Two of the dancers from The Chocolate Soldier were witnesses.
After a wedding breakfast, David and Lois went to the Philharmonic Auditorium to perform in a matinee show, followed by an evening show later on. Their marriage made front page news in a Los Angeles newspaper. David wrote : “The next morning, we went to Catalina Island for our honeymoon. We took a bus and then a boat. The hotel had been booked. We spent the day looking around the island and on Monday afternoon we made our way back to LA. Of course, we did the show that night. Not terribly glamorous, but we were in love, and any time was sufficient. The bill for that honeymoon night at Hotel Atwater was $6.00- my, how times change!”
Reflecting on their wedding album in later years, Lois wrote: “a beautiful book full of young love- looks of innocence and sincerity. It is there to see in each and every picture. Oh, to go back to that time when all thoughts were for each other. I think this feeling truly only happens once in a lifetime.”
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Life as Dancers in California
While they were busy performing in Los Angeles, David and Lois took ballet classes to maintain their technique. David discovered a choreographer and ballet teacher by the name of Eugene Loring, whom David described as “a small and very quiet man who gave excellent classes. We became regulars- he kept our sanity, for $2.50 per class.”
By May 22 (1950), the company had moved David and Lois to San Francisco, where they continued dancing in The Chocolate Soldier at a new performance venue. They stayed at Hotel El Cortez, where they had a suite with a kitchen plus everything they needed. It was ideal for their situation. Once again, David searched for a ballet instructor. In his words: “Well, I knew there was a San Francisco Ballet, so I investigated. One of the Christensen brothers was teaching. I was not fully happy with that, so I looked further. I found Nijinska, the sister of Nijinsky. She was quite crazy, but she gave a good workout.” As previously mentioned in Act 3, Nijinska told David he had a jump like her brother. David would always remember that compliment.
The second show of the season was another operetta- Rose Marie. David described it in this way: “The show takes place in Western Canada, with Mounties, Indians and all that kind of thing. It was how other people thought of Canadians, even at that point in history. There was more dance in this show, including the mandatory Indian dance- Totem Tom Tom.”
One of the cast members, Patrick Munsel, was another singer from the Metropolitan Opera, whom David had heard on a Saturday afternoon radio broadcast. In 1950, Rose Marie was 25 years old. The music was composed by Rudolf Friml, who, according to David, composed some new music for the production that he and Lois danced in.
During the rehearsal period for the show, the whole cast was invited to attend a performance of the musical South Pacific, which was currently playing at the LA Theatre. It was great for Lois and David to see the other cast performing. The tickets were complimentary, thanks to their generous General Director, by the name of Edwin Lester. In David’s words: “I discovered through that invitation, plus a conversation I had with Lester one day, that he was a very wealthy man. We began talking about clothes and he let me know that he owned a suit, shirt, tie and shoes for every day of the year- in other words, 365 of each. I could not help but laugh inside and picture what his wardrobe must have looked like. For all that, he was a charming person, always ready to talk to any of us.”
It was clear that Edwin Lester treated his cast well and was on friendly terms with everyone, including the dancers. He wrote the following message to Lois when he autographed her program: “To Lois: With love- with or without David’s permission. Talented, lovely, intelligent, sweet. Some guys have all the luck. Edwin Lester”
David and Lois enjoyed the night life in San Francisco more than in Los Angeles. David wrote:
“There were many more night spots in Frisco. Two in particular stand out- Finocchios and The Candlelight Club. The first was a male gay club and the second a female gay club. Both had floor shows appropriate to the gender presented. At Finocchios, the boys made their own costumes- dresses, of course, out of crepe paper; a new costume for every show. The Candlelight crew were dressed in leather jackets and trousers. The shows in both places were a scream; we loved them and carried on heckling them throughout the show. They came right back at us. It was great fun. We also went to see Doodles and Spider, with lip syncing to records, at another venue. This pair attracted a lot of celebrities; Bob Hope was there one night, enjoying the whole show. Apart from the clubs, there was a greater variety of food in Frisco- more European than American.”
Where to Go Next?
In San Francisco, David and Lois talked about what was to happen after the shows closed. They were hoping their next destination would be London, England because of David’s familiarity with the dance scene there, but something happened that changed any plans they may have had. In David’s words: “A small person was coming into our lives. We decided to go to Vancouver, where Lois’s mother and father lived.”
This marked the beginning of a whole new chapter in their lives as a couple and as professional dancers.
