ACT 2 LEANING TOWARDS DESTINY
The Audition
In the summer of 1938, David’s mother noticed an advertisement in two of Winnipeg’s daily newspapers announcing the formation of the Winnipeg Ballet Club. The director, Gweneth Lloyd, was looking for junior and senior dancers. Auditions would be held and those accepted would be offered free tuition and the opportunity to perform.
After David’s approval of the idea, Stella set up an appointment for his audition, which was to occur the following November, just before his tenth birthday. The location was a small studio on the seventh floor of the Time Building, 333- Portage Avenue. Even though it was named the Canadian School of Ballet, David was not aware of what kind of dance he would be asked to do. He was in for a bit of a surprise. In his words:“Mother and I went by streetcar to the Time Building. The journey to the seventh floor was, to say the least, rough. We were met by a rather stout woman who introduced herself as Betty Hey. I was to get changed into my dance things. There were no dance things, just the layers of clothes that one wore in a Manitoba winter. In a small room, off the main corridor, I was confronted with a group of men, all much older than myself, in various stages of undress. Being a shy young lad, I refused to take off my clothes.
Quoting from Max Wyman’s book The Royal Winnipeg Ballet- The First Forty Years: “The auditions were simple, but effective. Applicants were first tested on their abilities in a simple ballet class…, then on their potential for mime…and finally on their understanding and appreciation for music.” (page 22)
David had some vivid memories of how he experienced this as a young boy: “We were escorted into a large room that faced on to Portage Avenue, windows on that side. To our left were sticks fastened to the wall, which later I would learn to call barres. In the corner sitting at a table was Gweneth Lloyd, the director of the company. She had a dog sitting under the table. I thought she must be okay if she had a dog. Miss Hey lined us up at the sticks. I was placed with an adult at either side so I could watch. We did a few things, holding our right hand, then our left. I watched my adult neighbors very carefully and followed as best I could. A few things without the sticks, facing the windows, then we were asked some questions. When asked my name, I mumbled. It was over, and we left,”
David must have made quite an impression at the audition despite his shyness. They were in need of male dancers and could see David’s potential. However, trying to contact his parents afterwards proved to be a major challenge. Max Wyman describes what happened as follows:
“One of the juniors chosen was a shy newspaper boy of nine. Yes, he said, when he arrived for the audition, he wanted to dance. No, he had never seen any dancing. No, he wouldn’t take his clothes off, and if it was all the same to them he’d rather keep his moccasins on, too. The audition showed he had enormous potential, but he left without giving his address. It took Betty an afternoon of dogged telephoning to track him down. She thought he had said his name was David Allen, but she couldn’t be sure because he had mumbled so, and when she drew a blank with every Allen in the phone book, she simply began to work right through from the beginning of the A’s. By early evening she had found the lad- a major break for the company, as it turned out, and, for the youngster, a particularly fateful call. Without it, David Adams might never have gone on to become a star of Britain’s Royal Ballet.” (page 22-23)And this is how it happened that David was chosen to be a member of the Winnipeg Ballet Club. He was to report to his first class one week later, with the appropriate dance attire.
As David anticipated his first “ballet” class, he wondered what it would be like. He described his thoughts in this way: “Ballet dancer? What did they do? Was it like Fred Astaire? I had no idea. A remark by my father that he hoped I would not become ‘one of them’ was not understood, but did not help matters. At the audition, I had seen those tight pants on the other dancers- these had to be acquired at Mallabars. The footwear would come later because it had to be ordered from Europe.”
David’s first dance class led him towards a life long profession in dance. In his words: “The day arrived. I went on the streetcar by myself- after all I was ten! Up to the seventh floor. I was met at the elevator like a long lost friend- they seemed so pleased to see me. ‘Put on your dance things and come into the studio to meet your fellow dancers.’ Same changing room, but I was alone. No other boys?? Putting on tights for the first time in your life is quite an experience, but I managed; they were black. I also wore a shirt, of course, and socks on my feet. Now dressed for the occasion, I went into the studio. I was confronted with a room full of girls, all dressed in a kind of uniform, a light green top and skirt, tights (but pink) and tight-fitting shoes that only covered part of their feet. The truth hit me. I was the only boy, OH my!!
Miss Lloyd was there, but Miss Hey was to teach the class. We went to the barre. Thus, began a process that would be an important part of my life, as a dancer and teacher for over sixty years. It somehow did not seem to take long to get the hang of it. French was the language, and the reasons for that were carefully explained. When I think back to my early training, I am grateful for the thoroughness with which it was taught. They have both shuffled off this mortal coil, but thank you Betty and Gweneth. You gave me such a good foundation.”
In conversation with David during the last years of his life, he mentioned that his training with Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Hey was a positive experience. As mentioned in his comments above, he had tremendous respect for both of them and did not find them to be heavy handed or domineering. Rather, he remembered them giving very clear instructions with an innate sense of musicality. He always looked forward to his dance lessons and got along well with the other dancers. In an interview I had with Joan Chesney, who joined the Winnipeg Ballet Club in 1940, she described David as “a scrawny young boy, all arms and legs, and very quiet. However, it wasn’t long before he shot up and grew into himself.”
David attended classes with the junior ballet club every Saturday. However, it wasn’t long before the group would be coming to extra evening classes in preparation for the upcoming production Happyand Glorious- A Cavalcade of Welcome. As part of the special ceremony for the welcoming of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth during their visit to Winnipeg in 1939, the Winnipeg Ballet Club had been asked to produce two dance pieces on prairie themes; thus, the ballets Grain and Kilowatt Magic were created for the dancers to perform. David described this special event:
“In Kilowatt Magic, I was a young boy who could not read properly because we had no light. In Grain, I was a farm boy. I had a few steps to do, nothing dramatic. I did sense the performance was a very special occasion. The Royals did not come to our performance, but the theatre (the Playhouse) was full. We were only a small part of a very long show, with lots of performers. New reference points for me- costumes, make-up, dressing rooms, backstage, an orchestra, a stage manager. Everyone seemed pleased with how we had done our ballets.”
David eventually performed a variety of roles during the first few years of his training, which provided him with valuable performance experience. Some of these included: Hero in Through the LookingGlass (later known as Alice), Sailor Boy in Beauty and the Beast, Liberty Boy in Triple Alliance, and the Ballad-Monger in The Wager. In David’s words: “My dance roles were always governed by my size. Miss Lloyd was very clever in using her only small boy in various roles- some of these with the Junior Ballet group and some with the Senior group, such as the Knave of Hearts in Queen of Hearts, a Gendarme in An American in Paris and the Valet de Chambre in Finishing School.”
In 2003, David was happy to discover a program in his collection which included the ballet The Tailor of Gloucester. He described it as the “amazing vanishing ballet” since there had been very little reference to it in books about the Winnipeg Ballet Company, nor on the Winnipeg Ballet website. Eventually, he found a review of this work choreographed by Gweneth Lloyd, thanks to Amy Bowring of Dance Collection Danse. Quoting the Winnipeg Tribune (January 4, 1941): “A simple ballet, The Tailor of Gloucester, by the Juniors, did not overtax the strength of its cast and provided a fine curtain raiser for the more ambitious presentations.” Based on the Beatrix Potter story, it was, according to David, ideal material for the Junior Ballet. He danced the role of the Gentleman Mouse.
David was publicly recognized for his performance of the Knave of Hearts. Quoting Max Wyman from his book The Royal Winnipeg Ballet (page 41): “Queen of Hearts, in part a vehicle to display the talents of the junior members of the club, was seen in a pre-performance premiere by the loyal members of the Women’s Musical Club, and one of those singled out by The Tribune’s S. Roy Maley for special praise was David Adams, playing the knave- ‘in a difficult role for a little boy, (he) was most realistic and proved a fine actor.’ This was not Adams’s first stage appearance- he had been seen in Triple Alliance the previous June- but the review seems to have been the first written notice of his career as a dancer. He was 13.”
The photo below was included in a 1942 souvenir program, showing the junior club at class. Wax Wyman describes the scene (page 45):
“At centre is Gweneth at her most English, straightening the foot of a young girl valiantly trying to hold an arabesque. Leaning against the barre, an expression of bored seriousness on his face, is Adams, the very image of crewcut pre-teen nonchalance. He was small, but Gweneth used that to advantage, re-choreographing a role in the English pub sequence of Triple Alliance to accommodate him (a Bookmaker was transformed to a Jockey). He was game for anything they could throw at him.”David described his early training: “The transition from student to performer took place during those early weeks…I was the only boy for a few years, so I was pleased when we worked on ballets for performance with everyone (juniors and seniors together). It was quite amazing how quickly I had a grasp of the ballet technique.”
Problems at School
When David’s classmates found out that he was taking dance classes, they teased and bullied him relentlessly. According to David, “it spread like wildfire. I was in real trouble. One other talent saved me. I could run faster than anyone in my school. They could not catch me.” On the other hand, David’s teachers were fascinated with his outside occupation. He was asked if he would create a dance number for a school assembly. In David’s words: “My problems were over. No one else could do what I was doing, no one else had the courage to get up in front of the whole school and perform. I was accepted as a dancer.”
David remembered a piece that he choreographed with his sister Joy around 1940- it was set to Big Band music by Harry James and featured a newspaper boy selling papers on a street corner. The performance was so popular that David was asked to perform it a second time. Eventually, David did his own choreography- for himself and some of his fellow students, having gained their respect. Another piece he remembered choreographing was set to a couple of musical selections from the opera Prince Igor. These early creative endeavors laid the foundation for David’s future explorations into choreography. With the combined success of his performances with the company and at school, one could say David was becoming a young local celebrity!
War Time
When the second world war broke out in 1939, David’s family was living at 616 MacMillan Avenue. David remembered the early stages of the war: “There was rationing and we knew men who had gone to fight. There were occasional dramatic newspaper articles and at school we were being trained to march and use weapons, with live ammunition, but the war was not on our doorstep. It seemed almost unreal. Those beginning events were announced by the long sessions of Extras by the local newspapers. The paper boys would come down the street, night or day, announcing the next phase of the war and carrying the special reprint of the newspaper in their bags…we got a blow by blow description of the war by this means. There was the radio but, of course, no television. We saw events from the war on the movie screen at the local movie house- in those days called Newsreels.”
According David’s daughter Janine, rationing brought difficult times. In her words, “People were issued coupons that allowed them their ration. Food supplies were very limited over the war years and the rationing program actually lasted a few years beyond the end of the war. When David was in England from 1946-48, his hosts thought of themselves as very poorly off and David recalled that they could not imagine the ‘poor Brits’ were actually far better off than the Canadians as far as rationing went! He was surprised and delighted by the fact that when he got to Britain, there was way more meat allowed, more candy than he’d seen in a long time, and twice as much sugar as was allowed in Canada.”
David’s sister Joan told Janine that she, her sister Joy and their mother prepared toiletry packages for the Red Cross and that Joy and their mother knit socks for the soldiers, all to help with the war effort. As it turned out, none of the Adams men went into active service during the war. David’s grandfather Adams was beyond the enlistment age and his father Charlie and Uncle Cyril were both working in fields that were deemed essential services by the government. Apparently, David’s father did have the option of volunteering but chose to serve by continuing his employment with the Winnipeg Bus Garage. In Janine’s words: “Stella, however, believed that, like her own father and her first husband in the first world war, all men should make it their duty to volunteer. It was the patriotic thing to do. Those who did not do so she regarded as cowardly. Needless to say, her view point and that of Charlie’s were not in agreement. Charlie took pride in serving his country at home by ensuring the running of the essential service of public transportation in Winnipeg. Stella, however, was ashamed of his stance and of him.” According to David, Joan and his father Charlie, this issue became yet another source of conflict between Charlie and David’s mother Stella, whose relationship was becoming increasingly more strained.
Family Celebrations
Contrasting the doom and gloom of the war, there were some happy events that took place during this time. In 1939, David’s Aunt Elsie, who was two years younger than his father Charlie, married Murdoch Anderson, affectionately known as Uncle Murdie. On August 31,1940, the newly married couple had a son, named Leslie Anderson. As David was twelve years older than his younger cousin, they didn’t have much of a connection. However, when David was in a hospital in Edmonton the month before he passed away, he received a surprise email from Leslie, who had found David’s email address on his website. David was thrilled to hear from his cousin, who had been living in Australia for several years.
Another wedding celebration took place around 1940, when David’s Uncle Cyril, who was 9 years younger than his father Charlie, married Neeltje Vryenhoek, whose family originated in Holland. They had two children- Carol Ann, born soon after her cousin Leslie, and George Adams, born in the mid 1940s.
The Move to Birchdale Avenue
By 1941, David’s mother and father had saved enough money to purchase a new home at 197 Birchdale Avenue. Of all the family homes, this was his father Charlie’s favorite. He expressed his feelings about this place, in his usual colorful language, on a tape that was recorded during a family gathering in the 1970s: “…that was the place we should never have left. We had it made there. We bought it for $4,500 in 1941. We had more goddamn guts than three elephants! War on- and rationing on- 1941- and we buy a new house! However, we bought it at a helluva good figure: $4,500.00. We had it half paid for, for Chrissakes! It was exactly one mile away from the bus garage. We used to get such fantastic snow clearing service there. Do you know they would clear the sidewalks before they’d even clear the road? We had everything we needed. I had a damn good garage for the car. We were on the best of terms with our neighbors. We had everything there!!”
David wrote about the move to Birchdale Avenue, describing his experience and that of his siblings: “SA (Stella Adams), our Mother, seemed to be always looking for a change, so, in 1941, we moved once again- back to St. Boniface in the district called Norwood, this time to a new subdivision. 197 Birchdale Avenue was still in process when we settled the purchase. The kids- Joan, Lawrence and myself stayed with the Grandparents Adams while the house was being finished. The situation was an unmitigated disaster, for the grandparents did not agree with the way we were being raised. Fortunately, we only stayed there most nights, so that during the day we were at 197 helping with the finishing. The second floor, which had two bedrooms, was to be where the younger Adams family would sleep. With some ‘help’ from Lawrence and myself, the walls were lathed and then plastered by the builders. Finally, we moved in and Lawrence and I shared that situation. I was playing the Big brother- he was trying to learn about life. It was the beginning of a relationship that would last until his death.”
As David mentioned in the quote above, the kids’ stay with the grandparents during the move was somewhat disastrous. David and his sisters chatted about their experience on the family conversation tape made in the 1970s. According to Janine, they all agreed that they were exposed to a side of their grandparents they had not seen when they were younger. In Janine’s words: “Under these particular circumstances, their grandparents felt like impatient and unkind people, and the four grandchildren did not feel welcome. Considering the realities, in that Charles Adams senior was about 71 years old with Annie Florence being around 63, used to the quietude and privacy of their home with a visit now and again from their families, the arrival of four grandchildren staying at their house for a week or two must have felt like a great imposition. No doubt, in their world, children were to be seen and not heard. Both Joy and David attested to the fact that Joan cried an awful lot at the grandparents’ house. The thing that shocked all of them was the total lack of affection they were given.”
This negative experience must have affected their relationship with their grandparents in future years, especially for Joan, who, in Janine’ s words, “harboured a resentment towards them which lasted all her life. No doubt this was additionally fuelled by her mother’s total dislike towards them. This memory was one of the contributing factors in Joan’s final purging of the anger and bitterness towards her Grandparents Adams when she destroyed most of her father’s lifetime collection of photographs following his death in the 1980s.
Despite a few challenges along the way, the Adams family eventually became nicely settled into their new home on Birchdale Avenue. The photo to the right was taken in front of the house in the mid forties. From left to right is David, his older sister Joy, his father Charlie, his younger brother Lawrence, his mother Stella and his younger sister Joan.
It was while the family was living at 197 Birchdale Avenue that David’s mother Stella and his sister Joy began an in-home kindergarten for the neighborhood children. This was David’s younger brother Lawrence’s first experience of school. Unfortunately, around the same time, Lawrence developed rheumatic fever, rendering him with a heart condition. In Janine’s research, she stated that Lawrence’s “resulting heart condition was something which had to be addressed during the 1950s before he could embark wholeheartedly upon his career in dance.” He and David would both become professional dancers in their own time.
At some point in the early 1940s, according to Janine’s research, David’s father Charlie traded in his 1928 Essex for a 1937 Hudson. David told Janine it was a huge car, big enough to comfortably seat seven people. In Janine’s words: “This most certainly came in handy when the family began their cross-country journeys to the West Coast. There were indeed seven people in the car on those trips- the six members of the Adams family plus a Lightbearer friend. The one downfall of that car, so David recalled, was that the axles were prone to breaking, so Charlie always kept a spare set in the car. It was lucky that he did because on one of those long trips, the axle did indeed have to be replaced. On the other hand, the car had one enhancement that was wonderful during the cold Manitoba winters. There were special pipes in the floor, leading from the engine, which helped to keep the feet of those in the back seat lovely and warm!”
David got his first job in 1941, when he was 12. He was hired by a mushroom plant and his job was to shovel manure on to a trolley. He was paid $5.00 per day, apparently a higher rate than his father Charlie was being paid as foreman at the Bus Garage. When Charlie found out, he was furious! In time, David began giving Stella a good portion of his pay. Janine stated in her research: “the funds which David brought home allowed for a needed healthy boost in the food budget.” Another job David had for a while during the 1940s was working at the Street Car Barns, doing odd jobs, such as cleaning and sweeping. What he recalled most about this job was the day he got zapped with electricity. The following is a conversation he had with his father Charlie:
David: “I was working in the streetcar barns, up sweeping ceilings. A streetcar came in out of the rain. I jumped across the wet streetcar. I thought I’d fall and therewas only one thing to grab, and it was whatever was going through that wire. I grabbed it and I was standing on a wet streetcar. The overhead trolley wire- that’s 550 volts. I know, I felt it, and I’m still here to tell the tale!”
Charlie: NOW! That’s 550 volts DC! And DC is murder! 500 volts AC will throw you, but 500 volts DC can fry you!
David: After it was over, well, obviously I didn’t get a good ground, otherwise I couldn’t have let go. I’d just have been frozen. You just stand there and fry!”
Artistic Awakenings
As David gained a bit of financial independence, he was able to start purchasing his own records. However, over the years the family gramophone had become inoperable, so David took on the task of fixing it. In David’s words: “My fascination with Thomas Edison and his work on the gramophone helped me on my way. I had read endlessly about the development of the gramophone records and the machines that went with them and so entered into the project like a knowledgeable engineer. I made it work, much to the amazement of my father.”
What recording would David choose for his first purchase? In his words: “I had heard a recording of Till Eulenspiegel (Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks Op. 28) by Richard Strauss on the radio and had made a careful note of the name. I marched to the record store with my careful information. ‘You want what? Who wrote it? Strauss, you say? We will have to look that up in the catalogue.’ It was there, but they had never heard of it. It was not in stock so they would have to order it for me. Fine. I waited with baited breath… Finally, they let me know it had come and I rushed to the shop for my recording. They had listened to it, and they liked it too. Poor Mr. Strauss was played endlessly. My proudest moment was when I could play MY OWN record on the record player I had fixed. Strauss could only be the beginning. I returned to the record store and placed myself at their mercy. I asked them what I should I buy next? After much discussion and thought, I walked out of the shop with a boxed set. It was Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. Most appropriate, they thought, given that I was studying dance, since it is called the dance symphony. The trigger was pulled, and I have never looked back.”
David continued on to say: “The composers rolled before my eyes like an endless reel. I had to hear all of them and as soon as possible. During those years, that was easier said then done, for the critics and public opinion held back what they thought we should NOT hear. The record catalogue was small and limited. The 78 rpm record did not last very long- I did hear though, and my musical knowledge grew.” This was the beginning of a vast record collection over David’s lifetime.
Another cultural highlight during this time was when David, along with other dancers in the company, attended a performance by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo at the Winnipeg Auditorium. In David’s words: “1942 was for most of us in the company a very important year in that the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo performed in Winnipeg. We saw an actual ballet company perform, something which did not happen very often. As a matter of fact, between 1938 and 1946, this was the only ballet company to perform in Winnipeg, apart from our company. One of the dancers was Nicolas Beriosav.” Little did David know he would dance with Nicolas’s daughter, Svetlana Beriosova, five years later when he danced for the Metropolitan Ballet in England. As David would say, “circles within circles.” After the Ballet Russe performance, David went to the stage door, hoping to see some of the dancers as they came out. When the company’s artistic director Leonide Massine appeared, David was awestruck by his presence. This was another example of “circles within circles”, since David would later be involved in Massine’s staging of The Three CorneredHat at Covent Garden while he was studying ballet with the Sadler’s Wells Company in England.
Another one of David’s passions was his love of opera. He remembered when the San Carlo Opera Company visited Winnipeg for five days in January of 1944, in his words, “bringing with them a roster of new music for my ears and eyes. Aida, La Traviata, Faust, Carmen, Pagliacci & Cavalleria Rusticana, La Boheme and Il Trovatore. What a collection for my introduction to opera live. I was supposed to appear with the company as an extra, but someone used my name and got the job before me. I was shattered and had given up seeing them when a member of the company, Mario Valle, offered me the job of selling librettos at each of the performances. I would make five cents for each libretto I sold. I took the job and saw every performance, free of charge. On the Saturday matinee, Mario said that I would have to look after things alone. I agreed. When the curtain arose on Boheme, there was Mario on the stage, singing the role of Marcello. That day I went backstage to give Mario the money and I saw first- hand the life of the travelling opera people. It was my first taste of the touring artist. They were a marvelous, crazy group of people. To this day, I have those librettos in my possession and the memory of those performances lingers on. The San Carlo was my initiation and my love of opera and singing has not faltered. I say now that opera gives me the same feeling I received when dancing on stage.
With the taste of the San Carlo company in me, I turned once more to the radio and the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts. They were a ritual for me. I would guess that I heard the earliest broadcasts from the Met, and so over those years heard some good singers. The repertoire amazed me- of course, I had to read about the composers. What made them write the way they did? When did they live? My library card was very busy.”
Royal Academy of Dance and other Methods of Dance Training
In 1941, David took his grade four Royal Academy of Dance exam. In his words: “We began to study the RAD system, which was being introduced in Canada. It was not really different to what we were already learning, except we were put into different grades. I would learn the various parts of the grade four work and then rehearse them, the same way we rehearsed the ballets.”
The examiner for David’s exam was Adeline Genee. David remembered her as being absolutely delightful. He described her as “this tiny older woman with curly grey hair but with energy plus. As I entered the studio for my exam, she held out her hand to me. What was I to do? Kiss her hand or shake it? I decided to shake it. She smiled throughout the exam. I received a very good mark, which seemed to please everyone.”
David loved to tell the story of how 26 years later (1967), when he was a principal dancer with London’s Festival Ballet in Britain, he was asked to perform at a Gala performance for the opening of the Adeline Genee Theatre in Sussex. At the Gala, David and Galina Samsova performed the Spring Waters pas de deux- a short, spectacular piece with lots of big lifts and throws. It was a Royal affair, so the dancers met Princess Margaret after the show. In David’s words: “She was forced by none other than the great lady herself, Adeline Genee (89 at the time). She was escorted by Anton Dolin. Galina and I were at the front of the lineup, so we were introduced first to the Royals, then to Dolin and Genee. I had known Dolin for years, but I was not sure if Genee would remember me. She did, and even knew that she had examined my RAD exam in Winnipeg in 1941. She was thrilled to meet me again and see me dance. Circles within circles.”
According to David, his early training with the company did not focus entirely on RAD work. Another aspect of the learning was to be familiar with the Ginner Mawer Greek dance vocabulary. This Greek dance form was created in Britain and influenced by Isadora Duncan’s ideals. Gweneth Lloyd used this system for her allegorical ballets. Her students also learned the National Dances of various countries. David described his training as being both classical and contemporary. In his words: “It was a vast sea of ideas and styles. It was truly amazing how much ground we covered.”
David had great admiration for Gweneth Lloyd as a teacher and choreographer. In those early years, she laid the foundation for what would become one of the most innovative and dynamic ballet companies in Canada- also the most travelled and longest running company on the continent. David paid tribute to her invaluable contributions in his reflections on repertoire:
“Within the company we had for the first years only one choreographer- Gweneth Lloyd. She was our teacher, our tour guide through this world of ballet. She created ballets for us according to the abilities of the dancers- at first simple, then more complex as time went on. She and Betty Hay were our only contacts with the ballet community at that time. Gweneth did not have repertoire to draw upon- she had to begin from scratch. Her vocabulary evolved partly from her memory of ballets she had seen in England. In the fourteen years between 1938 and 1952, Gweneth was to create around three dozen ballets, demonstrating an amazing spurt of creativity by anyone’s standards. My personal involvement was with seventeen of these works- from the earliest days with Grain and Kilowatt Magic in 1939 to Romance in 1949. I grew up with the company in years and abilities, until I was dancing leading roles at the end of my time with them. It was my training ground not only as a student of ballet but also as a performer. Our lives consisted of training and learning new ballets hand in hand. As a result, the attitude towards the stage was completely different than it would be with the totally studio-oriented dancer. The repertoire was our training ground as much as the studio. We learned about music, interpretation, make-up and all the laws that go with the theatre. My later theatrical life would have been quite different without the experience Gweneth Lloyd had given me. Most dancers spend years in the studio before they are allowed anywhere near the stage. Mine was almost the reverse. Of course, there were many things to learn when I was eventually with other dance groups, but the training and stage craft that came with those years with the Winnipeg Ballet was so beneficial.”
Little did David and his fellow dancers know that they would be considered pioneers of dance in Canada. In David’s words: “Gweneth Lloyd is owed a very large place in the history of dance on this continent, yet how many in the dance world have heard of her?” The way in which she worked her ballets was, according to David, quite unique in his long experience of working with various choreographers. He described the process as follows:
“Each of her works was written down in long hand with little drawings where appropriate. She arrived in the studio with her book in hand and began teaching us the ballet. Amazingly enough, the number of rewrites was small- she thought out her works very carefully before coming to us. After the event, we were able to borrow the book and learn something about a ballet we had not been involved with. Her descriptions were very clear and easy to follow, given the vocabulary she had taught us.”
The ballets fell into three distinct groups. The first was allegorical (her own description), which included works such as Les Preludes (1941) and The Planets (1943). Her use of the Greek dance form was present in these ballets because it was the best way to communicate her ideas- they were dance descriptions of the music rather than anything narrative. The second group of ballets were classical, such as Divertissements (1940), Ballet Blanc (1942) and Etude (1943), using purely classical ballet technique but no story line. The third group of ballets fell under the category of narrative – a large part of Gweneth Lloyd’s choreography. She created some of her best works using a story line. According to David, she had a marvelous sense of humour, which came across in her comical ballets. She could also be dramatic and, in David’s words, “ultra commercial”.
David was also impressed with Lloyd’s musicality. In his words: “Through this woman, we all gained in our knowledge of music and composers, for the scope was wide.” Most of the ballets were choreographed with the use of the gramophone and performed using mainly 78 rpm records. There had been an orchestra for the company’s 1939 performance, but financial problems would not allow that to happen again for many years. Quoting David: “We are talking the 40s. No tape. We performed a great deal of the time to these very records in the theatre. The expense of the orchestra was too much for this young company to bear. Try to imagine the logistics of using a 78 rpm record in this situation.”
As it turned out, a major incident occurred when the company was on tour in western Canada, in 1945. According to David, a sound system would be set up in the wings of a theatre where the company was performing, including an amplifier, turntable and speakers. Gweneth Lloyd had evolved a system where she had marked the records with poster paint to cue in the next selection. She put the needle on the record herself during each show. On one occasion, someone tripped over the wire running to the sound equipment. The sound came to a halt. Through quick thinking, it was reconnected and the dancers, being very familiar with the music, picked up the choreography when Gweneth put the needle back on the record.”
Unfortunately, there is limited evidence (other than programs and reviews) of the repertoire created during this early period in the company’s history. However, a revival of Gweneth Lloyd’s ballet Shadow on the Prairie (originally performed in 1952), took place as part of the Encore! Encore! dance event in Toronto, in May of 1986. David guided the choreography for this remake, the performance of which was filmed for the records through Dance Collection Danse. There was also a film made of this ballet by the National Film Board of Canada in 1954 but, according to David, it is incomplete.
All of Gweneth Lloyd’s books, containing the choreographic notes for all of her ballets, were burned in Winnipeg’s worst fire of 1954. In Max Wyman’s words (The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, page 92), “Five major downtown business buildings went up in smoke and more than 100 businesses were either destroyed or damaged. One of them contained the headquarters and studios of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet (as it was called in later years). Everything was lost- costumes, sets, original musical scores, the notebooks containing the details of Gweneth’s original choreography- everything.” However, this important time in the history of Canadian dance lives on through the memories of the dancers, those who saw the performances and the valuable archives donated since the fire.
Leaving School
At age 14, David decided not to continue on with high school. When I asked him why he made this decision, he explained that the law said he could leave school at that age, so he did. Not everyone was pleased about this, especially his school teachers, many of whom were impressed with his academic abilities. David mentioned in his writings that, as early as 1940, he had decided dance would be his chosen profession. For the most part, his family supported this move. They realized David had been very successful in developing his talent as a performing dancer and that he had a strong desire to make this a career.
Moving Upwards and Onwards- First Canadian Tours
According to Max Wyman, 1943 was a pivotal year for the company. In May of that year, the ninth major production was presented at the Playhouse Theatre. From that point on, the company was no longer referred to as The Winnipeg Ballet Club, but rather The Winnipeg Ballet. In the fall performance of 1943, the new ballet Ziguener was featured, choreographed by Paddy Stone. His choreographic debut was a story-ballet about gypsies, set to the music of Zoltan Kodaly. According to David, this was the first work choreographed by anyone other than Gweneth.
Some other new works that fall were Gweneth’s comedy ballet An American in Paris (with a striking arial view of Parisas the backdrop, designed by John Russell) and The Planets (a semi-mystical piece set to music from Gustav Holst’s orchestral suite). In David’s words: “I remember vividly all of us sitting on the floor in a circle beating out the 5/4 rhythm of the Mars section of the music.”
Towards the end of 1944, around the time David turned 16, he remembered “there was talk of going on tour, which excited all of us. We were now known as the Winnipeg Ballet officially- no more Club.” Quoting Max Wyman from The Royal Winnipeg Ballet (page 47):
“Late in 1944, after a year of consolidation and retrenchment, the company announced its first ‘tour’- two performances at the Ottawa Technical School auditorium in February, 1945, as part of a ‘celebrity series’ sponsored by the Civil Servants’ Recreational Association. This was a significant move. No western ballet company had ever ventured east before (there had never been a western ballet company to try). The capital loved them…both performances were sold out- itself a novel experience for the series presenters. In the audience were capital-city notables of the usual sort- foreign ambassadors, the nation’s chief justice, highly positioned civil servants- and everyone gushed.”
In my interview with Joan Chasney, former dancer with the company, she mentioned going to Ottawa on their first tour with some of their mothers in tow. Quoting David: “February 1945 saw our dream come true. We went by train to Ottawa to do two performances. We stayed at the Chateau Laurier and were treated, or so it seemed, like Royalty. For many, it was the first time away from Winnipeg, first time on a long train journey, sleeping on a train, and the first time in a hotel. We knew how the audience in Winnipeg would respond to our dancing, but to have the same thing happen in Ottawa meant we were getting somewhere.”
It was indeed an exciting adventure for the young company. Quoting an article from the Winnipeg Free Press (Feb. 21, 1945) by W.D. Gladstone, headlined Ottawa Thrills Winnipeg Dancers: “Excited, eager and still rather amazed, members of the Winnipeg Ballet arrived in Ottawa Tuesday, for performances in the Ottawa technical school auditorium…most of the young dancers did not sleep well on the train. The thrill of this momentous adventure was too much for them…thanks to the loyal support of Winnipeggers at the ballet shows last month, the group of 30 were able to have a private sleeping car, a baggage car for all the settings and costumes and hotel accommodation at the Chateau Laurier. ‘Oh look, boys and girls, there’s the parliament buildings!” said Betty Hey-Farrally, ballet mistress and dancer, as she led the company into the hotel, following a good snowball fight…it was their sheer determination as troupers that kept the young dancers up on their feet from 8 pm till 1:30 am at the dress rehearsal, for the hectic past three days had been hard on them.”
The Ottawa response exceeded their expectations and the reviews for both performances were great, affirming the company’s viability beyond the home turf. Headlines such as Winnipeg Ballet Scores in East and Winnipeg Ballet Breaks Box Office Records in Ottawa became a source of pride not only for the company but also for Winnipeggers who read the news of the company’s success in the east. The opening remarks from the second of these articles stated the following: “Out of the west rode the Winnipeg Ballet to lasso the hearts of Ottawa balletomanes and public at large, as history was made on two counts…for not only is this the first time a ballet company has come from western Canada to perform in the east, but also, the first time the Civil Service Recreational Association has had a sell-out for all or any of its sponsored shows or concerts- it took ballet and a group of young, fresh and inspiring dancers from Winnipeg to break all box office records.”.
Boris Volkoff, director of the Volkoff Canadian Ballet in Toronto during that time, attended the performances. He was impressed with the calibre of the Winnipeg Ballet and made the following comments after one of the shows: “Winnipeg can be proud of its talent. Please tell your city to support this worthy group- they deserve it. The more appearances before the public, the more experience they gain, and that is what they still lack.” According to one of the reviews, Volkoff believed that “some day Winnipeg’s name would spread far as a result of the ballet’s reputation. He also urged that the company be given every opportunity to perform in the various cities in Canada, which would indirectly bring this fame to Winnipeg as well as spread the art of ballet.”
Another article from the Winnipeg Free Press (Feb. 23, 1945), headlined Winnipeg Ballet Plays Again to Capacity Ottawa Audience, stated: “For the second and final performance, the Winnipeg Ballet received an enthusiastic reception from a capacity audience, Thursday evening, as they performed Finishing School, Les Preludes and An American in Paris. Local newspapers lauded the company for its varied, concise, colorful and smartly paced programmes on both nights. Isabel C. Armstrong, of the Ottawa Citizen, wrote: ‘Something beautiful, sincere and genuinely artistic has come out of the west to delight lovers of the aesthetic in the capital city.’ An editorial from the same paper said that Ottawa’s appreciation of the Winnipeg Ballet can be taken as both informed and sincere: ‘Perhaps this visit can be taken as a good omen for the future, when Canada shall receive encouragement in the arts as a national policy stemming from the dominion government’, added the editorial.”
Gweneth Lloyd also had hopes for the development of a national ballet company in Canada. After the eastern tour, she was interviewed by Lillian Gibbons in Winnipeg and said: “The trip was good publicity for the corps de ballet. Ottawa didn’t expect anything very fine to come out of Winnipeg. It saw and applauded. Now the company’s all unsettled, wanting to go careering off again, of course. And we have plans for the West. But taking 27 dancers- 30 people in all- on a trip costs money. The Ottawa jaunt cost $3,600. The fee was only $1,200. We raised the other $2,400 at two benefits for ourselves, old ballets repeated, before we left. But that can’t go on: Winnipeg has a right to see new ballets, and a new ballet costs about $2,200. Private enterprise on that scale is an awful headache.” Gweneth’s answer to this challenge was state support. She wanted to see in Canada a national ballet. This would come about six years later in 1951, although not in the way she had envisioned.
Encouraged by the success of the Ottawa tour, the company headed west to Regina, Saskatoon and Edmonton in November of 1945. They would travel a total of 10,000 miles by the time they had completed both the eastern and western Canadian tours. David reflected on the importance of these early tours for the development of the company: “A lot of publicity for this young and unknown company. It set the stage for the future- the foundation for the company that still exists. The dancers who took part in these tours were ‘green’ to this side of life in a ballet company.” When I interviewed Viola Busday, a former dancer with the Winnipeg Ballet, she remembered that many people in the audiences on this tour had never seen ballet. Clearly, then, it must have been a new experience not only for the dancers, but also for a large number of Canadians who attended their first ballet show. By this time, David had become an acclaimed dancer within the company, as indicated by the program notes from a 1945 program.
Once again, the company travelled by train. David has a few memories of this western journey: “Sleeping at the beginning of such tours was impossible, until you allowed the rhythm and the noise of the train to lull you into sleep. The coaches were usually too hot, but even that became acceptable. Being able to walk the length of the train did help on those long journeys. The dining car was a place to be remembered: white linen tablecloths, real silver cutlery and the food. The famous breakfast was smoked goldeye, from Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba.”
According to David, the stages they performed on were adequate for the company’s needs, the audience responses were always good, and the press was glowing. When the company was in Saskatoon, an event stood out in David’s mind- one that left a lasting impression on him: “We were invited to watch some films of Russian Ballet. We all jumped at this opportunity. A dingy hall was the site, with a lot of people other than ourselves. The films left me spellbound. We saw a young Ulanova doing a pas de deux from the second act of Swan Lake. These films were taken in the late 30s. She was in a league I had not as yet witnessed. There was a film of Taras Bulba with Russian dance like I had never imagined possible. Coal miners from the backwoods of Russia, doing things that made all of the male dancers watching jealous. The film that can still give me goose bumps today, when I picture it- so strong, so masculine, so musical. The films ended and I, for one, was breathless. Then a strange thing happened. A man, looking all the world like Lenin, went to the front of the hall and began speaking. We then became aware of the main drive to this meeting. This was a branch of the Communist Party and we were going to be given a lecture on the party policy. Gweneth Lloyd quickly stood up, announced that the dancers had a very busy schedule and would not be able to stay any longer. She thanked them for the films, and we left.” One must be mindful of the fact that all of this took place in November, 1945, at the end of World War 2.
In Edmonton, the company performed at the Empire Theatre, from the same era as the Walker Theatre in Winnipeg. According to David, they were both well equipped theatres and the centre of theatrical life in both cities. Like the Walker, the Empire was eventually torn down and not really replaced. In 1957, the Jubilee Auditoriums were built in Calgary and Edmonton. They were not a replacement for theatres like the Empire- rather, they were multi-purpose buildings, containing concert halls and theatres as part of the overall space.
In Edmonton, the programmes for the three performances that took place on November 30th and December 1st, 1945 included the following works: Etude, Kaleidoscope, Les Preludes, An American in Paris, Les Coryphees, The Planets and Finishing School. There were backdrops for each ballet. Stagehands from Winnipeg came with the company to do the set-up and lighting, with the help of some of the dancers, including David: “At the ripe old age of 17, David helped with the set-up and lighting for the shows, as well as dancing. This was my initiation into this side of theatre-something I would use again later in my career.” The audience was pleased and the reviews were good, not only in Edmonton, but throughout both the eastern and western tours.
In David’s words, “Edmonton was buzzing with the news about the Alaska Highway being built. It was the construction event of the century, according to some of the locals.” The company stayed at the MacDonald Hotel, one of the grand tour hotels in Western Canada. David had been told about the hotel by his uncle Dr. Alan Mozley, who had stayed there on his travels throughout Canada and had mentioned the food was very good. After investigating, David discovered the “specialite de la maison” was Baked Alaskan- named, he gathered, in celebration of the new highway. He described his culinary experience in the following manner: “I arrived in the dining room before the rest of the company, made my inquiry, and ordered. After my first course, the Baked Alaskan arrived- cake and ice cream covered with a mountain of beaten egg whites, browned. It was hot on the outside and cold on the inside- filling, and delicious. Other members of the company saw the dessert, asked what it was and if they could have one. ‘No!’ came the response from the waiter. The oven used to bake it was turned off. They could only make so many in an evening.”
In addition to the performance at the Empire Theatre, the company also danced at the American Red Cross Club House. David described this space as “a sort of canteen for the American troops still stationed in Edmonton. After the show, we met a real live movie star, Lon McCallister, whom we had all seen in a movie called Stage Door Canteen. He came to our table, signed autographs and had pictures taken of the event, which he signed. That picture is still in my memorabilia.” The writing, seen faintly on the photo below (right) says “Dave: a fan! Lon McCallister”.
During the Winnipeg season of 1945, one of the new works “officially unveiled”, according to Max Wyman, was “the controversial Dionysos, Gweneth’s idea of a bacchanalian orgy. Maenads and satyrs danced with thyrsus, the symbol of fertility, and Robert Bruce’s backdrop was dominated by a giant nude female form.” (The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, page 52). David described the ballet Dionysos as “the work that shocked the ladies of the ballet guild to the point where some of them walked out of the theatre. It was the backdrop by Robert Bruce- a naked lady lying on her side across the back of the stage, the most important aspects facing the audience. Funny, we did not even think about it, we just accepted it.”
In January of 1946, Paddy Stone, who was the lead male dancer for the company during that early period, went to New York. While he was there, he danced in the Broadway production of Annie Get Your Gun and was eventually offered an extended contract with the Sadler’s Wells Ballet Theatre in London, England. Quoting Frank Morriss, a reporter from the Winnipeg Free Press at the time: “David Adams is taking a number of Paddy’s roles, in Façade (Popular Song solo), Finishing School (the Dancing Master), Kaleidoscope (Mazurka and Slavonic dances)and The Planets (The Will to Survive).”
At the age of 17, David danced several lead roles for the company during the first half of 1946. Added to the list above were the ballets Etude, where he partnered Lillian Lewis, and Backstage 1897, in which he danced the role of the Male Dancer. David received some good reviews for his performances, notably in the ballet Kaleidoscope– a divertissementof national dances arranged for ballet, choreographed by Gweneth Lloyd. Quoting and article from the Winnipeg Tribune: “The finale in Kaleidoscope was again highly diverting with David Adams, Eileen Hyman and Lillian Lewis, chief stars of the ballet.” David also danced the Slavonic Dance from this ballet with Eileen Hyman and the Mazurka with Joan Stirling. The photo to the right was taken back-stage, after one of the performances.
The Turning Point
At some point during the Winnipeg Ballet’s extensive Canadian tour of 1945 and the weeks following, David began to think about what direction he should take to pursue his career in dance. In his words, “There was much discussion as to what was next on my agenda. Do I stay in Winnipeg, or do I go further afield? First England and then the Sadler’s Wells Ballet was talked about. My parents seemed to be in accord with such a move. My progress within the Winnipeg Ballet had been good. It looked as though there could be a future in this crazy profession, but there was only one way to find out- to test myself against bigger situations. Gweneth Lloyd made contact with Ninette de Valois, director of the Sadler’s Wells Ballet, stating my background and the history to date of the Winnipeg Ballet.”
In the months following the end of World War Two, the Sadler’s Wells company was, in David’s words, “hungry for boys. The war had claimed most of their male dancers and conscription would last for some years.” In April of 1946, David received a letter of acceptance from the Sadler’s Wells Ballet School, stating that he had received a scholarship. He would receive free tuition at the school for one year or longer. Not only that, the Sadler’s Wells Ballet company would have the option of employing him as a dancer while he was studying at the school. David was thrilled to receive this exciting news! He would be heading for England the following September, arriving in time to start the autumn term. David described his thoughts about this important opportunity: “I would take my chances with the competitive world of British Ballet. The logistics would prove to be a little more complicated than first realized, but those would be overcome. Was this the time to move away when things were beginning to happen? Yes! Eight years with only a few outside influences was the cue for the move. I had much to see and learn- and it was not going to happen on this side of the water.”
In May of 1946, David completed two more exams with the Royal Academy of Dancing. This time, the examiner was Phyllis Bedells. David described her as “a very soft spoken, very English woman. She arrived in Winnipeg on May 16, 1946, in time to see some performances by the Winnipeg Ballet before beginning the examinations. I managed an honours mark for the Elementary exam and a fairly good mark for the Intermediate exam. We all adored Miss Bedells.”
During the next few months, there would be continued work with the company, plenty of preparations for the upcoming journey to England, and an adventurous summer road trip with the family.
Family Trip to Washington State
David’s daughter Janine wrote about the family’s first trip to Seattleand Archer Mountain (located near the Columbia River Gorge in southern Washington) in the summer of 1946. There were seven people that went on this journey- Charlie and Stella, the four Adams children, and Madge Brown, a Lightbearer and friend of the family Everyone fit into Charlie’s 1937 Hudson, along with their luggage. David recalled this memorable trip: “It was a big car! There was no trans Canada highway in those days, so we had to travel through the United States. One can imagine in hindsight just how crazy it was. I do not remember how long it took, but it was several days, through prairie country, then mountain country. The Hudson did very well until we got to the mountains- then it did groan a few times. There was one climb where the passengers had to get out and walk up the incline. The Hudson said-‘No!’ The motels along the way gave much to be desired, but each day was a day closer.”
The family’s first destination was Seattle, where they went to Svetozar’s mansion- the residence of the Science of Being founder. In David’s words, “After some social time, we were scheduled to travel south to a place called Archer Mountain…The journey was magnificent. It followed the Columbia River. At last, we had arrived. Archer mountain was flat on top, as were the other mountains in that range. It was like a series of open top drawers along the eastern edge of the river. A sign led us to Margaret Long Camp. The house where we were to stay was rustic, to say the least.”
David loved the marvelous smell of mountains and trees. After everyone was unpacked and settled in for the night, he was unable to sleep, so he ventured outside. After his eyes adjusted to the pitch black, he could see his surroundings quite clearly. He described what happened after that: “I went to the gate that we had very carefully closed on our arrival. Climbing up to the top of the gate, I looked down the road that led away from the house. My eyes dropped, then stopped- there, standing on the other side of the gate, was a cougar at least eight feet long, looking back at me. Do cougars attack humans? Not that I know of, unless they are hungry. Cougar just stood there looking me in the eye. After what seemed like a very long time, the head went down and the cougar turned and walked down the road away from me. A shiver went down my spine- not out of fear, but rather, excitement.”
The following morning, David, his sister Joy and David Kay (a friend who was staying at the cabin) decided they would climb Archer mountain. The three of them headed out with a piece of rope and an axe- two well needed objects, as it turned out. In David’s words: “We could see the top of the mountain, but in this terrain, distance is deceptive. No one looked at the time. We just climbed. Finally, we reached the stage where we had to use the rope to assist us upwards. Being the youngest, I was sent on ahead, then told to drop the rope so the others could pull themselves up. Holding the rope was alright until the steepness of the climb could only be assisted by tying the rope to trees. Soon we were on the flat. We had conquered Archer Mountain! There was a meadow on the top, so walking was easy. A cougar bone yard was on our path- deer and smaller animals, all cleaned to the bone. I picked up a magnificent set of deer antlers, about two feet across. Time was not important up to this point- just the view. The early stages of evening were upon us. ‘Can we get down before dark? NO…’ We chose a nice flat place and began using our axe to cut fir boughs to sleep on… The bed was finished in the dark. We huddled together to keep warm and tried to sleep. Without being conscious of actually sleeping, we had, and greeted the sun. Looking around our location, we saw that we were lying on a cougar path. A cougar had probably walked over or past us during the night.”
The trek down the mountain proved to be even more challenging. The area was not sign posted, so David tried to find an opening where they could make their way down. However, the way he went quickly turned into a slide: “Ahead I could see the edge, and a drop of a thousand feet. My trusty antlers were at hand. I plunged them into the ground and managed to stop my drop. There I lay, hanging on to the antlers, knowing that if I moved too much I was going over and down. The other two had not seen me go lower on the mountain. I began to shout for help. After an eternity, I heard them, then saw them. ‘Be careful. It is treacherous down here.’ First, they had to find a way down close to me that was not going to slide. Then a place to tie the rope on to. With much difficulty, the task was achieved. I was pulled up and we proceeded along the mountain to where we could see the path we had taken up initially. Going down was easier and soon we were at the road we had followed to take us to the base of the mountain. There we met our host. ‘We thought you were lost. People are going to come out and search for you. We must get back and tell them you are alright.’ Back at the house, the story was told to the shaken family.”
David must have felt lucky to be alive after this dangerous adventure. Having survived this, he could surely handle a trip across the ocean to live and dance in England for a couple of years. Mixed with the excitement of this new opportunity was a bit of anxiety about how it would all happen: “Back in Winnipeg, I knew there were many things to attend to. I had not had a ballet class for a long time. That was necessary. Then, of course, there was the trip to Britain. I was just beginning to take in the fact that I was going to leave Winnipeg for an adventure that was as yet an unknown. Tickets for the train, tickets for the ocean voyage. Because I was considered under age, permission from my parents to allow me to travel alone, and, of course, the passport. The passport photo has me with wavy hair (same photo as the one from the programme notes of 1945, shown earlier). This was due to the fact that the last performances I did with the company that year made it necessary to have my hair showing. I guess I usually wore head gear. They did not like my hair very much, so it was suggested that I have my hair curled- a procedure called a cold wave. I hated it, but it was better for the stage. I arrived in Britain with that hair. It soon left me.”
David’s mother Stella felt it was her duty to ensure that her son present himself with the right kind of image while he was in England. With that goal in mind, certain items were purchased to enhance David’s modest wardrobe: “The Western tour had fitted me with a new grey flannel suit and a fedora, but Stella was determined that I would be properly dressed. This was the first time in my life that clothes became an important item. I was presented with the ubiquitous cream-colored gloves and instructed as to when and where to wear them. ‘Always protect your hands- they are important.’ Stella and Charlie could ill afford extras for any of us, but they managed to scrape together my fare and the wardrobe for my journey. Their SON was going to England, that was what mattered. ‘You must learn to be polite- always say please and thank you.’ Didn’t I know that already? ‘No, not always, so remember, the English are very polite.’ Do some exercises on board ship so that you will be in good condition when you arrive, Stella advised me.”
Before leaving for England, David had to attend to some personal business: “I had secretly been madly in love with Viola Busday for a long time. I had never asked her out for a date or even hinted that there was any feeling towards her. I had to try to say something. Day after day before my departure I tried to get my courage up to the point where I could say something to her. Finally, in a bungling moment, just before she got on a street car to go home, I blurted out, ‘can I write to you from London?’ She responded, ‘yes David, of course you can.’ I walked home on air, as if I had told her my innermost feelings. I never did tell her, even though for years after I danced with her so many times. Was I shy and green or, as we used to say, wet behind the ears? Yes! Times would change…but at this moment in my life I was a very young thing.”
At last, it was the big day of David’s departure. He described his experience as follows: “The day finally arrived and from 197 Birchdale Avenue we made our way to the railway station. It was emotional but, on my part, with a kind of distance that had been a part of my life for many years. I had no tears, only anticipation. My family remained as the train pulled out of the station, waving. I had boarded and taken the luggage on board. I stood at the door, then went to my seat to wave at the window. A combination of things crossed my mind. I am leaving. I am going far away. I am free. I am on my own. Five minutes to suddenly learn to face the world that was ahead of me. No fear, just the feeling of adventure.”
David traveled first to Montreal and then on to Halifax on September 23, 1946. He would board the passenger ship Aquitania (the Cunard Line) on September 26, heading across the ocean to England.
