Vivien Talleur
(b.**/**/**** - d. **/**/****). British-born dancer and choreographer. Before she came to South Africa, probably in 1917, Vivien Talleur (also Vivienne Tailleur) had performed with George Edwardes' theatrical company in such shows as The Merveilleuses and The Merry Widow and had also toured with Diaghilev. By 1914 she was in Australia and became well known for demonstrating the then somewhat risqué tango, as well as other new dances, such as the turkey trot. She and Fred Reade performed at the popular Tivoli Theatre Tango Teas and their demonstrations were usally followed by young women modelling new evening gowns and lingerie. In South Africa she was employed by the African Theatres Trust and was not only in charge of the corps de ballet, but staged many of the musical numbers for their revues. She frequently performed in these shows, including Let's Go and The Pink Lady, and apparently opened a studio of her own, first in a tearoom attached to His Majesty’s Theatre, but later in the ballroom of the Carlton Hotel. She also organised an annual Christmas pantomine. For African Film Productions she seems to have appeared in the film Bond and Word (Dick Cruikshanks/1918) in an unidentified role, as well as in H. Lisle Lucoque’s version of King Solomon’s Mines (1918), in which she played the witch, Gagool. In July 1922, Variety reported that after six years in South Africa, she was leaving for England. She was married to the baritone William Talleur Andrews, who often appeared in the same shows as she did – at least in Great Britain and Australia. She presumably took his second name as her stage name. (FO)
Sources
The Advertiser, Adelaide, 3 March 1914
The Daily News, Perth, 17 April 1914
Variety, 14 July 1922
Dommisse, Hermien - Long journey of the heart: a memoir
Grut, Marina - The history of ballet in South Africa
Le Roux, André I. & Fourie, Lilla – Filmverlede: geskiedenis van die Suid-Afrikaanse speelfilm
Racster, Olga - Curtain up!
http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/sta/search/detailp.cfm?NID=60691&EID=21795&DID=&AID=
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