theatrical

Vassily Grigorievich Voskresensky (16 September 1888 – 27 July 1951), usually referred to as Colonel Wassily de Basil, was a Russian ballet impresario. By 1923 Wassily was doing well enough to hire Olga Smimova and Nikolay Tripolitov as his principal dancers on small tours in France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. It was at this point he adopted a "stage name" Wassily de Basil (essentially Basil de Basil) in 1923 and gave the name of his troupe as Ballet Russe directed by W. de Basil.[3] Around 1925, de Basil partnered with Alexey Tsereteli (also Zereteli) and Ignaty Zon to form the artist's agency called Zerbason.[4] In 1929–1930 de Basil's ballet troupe acted together with Tsereteli's opera troupe.[5] De Basil, Tseretelli, and Michel Kachouk, the manager of Feodor Chaliapin, became directors of the Opéra Russe à Paris, a company originally formed by soprano Maria Kousnetsova (also Maria Kuznetsova).[4] De Basil and René Blum, ballet director at the Monte Carlo Opera, along with financier Serge Denham, founded the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo in 1931.[6] The ballet gave its first performance in Monte Carlo on January 11, 1932- the national holiday of Monte Carlo. Blum and de Basil did not agree artistically, leading to a 1934 split,[7] after which de Basil formed an arrangement with financier Sol Hurok.[7] Col. de Basil initially renamed the company Ballets Russes de Colonel W. de Basil. De Basil brought the Original Ballet Russe on a tour of Australia in 1939–1940,[6] traveling there aboard the P&O ocean liner RMS Maloja in September 1938. He had earlier organized tours to Australia in 1936–1937 and 1938–1939, although he did not travel with the company. During his visit to Australia, de Basil commissioned work from Australians, especially from designers, who included Sidney Nolan and Kathleen, and Florence Martin. He also instigated a design competition for an original Australian ballet, which was won by Donald Friend with designs for a ballet based on a fictitious event in the life of Ned Kelly. Source; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassily_de_Basil

The Geisha, a story of a tea house is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts. The score was composed by Sidney Jones to a libretto by Owen Hall, with lyrics by Harry Greenbank. Additional songs were written by Lionel Monckton and James Philp. The Geisha opened in 1896 at Daly's Theatre in London's West End, produced by George Edwardes. The original production had the second-longest run of any musical up to that time. The cast starred Marie Tempest and C. Hayden Coffin, with dancer Letty Lind and comic Huntley Wright. The show was an immediate success abroad, with an 1896 production in New York and numerous tours and productions in Europe and beyond. It continued to be popular until World War II and even beyond to some degree. The most famous song from the show is "The Amorous Goldfish".[1] Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Geisha

In 1875, six years before women were admitted to universities in Australia, Brisbane Girls Grammar School opened—initially as a branch of Brisbane Grammar School—to provide girls the same educational opportunities as their brothers. Miss Sophia Beanland was appointed Lady Principal in 1882, having been recruited from Bradford Girls Grammar School in the UK. During her time as Lady Principal, Miss Beanland witnessed and championed significant changes, including the separation from Brisbane Grammar School in 1882. This was followed by the relocation of the School in 1884 to its current premises on Gregory Terrace. Miss Beanland was convinced that girls should receive a holistic, rather than a narrow, education. To this end, a number of subjects were added to an already extensive curriculum. Source: www.bggs.qld.edu.au/about-brisbane-girls-grammar/our-hist...