Audrey Hepburn A-Z: B is for...
B is for...Ballet!
Before she ever had dreams of being in the movies, Audrey Hepburn longed to be a prima ballerina. While she studied ballet in her childhood, one major event would derail her planned career goals: the Second World War.
Audrey, who was living in the Netherlands at the time, spent her formative years under Nazi Occupation, fighting with the Dutch Resistance to support the Allies and defeat Hitler. As a young teen, her skillset was limited, but she took to passing notes however she could get them; and she also raised money for the Resistance by putting on dance recitals that she choreographed and staged herself.
"[T]here is probably nothing in the world as determined as a child with a dream, and I wanted to dance more than I feared the Germans," Audrey would later say.
Since the performances had to take place behind blackout curtains and only scarce lighting, hardly anyone outside of the invited guests knew what was taking place at whichever house she'd perform at. Her friend would play the piano for Audrey while she danced (on shoes made of felt, since she couldn't get real ballet slippers) and her mother sewed the costumes. And not even a whiff of applause met Audrey at the end of each performance: they couldn't risk being overheard.
Alas, the years spent under Nazi Occupation were detrimental to Audrey's ballet career once the war was over.
Years of poor nutrition and stress had caused her serious metabolism issues and even led to edema, asthma, anemia, and jaundice, among other afflictions. Audrey, who'd had to eat tulip bulbs and bake bread from grass, or even just drank and drank and drank water to trick herself into thinking she was full, was seriously ill when the Allies liberated the Netherlands. She could barely stand on her own, she was so weak and afflicted with ailments, that she struggled with the effects of war for the rest of her life.
In 1948, Audrey and Ella left the Netherlands behind and headed to London for a new life: one that included studying under the prestigious Marie Rambert, which Audrey would do under a scholarship. But once Audrey started attending classes and rehearsed with girls who hadn't had to stop their training, it was clear to Rambert that Audrey unfortunately, would never be a great ballerina with her skill level or her height. At best, she'd dance in the corps or teach it herself.
In an interview, Audrey once said, "My technique didn't compare with that of the girls who had had five years of Sadler's Wells teaching, paid for by their families, and who always had good food and bomb shelters. Reason made me see that I just couldn't be so square as to go on studying ballet."
Audrey's focus then shifted towards the theatre, and the rest is history. Though she was never a prima ballerina, she continued to indulge her love of dance into several movies: Secret People, in her pre-Hollywood stardom days, showcases her ballet skills; while Funny Face and My Fair Lady were her only true musicals, with many dance sequences, once she'd become a true star.
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Did you ever take dance lessons when you were younger? I used to figure skate, and once I went to university, joined the dance club where we'd learn all kinds of styles.
Come back soon for the letter C!
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