It’s often difficult to distinguish between amateur dancers, semi-professionals and professionals. This is especially true when it comes to older photographs and RPPCs where you might be looking at a troupe who had a long career in music hall or variety or might have been together for only one specific gig.
In this post I have only included dancers who are clearly professionals and by and large this means dancers from the twentieth century. The photo at the head of this post names the dancers as L to R Margaret Faber, Bobbie Selinger, Sue Faber, Doris Jeaume, Madge Rose, Annabelle Faber. Photo by Maurice Seymour of Chicago.
I have several photographs of the “Opal Girls.” I’ve not been able to trace much about them. Despite the indication of Italian and Belgium photographers there was a printed sheet giving a Ruislip England address which indicates the troupe performs in “Acts and ballets, cabaret and theatre, films and TV, American choreography complete reviews produced and All branches of entertainment.” So a versatile troupe then!
I have a folder of the “The Fabulous Joy Healey Dancers” which I assume belonged to one of the dancers. The cover, shown above, makes extravagant claims about their many appearances.
The George Carden Dancers. Stamped on reverse of this photo is: “Copyright Photograph by Associated Television (ATV) (Reproduction for editorial purposes if credit given).”
This troupe appeared in many British TV programmes of the 1950s and 1960s including the Royal Variety Performance.”
I don’t know anything about the Sally Wickham Dancers. shown above.
Dancer and/or showgirl? A page from the Souvenir Programme for Folies-Bergere at the Prince of Wales Theatre London. The show began its run in 1955. (The Folies first ran in London in 1949).
No information on this troupe of dancers except a photo credit to R Foucher-Creteau of Paris.
Of course the most famous name given to dance troupes is “The Tiller Girls” of whom I have previously written. There are also the Windmill Theatre Dancers who I will write about in another post. There are also many many ballerinas, some famous, some not, who I will also discuss elsewhere.
