Ingram Collection

The Ingram Collection consists of 960 photographs of productions, dancers and others associated with ballet companies, about 650 programs, cast lists, souvenir booklets, invitations and ephemera, plus personal papers of Geoffrey Ingram and Edouard and Xenia Borovansky.

Performing arts

Key items in the collection

Highlights from this collection demonstrate its historical significance and variety.

The manuscripts in the Geoffrey Ingram Collection primarily document the lives and work of Edouard and Xenia Borovansky, spanning 1918—Xenia Smirnoff’s birth in Russia—to around 1980. They include:

Personal documents and letters
Diaries and notebooks
Photographs
Music scores
Contracts and financial papers
Newspaper cuttings and programs
Files on the Borovansky Ballet Academy, the Australian Academy of Dancing, and the Australian Ballet

Correspondents include:

Peggy Van Praagh
Elaine Fifield
Tamara Tchinarova
Leon Kelleway
Laurel Martyn
Frederick Ashton
Margot Fonteyn
Frank Tait.

The collection also contains some papers of Lisbeth Montgomerie, including a scrapbook, photographs, programs, and a cutting book documenting the Ballet Rambert’s visit to Australia in 1947–48.

The collection contains paintings, drawings and sketches by Edouard Borovansky. They comprise of:

an oil self-portrait (1948)
oil portraits of Xenia Borovansky and Edna Busse
drawings of Serge Grigorieff
Paul Petroff
Mi Ladre
David Lichina
Irena Baranova
47 sketch drawings.

There are also some original costume designs.

Apart from photographs filed with manuscripts, the collection contains about 960 photographs of productions and of dancers, producers and other individuals associated with ballet companies. They are kept in albums and arranged in six series:

Edouard Borovansky
Anna Pavlova
Ballets Russes, 1936–40
Borovansky Ballet
Ballet Rambert tour of Australia, 1947–48
Australian Ballet
Geoffrey Ingram

There are also family photographs.

The printed component of the Geoffrey Ingram Collection consists of:

about 650 programs
cast lists
souvenir booklets
issues of periodicals
handbills
invitations
ephemera.

The bulk of the programs are of productions of the Borovansky Ballet (1941–57) and there are also programs of the De Basil Company, the Kirsova Company and the Australian Ballet.

Personal papers of Geoffrey Ingram include:

documents
correspondence
contracts
appointment diaries
notebooks
drafts of articles
papers on the formation and early years of the Australian Ballet
papers on the challenge to the SALT II Treaty
writings on world peace
the Mabo Case and other political subjects
newspaper cuttings and printed material.

Correspondents include:

Sir Robert Helpmann
Peggy Van Praagh
Will Thompson
Leo McKern
Sir Geoffrey Keynes
Bishop Oliver Hayward.

About Geoffrey Ingram

Geoffrey Ingram (1924–2003) was born in Melbourne and educated at Middle Park Central School and Melbourne High School. He was a juvenile actor, appearing in plays and serials on commercial and national radio. He studied ballet with Xenia Borovansky and Eunice Weston, and later trained in London and Paris. On his return to Australia, he joined the Borovansky Company and later danced with Laurel Martyn’s Melbourne Ballet Company.

Contribution to the Australian Ballet

In 1958, Ingram collaborated with Margaret Scott to form a committee promoting a non-commercial national ballet company. He participated in meetings between the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust and J.C. Williamson that led to the establishment of the Australian Ballet Foundation. He subsequently advised the Foundation on trips to Paris, Moscow, and Leningrad, and worked with Peggy Van Praagh in London. Ingram launched the education and promotion programs of the Australian Ballet for its inaugural season in 1962, served as administrator from 1963 to 1965, and organised its first overseas tour featuring guest artists Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev.

Later activities

Ingram later moved into film production and owned a restaurant. He was actively involved in public affairs, including a 1969 High Court action challenging the legality of the SALT II Treaty. In his later years, he became involved in the National Dance Research Centre.

Archival work

In 1985, Ingram inherited the personal archives of Russian-born dancer and teacher Xenia Borovansky (1903–1985) and her husband, dancer and ballet director Edouard Borovansky (1902–1959). He also obtained materials from other sources, notably Lisbeth Montgomerie, who had been secretary to the Borovanskys.

Background to the collection

The original Geoffrey Ingram Collection was purchased from Ingram in 1987. Additional manuscripts and personal papers were bought in 1994. In 2003, shortly before his death, Ingram sold his remaining papers to the Library.

The manuscripts and personal papers are kept together in the Manuscripts collection. Use the finding aid.

The paintings, drawings and figure studies are held in the Pictures collection.

The photographs are also held in the Pictures Collection. A 16-page finding aid is also available.

The programs and other printed ephemera in the original Geoffrey Ingram Collection are housed in the Australian performing arts collection (PROMPT).

This guide was prepared using these references:

Obituary of Geoffrey Ingram, Herald Sun, 4 July 2003, p. 96.
Michelle Potter, Oral history interview with Geoffrey Ingram, 1988, ORAL TRC 2372.
Michelle Potter, The Geoffrey Ingram Archive of Australian Ballet, National Library of Australia News, vol. 3 (12), September 1993, pp. 11–13.
Frank Salter, Borovansky, The Man Who Made Australian Ballet, Wildcat Press, Sydney, 1980.