Jeanette Rutherston

Jeanette Rutherston (1902–1988), later Jeanette Powell, was a British dancer and television critic. She was a writer and assistant editor on the Dancing Times magazine in the 1930s.

Jeanette Rutherston
Born1902
Bradford, Yorkshire
NationalityBritish
Other namesJeanette Powell (after marriage)
Occupation(s)Dancer, writer, editor television critic
RelativesWilliam Rothenstein (uncle)

Albert Rutherston (uncle)
Michael Rothenstein (cousin)

John Rothenstein (cousin)

Early life

Jeanette Bertha Rothenstein was born on 10 March 1902 in Bradford, Yorkshire, the daughter of textile manufacturer, art collector and philanthropist Charles Lambert Rothenstein,[1][2][3] who changed his German surname in 1916 to make clear his allegiance to the British during World War I.[4] The Rothensteins were Jewish.[5][6] Her uncles were artist William Rothenstein and stage designer Albert Rutherston.[7] Artist Michael Rothenstein and art historian John Rothenstein were her first cousins.[8][9]

Jeanette Rothenstein studied ballet as a girl, and after completing studies at Bedford Physical Training College, she pursued further dance training in Vienna, with Gertrud Bodenwieser.[7]

Career

Rutherston toured with the Margaret Morris Dancers as a young woman, and danced on the London stage with fellow Bodenwieser student Trudl Dubsky. Dubsky and Rutherston opened a dance school together in London's Great Ormond Street in 1932; Bodenwieser taught at the school as a guest instructor in 1934. The school closed when Dubsky had health issues, married, and moved away from England.[10]

Rutherston was writer and assistant to editor Philip J. S. Richardson, at the Dancing Times magazine, by 1934.[11] She was a very early television critic, assigned to review ballet broadcasts for the magazine's "Television Notes" column in the 1930s. Because she did not initially have a television set at home, she went to use a set at the Alexandra Palace, and was later allowed to watch at Broadcasting House. She suggested that ballets be made especially for the television format, so different from a theatre setting; but she also noted when well-planned camera work, costumes, and set design improved the viewer's experience of the performance.[7]

Personal life

Jeanette Rutherston married Christopher Cecil Powell. She died on 1 August 1988.

References
  1. "Splendid Gift to Manchester". The Guardian. 1925-09-18. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-04-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Death of Charles Rutherston". The Guardian. 1927-12-30. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-04-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "In Manchester". The Guardian. 1938-02-04. p. 13. Retrieved 2020-04-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Morris, Edward (2001). Public Art Collections in North-west England: A History and Guide. Liverpool University Press. pp. 120–121. ISBN 978-0-85323-527-9.
  5. Landman, Isaac; Cohen, Simon (1943). The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia ...: An Authoritative and Popular Presentation of Jews and Judaism Since the Earliest Times. Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Incorporated. pp. 234–235.
  6. Rubinstein, W.; Jolles, Michael A. (2011-01-27). The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History. Springer. ISBN 978-0-230-30466-6.
  7. Davis, Janet Rowson (1982). "Ballet on British Television, 1933-1939". Dance Chronicle. 5 (3): 245–304. doi:10.1080/01472528108568840. ISSN 0147-2526. JSTOR 1567403.
  8. "Michael Rothenstein, Artist, Is Dead at 85". The New York Times. Associated Press. 1993-07-14. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  9. "'Dancing in the Street', Spencer Gore, c.1904". Tate. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  10. Vernon-Warren, Bettina; Warren, Charles (2013-12-19). Gertrud Bodenwieser and Vienna's Contribution to Ausdruckstanz. Routledge. pp. 91–92. ISBN 978-1-134-42366-8.
  11. Carter, Alexandra; Nicholas, Larraine; Morris, Geraldine (2013-10-18). Rethinking Dance History: A Reader. Routledge. p. 119. ISBN 978-1-136-48500-8.
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