Basil Pattison (1926-1989)
Photo: https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136992959/view
Basil Pattison was one of New Zealand’s pioneers of modern dance and spent several years in the 1950s dancing and teaching in the UK, mainly in Bristol.
He was born in Hastings, New Zealand, in 1926 and studied dance there at the Jean Ballantyne Studio. He then joined the Boronvanski ballet and toured Africa, India and Australia, and later studied under Gertrude Bodenweiser becoming ballet master to her company which was based in Sydney, Australia. Bodenweiser Ballet has been described as the first influential modern dance company in Australia.
Pattison came to England about 1953 and landed a part in the musical play Wedding in Paris starring Evelyn Laye which opened in the West End in April 1954. The touring production came to Bristol Hippodrome in May 1955.
It was probably around this time Pattison visited The Radnor Hotel, 30 St Nicholas Street, Bristol’s earliest known gay pub which had been frequented by the gay community since at least the 1940s. On entering the pub Pattison said “I’m looking for a lady called Peggy”. This was Peggy Hancock, the much-loved barmaid at the Radnor in the 1950s and 60s. Meeting Peggy he said “Your name’s on a cottage* wall in Sydney …. when in Bristol go to the Radnor and ask for Peggy” [*cottage is gay slang for a public toilet].
An accident and subsequent leg operation forced Pattison to give up dancing but he began a new career as a dance teacher at The Bristol School of Dancing at 55-57 Pembroke Road, Clifton. He also taught drama students modern and classical ballet at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in Downside Road, and their original premises in Queen Charlotte Street.
Pattison was interviewed by Bristol Evening Post in February 1956 when he was assistant choreographer for Bristol Musical Comedy Club’s production of Oklahoma! at the Bristol Hippodrome, the first amateur production of the musical in the city. In the Bristol Evening Post article titled “Meet the expert who wants more male dancers” he gave encouragement for young dancers. “If your son wants to a dancer, it is a pity to discourage him, says New Zealander Basil Pattison. Provided he has the talent and is prepared to work hard, there are plenty of opportunities for him because there is a shortage of male ballet dancers“.
In June 1956 Pattison danced and choreographed for the first production of Western Ballet at the Theatre Royal. This pioneering touring dance company was originally based in Bristol and took innovative, dramatic and sometimes controversial ballets to audiences, initially in the South West and then throughout Britain. In 1969 it moved to Glasgow and became Scottish Ballet.
From 1958-60 Pattison taught at the Salle Pleyel performing arts centre in Paris and then choreographed for Radio-Television Francaise. He then spent time in New York before returning to New Zealand in about 1967. He was co-director of the New Zealand Dance Centre in Wellington and resident choreographer at the Central Theatre in Auckland where he died in 1989 aged 53.
With thanks for research to Veronica Hogan, Hastings District Libraries, New Zealand.
Jonathan Rowe 2024
National Library of New Zealand catalogue listing for Basil Pattison: https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22583634
A catalogue listing for the first performances by Western Theatre Ballet in 1956; included Calypso choreographed by Basil Pattison: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1489867/western-ballet-theatre-poster-st-stephens-bristol
Excerpt from an OutStories Bristol interview with Peggy Hancock in 2011: https://www.facebook.com/groups/173087066088784/search/?q=pattison
The Stage, February 2nd 1956 / June 21st 1956
Bristol Evening Post, February 9th 1956