DANCE COLLECTION DANSE

gazes into was created using an
arrangement of mirrors and grass.
The evening show presented a
series of tableaux vivants, which,
according to the Daily Star, “surpassed
anything ever
seen here and was equal
to anything ever seen
abroad on the same
scale.” The first tableau
paid tribute to the newest
ally, the United States,
which had joined the
war just a few months
earlier in April 1917. Mrs.
Colville represented
France and several other
performers personified
other allies: Belgium,
Russia, Italy, Serbia,
Canada, Britannia,
India, Newfoundland
and Greece. Another
interesting tableau was
called “Women Before
and During the War”.
In the “before” section,
performers portrayed a
lady and her maid, suffragettes
and an actress.
During the war, these
characters transform into
lady farmers, munitions
workers and nurses.
Social dancing followed
the performance and
the whole event raised
$1170 for Jensen Camp.
By February 1918,
Mrs. Colville was advertising in
the Evening Telegram for an experienced
nurse to look after a young
child. When exactly her child was
born is unknown but it is highly
likely that she performed the
Sunshine Entertainment while
pregnant – a bold and independent
move for a woman of the time.
The Brownings hosted another
garden fête at Vigornia a year later
that included games and an open
air concert in the afternoon, tableaux
vivants in the evening and
social dancing until midnight.
Among the afternoon games was
Front cover of the instruction manual for the tableau and flag drill Rule
Britannia, performed in St. John’s in 1917
one called “Kill the Kaiser”. The
first series of nine tableaux depicts
familiar stories such as Blue Beard,
Pocahontas and Cinderella. The
next nine tableaux were patriotic in
nature with titles such as “After the
Battle”, “The Red Cross” and “Britannia
Calls Her Sons”. Mrs. Colville
portrayed Belgium in a tableau
with her daughter, and her friend
Mrs. Outerbridge played Britannia
in several scenes. This time, $1121
was raised for Jensen Camp.
Tableaux vivants made a last
patriotic appearance in the St. John’s
Peace Parade in August 1919.
Several of the parade
floats included tableaux
paying tribute to the
other allied nations. Mrs.
Colville arranged the
award-winning tableau
“Britain and her Dominions”
and also portrayed
India while her
daughter, also named
Helen, was a herald.
Mrs. Helen Colville is
but one example of the
patriotic women of Newfoundland
who used
their skills to aid the war
effort in whatever way
they could. They were
obviously energetic and
dedicated women who
no doubt discovered a
new level of independence
through their war
work. It is not surprising
then that many of the
women involved in the
WPA became involved
in women’s suffrage
after the war. They also
demonstrate how holistic
Newfoundland’s contribution
to WWI was – a
contribution that would
be repeated in WWII.
Amy Bowring is the Director of Collections
and Research at Dance Collection
Danse where she began a mentorship with
Lawrence and Miriam Adams in 1993. She
is known in the Canadian dance community
for her advocacy work in dance heritage and
preservation. She teaches dance history at
Ryerson University and is the founder of the
Canadian Society for Dance Studies.
Check out the St. John’s edition of DCD’s inter active map series, Touring Through Time
dcd.ca/walkingtours/stjohns.html
28 Dance Collection Danse