Thursday, December 15, 2011

Dining at the Trocadero

Detail of Dancers
The old Trocadero Dance Palace in Sydney has attracted some attention of late. Largely thanks to The Sydney Festival who re-created the dance venue this last year at the Sydney Town Hall. The Sweethearts Band played played each night  to huge acclaim and success by all that went. It sold out and was a tremendous success.  January 7th they're doing it all again on opening night 2012.  

But in the meantime I have been approached with a collection of crockery from the original venue itself...



The Troc as it was known was a dance restaurant which opened in 1936 with a socialite review in the SMH and extensive descriptions of gowns.  Amongst the swirling chiffon and fanning of petit noses, the nosh was served on general style crockery with the venue's own insignia, which is quite delicate and beautiful.

Trocadero Crockery

The dancing pair stand in promenade position each lifting their right leg for the next step. They could be dancing a Charmaine or other new vogue dance.  To determine the actual dances executed in the venue requires rather more investigation methinks. One can assume the ballroom dances were indeed done, but the Lindy Hop? The Balboa? The Charleston? The Varsity Drag?  The Grizzly Bear? The current dance crazes coming out of cinema of the time?

I do like to think so.  But perhaps some more research is needed.  I'll put it on the "to do" list. I'm pleased to report that after my referral some of the crockery was collected by the Powerhouse Museum.

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