In early 2016, by way of a Victoria Foundation grant, Dance Victoria hired University of Victoria MA candidate, Elizabeth Bassett, to work on the South Vancouver Island Dance Archives (SVIDA) collection alongside the existing volunteer Archives Committee at Dance Victoria. Her primary focus was to interview several key women in South Vancouver Island’s dance history to make sure we preserved their stories. The interviews and Elizabeth’s writings were so impressive that Dance Victoria published a limited edition book, Dancing on the Island – Six Women Who Shaped Dance on South Vancouver Island, Canada. All chapters are available in this Community Dance Archives by clicking the ”related links” above.
BORN IN 1908 IN VICTORIA, British Columbia, Florence Clough was an influential dance teacher who taught in her hometown for over 50 years. After beginning her training with Madame Valda (one of Victoria’s first ballet teachers, about whom little is known) in 1918, Clough opened her own dance school when she was only 18 years old. In 1927, she held her first dance recital at the Royal Theatre and the lineup for tickets literally stretched for blocks around the theatre. The Florence Clough Dance Studio ran successfully from 1927 until Clough retired in the 1970s.
Scroll down and click on the PDF below to read the full Florence Clough Drummond chapter from Dancing on the Island.
Florence Clough (second from left) attending a Royal Academy of Dance workshop taught by Mara McBirney. Photographer unknown.
Florence Clough (left) with Gweneth Lloyd (co-founder of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet). Photographer unknown.
- Date of Submission: 2022-02-04