Ram Gopal on stage in Paris - Photograph

Ram Gopal on stage in Paris – Photograph

Series name	Ram Gopal: 1938 - 1940
Description	In 1938, Ram Gopal visited a number of European cities for the first time, including Paris. His reputation as the world’s finest Indian classical dancer had preceded him and he performed to full audiences for one or two seasons on each tour. Ram Gopal returned to Europe several times during the 40s, 50s and 60s.This black and white promotional image was taken at the Studio-Iris in Paris, and features Gopal posing in full costume.
Date of Creation / Publication	1938
Creator	Gopal, Ram
Associated Person/ Organisation
Location	Paris
Collection and Reference Number	Ram Gopal Collection (GB 2661 RGL)
Catalogue Number	RGL/DEC/1930/3
Copyright	The Creator and/ or associated person or organisation where applicable
Access to originals	The originals are located with Ann David, academic researcher and friend of Ram Gopal, and with Pam Cullen, Executor of the Ram Gopal Estate.
Series notes	The 1940s saw Ram Gopal reach international fame. Based in London, his performances were critically acclaimed and played to full audiences throughout the dance season. Ram Gopal met many great personalities during this time, however he was most in awe of his encounter with Queen Mary, who invited him to tea and perform for her. During this time, Kay Ambrose, a ballet artist, and Feliks Topolski, a Polish artist both began to sit in the wings at Ram Gopal's performances, sketching the dances every evening. Eventually a sketch book was published of Ram Gopal's performances by Ambrose. Topolski completed a portrait of Ram Gopal which now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in London. This decade also witnessed Gopal's meeting with Gandhi and Nehru, and he became the first Indian artist to tour with ENSA, visiting British and Indian troops. Gopal also established his popular dance school in Bangalore and returned to England in 1947. The digitised material in this file includes photographs,extracts of newspaper articles, books and performance programmes.
Collection notes	The digitised material in the Ram Gopal Collection dates back to 1938 and includes black and white as well as colour photographs, several flyers and extracts from books including Ram Gopal's autobiography. The items also include newspaper articles, images of dance costumes, slides, advertisements and performance programmes.