There are quite a lot of pictures on the database corbis.com, and with a bit of luck, one can find some interesting ballet ones...

For example, typing "Royal Danish Ballet" leads to about 15 old black and white pictures of performances in the 50s (plus a photo of Erik Bruhn).

There are several Balanchine-related pictures, including the one: http://search.corbis.com/default.asp?q=HU0...&v=1&s=HU005728

It's supposed to be George Balanchine and Margot Fonteyn in 1950 in London (is it really Fonteyn? I don't recognize her on that photograph...)

Also there is a photo of him instructing a ballerina in Copenhagen (date not given), at:
http://search.corbis.com/default.asp?s=bal...a=3&p=2&r=9&m=1

(picture ID BE031545)
Does anybody know who that ballerina was, and can you recognize the ballet?

The pictures are quite small, and sometimes the legends are very unprecise (dancers not credited, etc.), but trying to find ballet photographs and to identify which dancers or ballets were photographed can be an amusing game on my opinion.

A few other photographs: http://search.corbis.com/default.asp?s=bal...a=3&p=9&r=9&m=1

Title "David Blair copies ballet postion" (sic), Sept 8, 1950. The man in the middle is Balanchine, but who is the ballerina?
http://search.corbis.com/default.asp?s=bal...=3&p=13&r=9&m=1

A nice photograph of Tallchief and Skibine in "Concerto Barocco" in 1948.

http://search.corbis.com/default.asp?s=bal...=3&p=11&r=9&m=1

Yvonne Mounsey and Francisco Moncion in "The prodigal son" in 1950.
http://search.corbis.com/default.asp?s=bal...=3&p=12&r=9&m=1

The legend is really odd:
"Russian ballerina Lubov Tchernicheva portrays Cleopatra in the Balanchine ballet Ceasar and Cleopatra. Ca. 1920."
http://search.corbis.com/default.asp?s=lif...a=3&p=1&r=9&m=1

Tchernitcheva, Lifar, Danilova and Massine in Massine's "Le pas d'acier"

(There are quite a lot of pictures of Danilova: in "Coppelia", "La boutique fantasque", "Le Bal", "Giselle", "Apollo"...)

People are welcome to post the URLs or photos IDs of the photos they find interesting.

Look at Balanchine's hands with Fontein - it's not a ballet position! Something goin between them [img]http://www.balletalert.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img].

Andrei.

There seem to be so many ballet photographs on that site that posting all the URLs would be too long, but here is for example what I found for Margot Fonteyn (I just post the photos IDs, just type it in the search engine and you get it directly):

CA003426
CA003425
CA003428
CA003429
CA002793
CA005306
CA003430
CA005308
CA003427
CA005310
Portraits taken in 1935 (she looks so young!)

HU002204 (in 1937, beautiful portrait with a mask)
HU005763 (in 1937)
HU031942 (in 1942)
HU005761 (in 1943 in "Swan Lake")
HU005757 (idem)
HU005760 (in 1946 with Alexis Rassine in "Giselle")
HU001236 (in 1946 in "The Sleeping Beauty")
HU019801 (in 1946 in "Symphonic variations")
HU005756 (in 1947 with Massine in "The three-cornered hat")
HU005728 (in 1950 with Balanchine)
HU005758 (in 1950)
HU031956 (in 1951 in "Daphnis and Chloe")
HU005881 (idem)
HU005759 (in 1951 in "Swan Lake")
HU031958 (in 1953 in "The Sleeping Beauty")
HU005880 (in 1953 in "Swan Lake")
HU028441 (ca. 1954, coached by Karsavina for "The Firebird")
HU023839 (in 1955 with her husband)
HU007311 (in 1956 in "Firebird")
HU011272 (idem)
HU031957 (in 1956 in "Birthday offering")
U1100077 (in 1956)
BE024751 (in 1960 teaching a class)
HU005515 (in 1960 with the Royal Family)
HU005755 (in 1960 with her husband)
HU005879 (in 1962 with Nureyev- it seems to be in "Giselle")
BE025355 (in 1962 with Jackie and Robert Kennedy after a performance)
U1258001 (in 1964 with her husband)
U1433596 (in 1964 with Nureyev on the beach in Lebanon)
HU028494 (in 1965 with Nureyev, rehearsing "Marguerite and Armand")
BE045548 (in 1965 with Nureyev and many bouquets)
HU041626 (in 1965 with Ashton, Helpmann and Blair in "Cinderella")
HU001240 (idem)
HU005852 (in 1965 with Blair in "Cinderella")
BE045509 (in 1965 with Princess Grace)
BE020266 (in 1967 with Nureyev, reharsing "Paradise Lost")
U1591190 (in 1968 with Nureyev)
HU028458 (ca. 1969 with Nureyev, rehearsing "Pelleas et Melisande")
BE064745 (in 1975 with B.Ford, M. Graham and R. Nureyev)
HU001155 (in 1979 with Nureyev)
BE027037 (in 1988 at a gala honoring Nureyev)

Unknown dates:
HU005851 (in "Apparitions")
BE020970 (with Nureyev)
HU028457 (with Nureyev, who his showing his version of "Paquita")
BE032449

Thanks for taking the time to post all of that, Estelle. I've clicked on a few of the photos and they don't get larger [img]http://www.balletalert.com/ubb/frown.gif[/img]

You asked:

Also there is a photo of him instructing a ballerina in Copenhagen (date not given), at: http://search.corbis.com/default.asp?s=bal...a=3&p=2&r=9&m=1

(picture ID BE031545)
Does anybody know who that ballerina was, and can you recognize the ballet?

Yes. It's Mette Mollerup (and Henning Kronstam, except the photographer cut off his head) in "Apollo." This would have been in the late autumn of 1956. Balanchine was quite fond of Mollerup.

Thanks for the explanation, Alexandra.

Does anybody have clues about that bizarre Tchernicheva photo (I've never heard about any "Cesar and Cleopatra" ballet by Balanchine, as early as 1920... )

A few other nice photos:
http://search.corbis.com/default.asp?s=vyr...a=3&p=1&r=9&m=1

Nina Vyroubova in Lifar's "Les Mirages", in 1950 (photo ID: HU005807)

http://search.corbis.com/default.asp?s=dow...a=3&p=4&r=9&m=1

Antoinette Sibley and Anthony Dowell in "The Nutcracker" in 1968 (photo ID: HU005735)

http://search.corbis.com/default.asp?s=ber...a=3&p=1&r=9&m=1

Svetlana Beriosova in "The Sleeping Beauty"
ca. 1950 (photo ID: HU005884)
http://search.corbis.com/default.asp?s=ber...a=3&p=2&r=9&m=1

Svetlana Beriosova and Michael Somes in "Rinaldo and Armida", in 1954 (photo ID:
HU005772)

Some photos of Alexandra Danilova:

HU001212 in 1926, with Lifar and other dancers (I wonder whom?) in "La Pastorale"
HU001214 in 1927, with Lifar, Massine and Tchernicheva in "Le Pas d'acier"
HU001207 in 1927, with Lifar in "The triumph of Neptune"
HU005769 in 1928, with Lifar in "Apollo"
HU001128 in 1929, with Anton Dolin in "Le Bal"
HU005767 in 1929 (with a bizarre costume with a wig, I wonder where it comes from?)
HU028443 in 1934, with a doll of herself as she appears in "La boutique fantasque"
HU037598 in 1934, in "La boutique fantasque"
HU001235 in 1934, in "La boutique fantasque" with Massine
HU005766 in 1938, with Lifar in "Giselle" (as Myrtha)
HU005765 in 1949, in "Coppelia"
BE020127 in 1966, dancing with Sol Hurok at a party

And a nice portrait (undated) in short tutu:
PEN3801

http://search.corbis.com/default.asp?s=you...a=3&p=2&r=9&m=1

Igor Youskevitch in 1950 (pity one can't get larger photos!)
http://search.corbis.com/default.asp?s=you...a=3&p=1&r=9&m=1

Youskevitch, Alonso and Kriza rehearsing "Aleno" in London, in 1953 (photo ID HU057854)
http://search.corbis.com/default.asp?s=lec...a=3&p=3&r=9&m=1

Tanaquil Leclercq in "Bourree Fantasque" in 1950 (photo ID HU005696)
http://search.corbis.com/default.asp?s=kri...a=3&p=2&r=9&m=1

Shirley Eckl and three male dancers (can someone identify them) in "Fancy free" in 1946.
http://search.corbis.com/default.asp?s=kri...a=3&p=3&r=9&m=1

A group of dancers in "Fancy free" in 1946.
http://search.corbis.com/default.asp?s=fou...a=3&p=1&r=9&m=1

The Miami City Ballet in "The four temperaments" in 1991 in Edinburgh.

Are we positive that the Tchernicheva isn't of Fokine's Cléopâtre? It was revived for her around 1920.