Ballet productions in the 19th century were illuminated by lamps with open flames. Diaphanous tutus and gas stage lamps were a deadly combination. But dancers faced those risks for their art. Dozen were ignited by the lamps, which spread so quickly that many died as a result. One particularly horrifying onstage fire led to the gruesome death of French ballerina Emma Livry.
Ballet was a deceptively dangerous profession. Not only were dancers at risk of death by fire, they were sometimes killed by overambitious stagecraft or crushed by falling sets. In 1859, imperial decree demanded that all sets and costumes be flameproofed as best they could via a process known as carteronizing: Tutus were immersed in a chemical bath before being worn onstage. But the process left the delicate skirts dingy, and the ballerinas — the very people at risk of public immolation — fought the safety measures. “I insist, sir, on dancing at all first performances of the ballet in my ordinary ballet skirt,” Livry wrote to the Paris Opéra’s director in 1860 in a formal declaration of independence — one that would result in her death just two years later.
The story of Livry’s death and its aftermath is told at Ozy.
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"Quite a few discarded their weapons and gestured to us to throw the fish. The women came out of the shade to watch our antics... A few men came and picked up the fish. They appeared to be gratified, but there did not seem to be much softening to their hostile attitude... They all began shouting some incomprehensible words. We shouted back and gestured to indicate that we wanted to be friends. The tension did not ease. At this moment, a strange thing happened — a woman paired off with a warrior and sat on the sand in a passionate embrace. This act was being repeated by other women, each claiming a warrior for herself, a sort of community mating, as it were. Thus did the militant group diminish. This continued for quite some time and when the tempo of this frenzied dance of desire abated, the couples retired into the shade of the jungle. However, some warriors were still on guard. We got close to the shore and threw some more fish which were immediately retrieved by a few youngsters. It was well past noon and we headed back to the ship..."
There is a lot to be said about some of the other tribes on near by islands that are colonized. They have a mix of isolationism, but want their kids to use hospitals and schools on the island. And the government has been cracking down on "human safaris" by tourist groups at near by resorts.
With it now accessible due to the 2004 tsunami, I think we can assume they've searched the ship and are now basing their entire culture on some 1981 Hong Kong videotape...
Here's a direct Google Maps link to the location of the Primrose, for anyone interested: http://goo.gl/maps/Jkznr
The Anthropological museum in Port Blair houses photographs of the tribal people. I was also fortunate enough to see 2 tribal teenagers closely on my visit to one of the islands.