‘Checkmate’ on pre-war television

John Wyver writes: I am something of a fan of the Voices of British Ballet podcast, which features oral history recordings made since 2002 as well as new exchanges with dancers, choreographers and critics. A current strand is celebrating the great dancer and choreographer Ninette de Valois, marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of Ninette de Valois’ Academy for Choregraphic Art in March 1926 and 25 years since de Valois’ death. One recent fascinating edition features Patricia Linton talking to Dr Anna Meadmore, archivist at The Royal Ballet School about de Valois’ ballet Checkmate. As the Voices… website notes, Checkmate is one of the only two ballets by Ninette de Valois to survive in the repertoire. It makes allegorical use of a chess game to represent a battle between love and death. Arthur Bliss, the composer, and Edward McKnight Kauffer, the designer, worked with de Valois’ ideas in a way that made perfect sense of the ensuing battle, and testified to her commitment to…