Ballet Dancer - Millbank, London, UK
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Master Mariner
N 51° 29.382 W 000° 07.662
30U E 699400 N 5708196
The statue of a ballet dancer, entitled "Jete", is located on the north west side of Millbank opposite Riverside Gardens. A "jete" is a ballet movement and is being performed by the dancer in the sculpture.
Waymark Code: WMNB6W
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 02/05/2015
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member Outspoken1
Views: 3

There are two bronze plaques attached to the wall beneath the sculpture. The upper one tells us:

Jete (1975)
by Enzo Plazzotta
unveiled by
The Rt Hon The Earl of Gowrie
Minister for the Arts
in July 1985

The lower plaque tells us:

Sculpture
based on the dancer
David Wall
and cast by
The Morris Singer Foundry Limited

The Londonist website tells us:

Jeté (1975) by Enzo Plazzotta, Millbank

This beautiful bronze captures dancer David Wall in full flight heading for the Thames and looking to the skies. Once you’ve finished admiring the elegant, soaring figure, admire the technical skill that anchors the sculpture to its pedestal by a trailing cloth tied to the dancer’s waist.

The Encyclopaedia Britannica website defines "jete" as:

Jeté,  (French jeté: “thrown”), ballet leap in which the weight of the dancer is transferred from one foot to the other. The dancer “throws” one leg to the front, side, or back and holds the other leg in any desired position upon landing. Among the commonly seen forms of this step are the jeté battu, in which the legs are crossed in the air before the descent; the grand jeté, a broad, high leap with one leg stretched forward and the other back like a “split” in the air; and the jeté en tournant, or tour jeté (“flung turn”), in which the dancer executes a half-turn in the air away from the forward leg before landing on it.

Wikipedia tells us about Enzo Plazzotta:

Enzo Plazzotta (May 29, 1921 – October 12, 1981) was an Italian-born British sculptor.

Plazzotta was born in Mestre, near Venice, and spent his working life in London. He is best remembered for a fascination with and study of movement in bronze - the human form, horses, ballerinas, and for his female studies, many of which adorn London's streets. He died in London, aged 60.

Sector of the workforce: Ballet dancers

Created or Donated by which group: Enzo Plazzotta

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