A Capital Suburb: Pipitea Thorndon
The dance studio of Estelle Beere
Cover of a programme for a performance by Miss Estelle Beere's pupils, 12 November 1921., lithograph, Ephemera Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Reference: Eph-A-DANCE-1921-01-cover
The dance studio of Estelle Beere
Among the buildings demolished for the creation of the Wellington motorway was the dance studio at 76 Hill Street, where Estelle Beere (1875-1959) taught Wellington children for 60 years.
Born in 1875 in Wanganui, Beere's family moved to Wellington when she was 11, settling at 76 Hill Street. Although she also studied art, including taking lessons at Frances Hodgkins's Bowen Street studio, Beere made her career in dance, and began teaching when she was 16.
In 1895 Beere went to England to study ballet and on her return built a studio on the back of the family home. Her pupils included the daughters of a number of New Zealand's governor generals, and her concerts, performed in local halls and at the Grand Opera House, were an important part of Wellington's cultural life.
Estelle Beere biography – Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
Permission of the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa must be obtained before any reuse of this image.
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| Collection | Ephemera Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library |
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