Hollywood actor Victoria Tennant is known for her elegance and stylish restraint in performances as diverse as The Winds of War, The Handmaid’s Tale, All of Me and L.A Story.

On this special evening, it is her mother who takes centre stage, the late Irina Baronova, prima ballerina of the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo. Baronova moved to Australia in 2000 and lived here until she passed away in 2008. It was her last stop in a long life of journeys for the Russian émigré and her refugee heart was at peace in her Byron bay home.

The Ballets Russes tour to Australia in 1938 not only had a lasting impact on Baronova where she formed lifelong friends, but was a seminal establishment point for ballet in Australia. Many company members remained in Australia on the cusp of WWII and went on to form the Australian Ballet and West Australian Ballet companies amongst other institutions.

Tennant’s book curates an extraordinary collection of photographs, personal correspondence and painstaking storytelling. It tells the compelling tale of Iron Curtain escape, establishment of the company in Europe and the frontier of the ballet world as the art form swept through the Americas and the Antipodes. The Ballets Russes’ groundbreaking tours are the stuff of legend and Baronova was its star.

Join us in intimate theatre mode as Victoria Tennant, in conversation with writer and publisher Candida Baker, takes us through a mesmerising literary event and slide show photographic journey – celebrating dance, love, loss and an extraordinary life.