Clara Vestris Webster (1821 - 1844)

Born 1821 in Bath, Somerset, England, United Kingdom

Died 17 Dec 1844 at about age 23 in London, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Clara was born in 1821. She studied dance under her father Benjamin Webster, who had been a student of Auguste Vestris.

Clara made her stage debut in 1830 at the Theatre Royal, in Bath, in a pas de deux with her brother, Arthur Webster.

In 1836 she went to London where she danced at the Haymarket and subsequently went on to dance in Dublin, Liverpool, and Manchester. She was one of the first British dancers to perform the cachucha and the tyrolienne (which she danced with her brother).

She passed away in 1844. She died tragically after her dress caught fire during a performance of "The Revolt of the Harem" while at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. She was playing the role of Zelika, the Royal Slave, in the ballet, and her costume brushed against a gas-lamp. Clara suffered serious burns and died two days later.

Until electricity replaced gas lamps and torches on stage, Victorian ballet girls continued to face the risk of death, particularly as their skirts were highly flammable. Conditions in the theatre could have prevented such tragedies, and the knowledge of how to fireproof materials (although rendering the fabric uncomfortable) was well known to the managers of the theatres and dance companies.

Sadly, such grisly accidents did not prove a deterrent to the popularity of theatre performances, and Clara's fame owes more to the circumstances of her death than to her skill as a dancer and performer.

She is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery.

Sources

• Find A Grave: Memorial #8095601 Find a Grave, database and images (www.findagrave.com/memorial/8095601/clara-vestris-webster : accessed 27 April 2021), memorial page for Clara Vestris Webster (1821–17 Dec 1844), Find a Grave Memorial ID 8095601, citing Kensal Green Cemetery, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Greater London, England ; Maintained by Find A Grave

See Also

• Clara Vestris Webster
• Wikidata: Item Q2975514, en:Wikipedia
• Oxford Reference online - https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803121543592 - sourced from The Oxford Dictionary of Dance