Tamara Tchinarova was born in Romania in

1919 and began her dance training in Paris

with emigré ballerinas from the Imperial

Russian Ballet. She danced professionally

in Europe with the touring Ballet Russes

companies that emerged in the 1930s

after the death of the entrepreneur Serge

Diaghilev, and she went to Australia in

1936 with the Ballet Russes de Monte-

Carlo, returning in 1938 with the Covent

Garden Russian Ballet. In Australia during

those first two tours by the Russian Ballet

she made a strong impression as Action in

Leonide Massine's first symphonic ballet

Les Présages. She was also admired for her

portrayal of Thamar in Michel Fokine's

dramatic ballet, and was praised for her

dancing in demi-character roles in ballets

such as Le beau Danube.

In 1939, at the conclusion of the Covent

Garden Russian Ballet tour, along with

a number of her colleagues, Tchinarova

elected to stay in Australia where she met

and married the actor Peter Finch and

worked with him on a number of films

before leaving Australia to make her home

in London. But Finch had caught the eye of

the glamorous actress Vivien Leigh, wife of

Sir Laurence Olivier, and the love triangle

that developed was to have devastating

consequences.

This fascinating autobiography highlights

Tamara's remarkable life in Romania

and her worldwide dancing career, the

tempestuous marriage to Peter Finch and

her involvement in his notorious affair with

Leigh, through to her subsequent career as

adviser and interpreter for many Russian ballet companies.