Ninette Daviso School of Dancing

[johnpm 18]

Anyone remember the Ninette Daviso School of Dancing which was located in a large house on Barnsley Road opposite where Crabtree Road is ? I went there in the 1950's. She was a good ballroom dancing teacher - must have been - she did a reasonable job with me !

That was in the days of the wonderful dances at the City Hall and Locarno.

She was a versatile soul who as well as ballroom dancing did Physical Education as well. I remember doing hand stands etc there - my mum and dad must have thought I needed building up !

John

[Trevor C 10]

I don't remember the Ninette Daviso School of Dancing because I have never visited Sheffield. BUT my grandfather's name was Armando James Daviso. He had a sister named Marie Antoinette Daviso. She was called Netta by her family. She owned a dance school in Sheffield. My mother's middle name is Ninette. Since Daviso isn't a very common name, you probably attended the dance school run by my grandfather's sister. I am just starting to search the Daviso family tree. So far, it doesn't go back past my grandfather, his sister Netta & their brother Oscar Thomas Daviso.

Best regards,

Trevor

[johnpm 18]

I don't remember the Ninette Daviso School of Dancing because I have never visited Sheffield. BUT my grandfather's name was Armando James Daviso. He had a sister named Marie Antoinette Daviso. She was called Netta by her family. She owned a dance school in Sheffield. My mother's middle name is Ninette. Since Daviso isn't a very common name, you probably attended the dance school run by my grandfather's sister. I am just starting to search the Daviso family tree. So far, it doesn't go back past my grandfather, his sister Netta & their brother Oscar Thomas Daviso.

Best regards,

Trevor

Hi Trevor, The Ninette Daviso School of Dancing was at 260 Barnsley Road, Sheffield 4 and she is entered in the Sheffield phone directory for 1955. There are also entries for an M. A. Daviso - in 1970 she lived with Ninnette Daviso on Barnsley Rd but in 1973 is listed both there and at 50 Nottingham Cliff, Sheffield 3.

The dancing school was in fact Ninettes house. It was a very large detached residence set above the road and reached by a flight of around 15 steps. It was located on the left side of Barnsley Road going towards the city opposite and just above the junction with Norwood Road.

What would have been the lounge and dining room was the dancing school and was a wooden floored room bare except for a space for a record player and I seem to recall a piano but can't be certain of that plus a few wooden chairs. I am fairly sure that most of the living accommodation with upstairs although there may have been one other room downstairs in addition to the kitchen.

She taught children and adults both individually and also held evening adult dances where pupils could attend and dance with other pupils. I don't recall her sister but as she lived there I guess she may well have been involved in teaching too.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with her andshe certainly did a good job teaching me to dance.

If you think there is anything else you wish to know please ask.

John

[Trevor C 10]

Hi John,

I'm afraid you are a lot faster at replying than I. Thank you so much for the information.

I suppose I just rambled on about my family because they are familiar to me. One thing I did not make clear is that I think Ninette Daviso & Marie Antoinette Daviso are the same person. Now I don't have any written information to back that up, but I do have the stories from my mother, aunt and grandmother.

Marie Antoinette had two brothers, but no sisters. My aunt remembered the dancing school being named "Daviso School of Dancing", but that was from 20 year-old memories. My speculation is Marie Antoinette was too "French" for WWII England (not meaning any disrespect). I know she had the dance studio at least from 1945 because my grandmother, Alice Daviso, was evacuated there near the end of WWII with her daughters Yvonne (12 years old) & Marlene (6 years old). Also, since she went by Netta in the family, perhaps she just didn't like her name.

The phone book listings are very interesting. Do you have the actual books, or are they soft copies? I would guess she may have started using her real name again later in life. Since the Nottingham Cliff address is fairly close to the dancing school, perhaps she wanted to live away from work?

I entered the Barnsley Road address, as you had written it, in Google maps. (I can't put the link here. I don't have 5 posts yet.)

Is that building across from Norwood Road the dancing studio? In the addresses, you wrote Sheffield 4 & Sheffield 3. What are the 4 & 3 for?

I certainly find all your information & memories fascinating. Please don't let me impose. If I ask too much, let me know. Do you have any thoughts on other places I could look for information about "Ninette" or her school? My online searching did turn up one other reference:

www "dot" ellesmereoperatic "dot" co "dot" uk "slash" index "dot" php?page=1958 "dot" html (see if that gets around the censors). "Ninette" was the dancing mistress of an Ellesmere Operatic Society production in 1958.

Best regards and thank you,

Trevor

[peaky 10]

I went to ballroom lesons at Ninnett daviso's on barnsley rd in1950-51-52 Ithink there were about 12 or so of us every week. we used to go to St. Cuthberts church hall to dances on saturday nights .also went to St. Christophers somewhere near Upwell st. Happy Days

[GOLDEN OLDIE 15]

I also attended this dancing school in the 1950s. At some point it became the Fayre Daviso School of Dancing. The Fayre being Zena Fayre whom I think lived on Barnsley Road across from Firth Park Grammer School?

I desperately wanted to become a ballerina as I avidly read the Lorna Hill Sadlers Wells books!

However I was obviously not of Sadlers Wells material being quite a large child and I seem to remember Miss Fayre spending all the lesson chatting to other people at the end of the room having set me some exercises to do. She must have known I was not going to be a dying swan! I was very upset as I really did want to learn to dance!

My lessons didn't last very long!

[Trevor C 10]

Stunmon, thank you very much for the insight. My aunt spoke about Netta's "significant other", Zena, but nobody remembered her last name. A very intriguing piece to my genealogical puzzle. My aunt described Zena as often wearing pant suits & appearing "manish" in the way she acted.

[GOLDEN OLDIE 15]

Yes, Zena Fayre was indeed very mannish in dress and apprearance. If you google the broadcaster Nancy Spain who was a well known Lesbian of the 1950s then you have a picture of how Zena looked!

However I don't think there was ever any suggestion of a relationship between Zena and Ninettte because of course in those days it wasn't the done thing to come public!

In answer to a previous query the address on Barnsley would have been Sheffield 4 postal code and if you could get access to the electoral roll of the 1950s(in Sheffield Local Studies Library) you could see if you could find Zena Fayre on Barnsley Road, although it may have been that it was a stage name. The Barnsley Road of the dance studio(across from Norwood Road) and the address I think Zena lived at are a considerable distance apart. Barnsley Road being a very long road. If my memory is paying tricks then it was Longley Lane which backs on to Barnsley Road where she lived.(at the point that Longley Lane ends at Barnsley Road) When I go past again I'll look for the number sequence! Hope that makes sense!

A very useful person to befrend is a guy on the Forum called Hillsboro - he seems to know how to research anything!

[GOLDEN OLDIE 15]

The more I delve back into the past I become convinced she lived at the top of Longley Lane.

'Hillsboro' seems to have access to old Kellys Directories which are street directories covering all the 50s and 60s periods and are invaluable in finding names and addresses. They became obselete some time ago.

[pam harcourt 10]

ninette daviso's real name was Marie Antionette. I think she preferred Ninette but was usually called Netta. She was Portuguese & I know she had one brother she referred to as Tom. She & her partner Zena Fairbotham both lived at 260 Barnsley Rd. Zena's mother ( who was known as "fairy", don't know whether that was from surname or because she was small & dainty) lived at the north end of Barnsley Rd near Longley Lane junction. After Zena & Netta split Netta stayed at 260 Barnsley Rd & changed name of school from Fayre Daviso to Ninette Daviso. I think she stayed there until she retired & moved to somewhere not too far away. I suspect it may have been a retirement home. Pamh

[Hogarthr 0]

Trevor C, I am not sure if you are still active in this forum. _______ I thought I would add to your story in that Hercules Daviso was married to Elizabeth Gibb Donald (probably in Portugal). She was one of the famous Tiller Girls, and they probably met when performing somewhere. She was the mother of Armando, Oscar & Marie Antoinette, hence Marie's attraction to dancing, following in her mother's footsteps. _____ Elizabeth's mother was Ann Hogarth from Newcastle, who is a distant relative of mine, hence the interest. _____ As a new member to this forum, I cannot DM you, but perhaps you could message me? Thanks, Richard

[chrisdonald 0]

Hi Richard (Hogarthr) 

Ann Hogarth was my great great grandmother (Ann Donald, nee Hogarth, 1856-1939).  She was married to James Donald (a grocer) in April 1876. They had four daughters: Lily (b.1878), Ann (b.1880), Elizabeth Gibb (b.1884) and Margaret (b. 1886).  Lily is my great grandmother, although her son Fred (my granddad) was born illegitimately and raised by his grandmother Ann. 

Ann's husband James Donald died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1894.  His father was John Lockhart Donald (1829-1859) a Newcastle clockmaker whose wife was born Elizabeth Gibb Robertson (1830-1883.)  John Lockhart Donald's father, also James Donald, was serving a clockmaking apprenticeship in Edinburgh in 1815 under a well known clockmaker called Robert Bryson. James moved to Newcastle and had set up his own business by 1827.  He had four sons, Adam Elphinston Donald, John Lockhart Donald, Robert Peel Donald and George Marshall Steel Donald- all named after notable figures of the day, I think.  (John Lockhart was Walter Scott's biographer, and editor of the satirical magazine Blackwoods in Edinburgh.)  As a footnote, I was editor of the satirical magazine Viz in Newcastle (1979 to 1999).

My late father Hugh Ernest James Donald (1926-2010) recalled being taken by his father Fred to visit Ann (who I think may have been referred to as Mrs Hogarth at the time) during the 1930s. She had been landlady of a pub in Byker known locally as 'Dues Bar' and she lived above the pub with her youngest daughter Margaret. 

Hope this might be of some interest.

Chris Donald