Alison Sutcliffe regularly spent summers overseas, particularly in Germany and England, training in ballet, modern, and Spanish dance. There are several records that indicate her training with the famous Ballets Russes choreographer Michel (Mikhail) Fokine but this is the only correspondence from the master himself. There is no further evidence that Sutcliffe accompanied Fokine on a study trip to Russia. However, it is possible that Sutcliffe took classes from Fokine during his trip to Toronto a year later. He and his wife Vera Fokina were engaged by Russian-émigré and Toronto studio owner Dimitri Vladimiroff to perform at the Eaton Auditorium and to teach classes at Vladimiroff’s studio from January 24-28, 1933. (Letter from Alison Sutcliffe Collection)