Ally Hauptmann-Gurski is a former journalist and translator (German) from Berlin. She spent many years touring Europe and beyond with the Russian balalaika and dance ensemble she co-founded with her husband. The idea to get out of the air and noise pollution of the big cities led to a phase in Port Lincoln where she wrote and edited town promotion material, organized three festivals and translated books.
Now in Adelaide, Ally has written a screenplay based on a gypsy singer's life in tsarist Russia and in exile - based on a true story, which she has re-written as an historical novel in two parts.
Nadezhda Vassilievna Plevitskaya was a Gypsy singer in Russia who rose from the camps to sing for the Tsar, and on concert stages. She was also one of the first recording stars.
