Anna Regina Tychsen (1853–1896) was a German-born Danish ballet dancer. She perfected her technique with the result that she became a soloist as early as 1872. She is remembered in particular for her roles in

August Bournonville August Bournonville (21 August 1805 – 30 November 1879) was a Danish ballet master and choreographer. He was the son of Antoine Bournonville, a dancer and choreographer trained under the French choreographer, Jean Georges Noverre, and the nep ...

's ballets, performing the title role in '' La Sylphide'', Eliza and Victorine in '' Le Conservatoire'' and Céleste in ''Torreadoren''.

Biography

Born on 1 September 1853 in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

, Anna Regina Scholl was the daughter of the sculptor Philip Jean Josef Scholl (1805–1861) and the actress Theodora Jocunda Dalhoff (1826–1892). When she was only five years old, she appeared on stage at the

Odense Teater Odense Teater is a theater in the city of Odense in Denmark. It dates back to 1796, which makes it Denmark's second oldest theater. It is one of the country's three main theaters. The venue is located in Jernbanegade, where it has three stages: ...

where her mother was employed. In 1861, she entered the Royal Danish Ballet School where she was taught by Georg Nicolai Brodersen (1819–1908). She also received private lessons from Bournonville at her home in Frederiksberg. On 11 October 1876, she married the Danish officer Valentin Emil Tychsen (1847–1914) in Odense. When she was 14, she was allowed to appear in ''Pas de Trois Cousines'' together with

Betty Hennings Betty Mathilde Hennings née Schnell (1850–1939) was a Danish actress who entered the Royal Danish Theatre as a ballet dancer but in 1870 turned to acting, first performing in Molière's ''The School for Wives''. She later became known for her r ...

who was to perform with her frequently. Her début was on her 15th birthday when she danced a Spanish seguidilla. She completed her education at the Paris Opera Ballet School. Tychsen had to fight hard for prominent roles as she did not exhibit the natural charisma of many of her colleagues. During her early training, Bournonville had commented that she would have to dance "twice as well as the others as she was really no beauty". She nevertheless progressed, succeeding in being assigned the role of Edvard, a naval cadet in ''Fjernt fra Danmark'', in 1868. After becoming a soloist in 1872, she went on to perform in various roles in Bournonville's ballets. These included the title role in ''La Sylphide'', Eliza and Victorine in ''Le Conservatoire'' and Céleste in ''Torreadoren''. In 1887, she was a guest dancer at the

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera ( sv, Kungliga Operan) is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the center of Sweden's capital Stockholm in the borough of Norrmalm, on the eastern side ...

. To enthusiastic applause, she retired in June 1889, once again as the naval cadet Edvard. Anna Tychsen died in Copenhagen on 21 November 1896.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tychsen, Anna Danish ballerinas Immigrants to Denmark 1853 births 1896 deaths Royal Danish Ballet principal dancers 19th-century Danish ballet dancers