Anna Ida Birgit Åkesson, born March 24, 1908, in Malmö, died March 24, 2001, in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, was a choreographer, dancer and dance researcher.

Biography

Birgit Åkesson trained as a dancer at Mary Wigman's school in Dresden from 1929 to 1931. After having danced with her a few years, Åkesson knew she wanted something else from this art, but she could not quite put her finger on it yet. She wanted to explore the body's possibilities and limitations. She then decided to go to Paris and start from zero. According to her, she listened to her body and the memories that were stored in it. In 1934 she made her debut with her very own choreography at the Comédie-Française in Paris, but her real breakthrough came only in 1951, when she performed two solos, one in complete silence. After these performances the press went wild and she soon became one of the leading figures in European avant-garde dance. In the 1950s, she worked together with text and music printer

Erik Lindegren Erik Lindegren (August 5, 1910 – May 31, 1968) was a Swedish author, poet, critical writer and member of the Swedish Academy (1962–68, chair 17). Grandson of composer Johan Lindegren. Lindegren was born in Luleå, Norrbotten County, the s ...

and

Karl-Birger Blomdahl Karl-Birger Blomdahl (19 October 1916 – 14 June 1968) was a Swedish composer and conductor born in Växjö. He was educated in biochemistry, but was primarily active in music and by his experimental compositions he became one of the big names ...

, and created various works 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 ...

in Stockholm. She mainly created ballets, but also dance scenes in the opera Aniara, where Åkesson's role in the 1959 set are among the most famous. Aniara was an example of an avant-garde idiom in

expressionist dance ''Expressive dance'' from German ''Ausdruckstanz'', is a form of artistic dance in which the individual and artistic presentation (and sometimes also processing) of feelings is an essential part. It emerged as a counter-movement to classi ...

. She left the Opera in 1967 and subsequently spent much time on research trips. Åkesson wanted to find the real essence of dance and its roots, which brought her to Africa. She said that the dance in Europe had lost contact with their origin, and the best ways to study the origins were in Africa. From there she collected a number of dance masks from different countries. After Åkesson's death, her collection of dance masks was donated to the Museum of Ethnography, Sweden, whom subsequently had a show of them in 2008. Birgit Åkesson was one of Sweden's pioneering choreographers during the 1900s. In 1998 she was awarded the Swedish Academy's grand prize. She received an honorary doctorate from

Stockholm University Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, so ...

in 1999. She together with

Egon Møller-Nielsen Egon Möller-Nielsen (9 May 1915 - 27 September 1959) was a Danish-Swedish architect and sculptor. He was known for his abstract sculptures in surreal style which are found in several Swedish sites. Möller-Nielsen was born in Copenhagen, Denm ...

had one daughter, Mona, who was married to

Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd (4 June 1934 – 3 May 2016) was a Swedish painter and sculptor. He studied with Fernand Léger in Paris 1951 and was a professor of painting at The Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm 1965–1969. In 1974 he was a guest ...

Filmography

*1948 – ''Fruktbarhet'' *1954 – ''Balettprogram''

Choreography

*1948 – ''Fruktbarhet''

Awards and honours

*1962 –

Carina Ari Medal Carina Ari (14 April 1897 – 24 December 1970) was the artistic name of Maria Karina Viktoria Jansson, a Swedish-born dancer. After a noted career of dance and choreography which spanned from 1913 to 1939, mostly in Paris, Ari married and moved t ...

*1980 – Läkerols kulturpris, Läkerols svenska kulturpris *1992 – Professors namn *1998 – The Swedish Academy's Grand Prize *1998 – Honorary Doctor of Philosophy at

*2000 – Sydsvenska Dagbladets cultural prize

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akesson, Birgit 1908 births 2001 deaths Swedish choreographers Swedish ballerinas