Gerda Elisabeth Karstens (9 July 1903 – 13 June 1988) was a Danish ballet dancer with the

Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...

where she became a soloist in 1942. She is remembered in particular for her interpretations of Madge in Bournonville's ''

La Sylphide ''La Sylphide'' ( en, The Sylph; da, Sylfiden) is a romantic ballet in two acts. There were two versions of the ballet; the original choreographed by Filippo Taglioni in 1832, and a second version choreographed by August Bournonville in 1836. ...

'' and the headmistress in

David Lichine David Lichine (russian: Дэвид (Давид) Лишин; 25 October 1910 – 26 June 1972) was a Russian-American ballet dancer and choreographer. He had an international career as a performer, ballet master, and choreographer, staging works fo ...

's ''

Graduation Ball ''Graduation Ball'' is a ballet in one act choreographed by David Lichine to music composed by Johann Strauss II and arranged by Antal Doráti. With a scenario devised by Lichine and with scenery and costumes designed by Alexandre Benois, it wa ...

''. She performed these two roles during her retirement evening in 1956, after which she spent several years teaching mime.

Biography

Born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

on 9 July 1903, Gerda Elisabeth Karstens was the daughter of the manufacturer Johan Emil Karstens (died 1958) and Kirsti Eleonora Thovaldine Andersen (died 1957). She married the ballet dancer Svend Karlo Karlog (1900–1972). In 1910, she joined the Royal Theatre's dance school where she was trained in the Bournonville style by

Hans Beck Hans Beck (6 May 1929, Greiz – 30 January 2009, Markdorf) was the German inventor of Playmobil toys. He is often described as "The Father of Playmobil". He began to make toys at an early age and trained as a cabinet maker, before being recruit ...

. She made her début in 1920, being promoted as a character dancer in 1935 and a soloist in 1942. Thanks to her distinctive features, she was given dramatic character roles in works such as

Vincenzo Galeotti Vincenzo Galeotti (5 March 1733 – 16 December 1816) was an Italian-born Danish dancer, choreographer and ballet master, who was influential as the director of the Royal Danish Ballet from 1775 until his death. Life Vincenzo Tomasselli was ...

's ''Amors og Balletmesterens Luner''. Her most successful roles included Venus in

Nini Theilade Nini Arlette Theilade (15 June 1915 – 13 February 2018) was a Danish ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher. Early life Theilade was born in Purwokerto, Dutch East Indies. Her mother, Joanna Catarina, was of Polish, German, and French extra ...

's ''Psyche'' and Pecunia in her ''Cirklen''. She received particular acclaim as Veronica in ''Napoli'' and Madge in ''La Sylphide''. She retired officially in 1956 but returned in 1971 to dance in

Flemming Flindt Flemming Flindt (30 June 1936 – 3 March 2009) was a Denmark, Danish choreographer born in Copenhagen. He studied at the Royal Danish Ballet and Ballet de l'Opéra National de Paris, Paris Opera Ballet schools, joined the Royal Danish Ballet and ...

's ''

The Triumph of Death ''The Triumph of Death'' is an oil panel painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder painted c. 1562. It has been in the Museo del Prado in Madrid since 1827. Description The painting shows a panorama of an army of skeletons wreaking havoc across a bl ...

.'' After her retirement from the stage, she spent several years training the ballet school's pupils in mime. Gerda Karstens died in Copenhagen on 13 June 1988.

Awards and honours

In 1951, she was honoured with the Ingenio et arti medal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karstens, Gerda 1903 births 1988 deaths People from Copenhagen Danish ballerinas Recipients of Ingenio et Arti