Klara Semb (17 October 1884 – 16 October 1970) was a Norwegian folklorist, choreographer and folk dance educator. She was born in

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

; the daughter of Ole H. Semb and Amalie Jansen. She studied and documented old folk song traditions, and was leading folk dance courses of the organization

Noregs Ungdomslag Noregs Ungdomslag (NU, literally "Norway's youth society") is a Norwegian cultural society formed in 1896. It has around 17,000 members and 450 local chapters. Activities Among the society's activities are folk dance, theatre and the spreading of ...

. She documented regional variations of traditional costumes, the

bunad ''Bunad'' (, plural: ''bunader''/''bunadar'') is a Norwegian umbrella term encompassing, in its broadest sense, a range of both traditional rural clothes (mostly dating to the 18th and 19th centuries) as well as modern 20th-century folk costumes ...

, and was a pioneer in bringing the bunad into a wider public. Among her books are the songbook ''Norske Folkeviser'' from 1920 and four volumes treating Norwegian folk dances. She published the children's book ''Danse, danse dokka mi'' in 1958. She was decorated Knight, First Class of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

in 1954.

References

1884 births 1970 deaths Writers from Oslo Norwegian folklorists Norwegian female dancers Norwegian educators Women folklorists {{Dance-bio-stub