Waldeen (von) Falkensteinalso findable under ''Falkestein'' Brooke de Zatz
(French), Bibliothèque de la danse de l'ESBCM. better known as "Waldeen" (February 1, 1913August 18, 1993) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

-born

dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...

and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

. Together with

Anna Sokolow Anna Sokolow (February 9, 1910, Hartford, Connecticut – March 29, 2000, Manhattan, New York City) was an American dancer and choreographer known for the social justice focus and theatricality of her work, and for her support of the developm ...

Alicia Markova Dame Alicia Markova DBE (1 December 1910 – 2 December 2004) was a British ballerina and a choreographer, director and teacher of classical ballet. Most noted for her career with Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and touring international ...

Anton Dolin Anton Dolin may refer to: * Anton Dolin (ballet dancer) Sir Anton Dolin (27 July 190425 November 1983) was an English ballet dancer and choreographer. Biography Dolin was born in Slinfold in Sussex as Sydney Francis Patrick Chippendall Healey ...

and

Michel Descombey Michel Descombey (28 October 1930 – 5 December 2011) was a French ballet dancer, choreographer and director. Descombay studied dancing in Paris, and debuted as a professional dancer of the Ballet de l'Opéra National in 1947. In 1959 he be ...

, she belongs to the great precursors of modern

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

dance.''25th Biennial Conference of ICKL''
Also a published poet, Waldeen was an important early translator of the poetry of

who said to her: "Waldeen, thank you, for your poems of my poems, which are better than mine."

Biography

Waldeen was born in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. Her father, an engraver, and her mother, a pianist, greatly encouraged Waldeen to explore the arts from a young age. Due to this, among other influences, she developed a dream of becoming a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

dancer, and said she never wanted to do anything else. She spent the better part of her youth training under

Theodore Kosloff Theodore Kosloff (born Fyodor Mikhailovich Kozlov, russian: Фёдор Михайлович Козлов; January 22, 1882 – November 22, 1956) was a Russian-born ballet dancer, choreographer, and film and stage actor. He was occasionally cr ...

in Los Angeles, where he recognized her talent early and invited her to tour with his ballet company. Her first solo performance, done at age 13, was for the Los Angeles Opera Company. She joined the Japanese choreographer

Seki Sano Seki Sano (Japanese: 佐野碩) (January 14, 1905, Tientsin – September 29, 1966, Mexico City) was a Japanese actor, stage director and choreographer. He contributed to the development of the theatre in Japan and later in Mexico, where he was kn ...

when he moved to Mexico. She taught and performed in Los Angeles in the early 1930s. She returned to Mexico with the dancer Winifred Widener to

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

in 1939, where they danced at the theater of fine arts ( es, Teatro de Bellas Artes). She was ordered to establish the ''Ballet de Bellas Artes'', the ballet group of the theater, which she led until it was dissolved in 1947. At this time she had also an affair with

Bodo Uhse Bodo Uhse (12 March 1904 in Rastatt, Grand Duchy of Baden – 2 July 1963 in Berlin) was a German writer, journalist and political activist. He was recognised as one of the most prominent authors in East Germany. Early years Uhse came from a Prus ...

and lived together with him, before he married Alma Agee.Kristin Silcher
''Bodo Uhse: Sonntagsträumerei in der Alameda''
(German), Berlin, 1961. Waldeen married Rodolfo Valencia, a theater director, and was invited by the revolutionary government of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, where she stood from 1962 to 1965. In 1966 she established a further ballet company, known as the "Waldeen Ballet". Notable dancers of the company were

Guillermina Bravo Guillermina Nicolasa Bravo Canales (November 13, 1920 – November 6, 2013 ) was a Mexican modern dancer, choreographer and artistic director of Ballet Nacional de Mexico. She was co-founder of the academy of Mexican dance ( es, Academia de la D ...

and Ana Mérida.''Von Falkestein, Waldeen''
/ref>
Dirreción de Danza UNAM, Mexico City. In 1988, she received the inaugural José Limón National Dance Award. She died in

Cuernavaca Cuernavaca (; nci-IPA, Cuauhnāhuac, kʷawˈnaːwak "near the woods", ) is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. The city is located around a 90-minute drive south of Mexico City using the Federal Highway 95D. The na ...

References

External links

* * Jonathan Cohen
Waldeen and the Americas: The Dance Has Many Faces
* * Deborah Smith
Terpsichore's Daughter
Authorized biography of Waldeen. {{DEFAULTSORT:Falkenstein, Waldeen American ballerinas American choreographers American women choreographers Mexican ballerinas Mexican choreographers Mexican women choreographers Ballet choreographers People from Dallas 1913 births 1993 deaths 20th-century American women 20th-century American ballet dancers American emigrants to Mexico