Adeline Genée
Encyclopedia
Dame Adeline Genée DBE (6 January 1878 - 23 April 1970) was a Danish
/British
ballet
dancer.
. Genée's debut was with her uncle's touring company at the age of ten in Oslo
(at that time called Christiania).
In 1895, she became the principal dancer at the Royal Opera House in Copenhagen
. Subsequently, in 1896, she danced with the Berlin Court Opera Ballet and the Munich Opera Ballet. In 1897, she accepted a booking for six weeks in England. She gained such success that she stayed for ten years.
(1906) of Coppélia
. The Edwardian period probably represents the lowest point in the history of English ballet. It consisted of short dances in variety programs. Genée did much to raise the status of ballet by reviving earlier productions and creating an audience for more elaborate works.
She was versatile enough to dance light musical hall roles and in more severe classical roles. Slender and elegant, she was often described as like "Dresden china". In one respect she was very backward-looking, preferring a style of costume that belonged to the 1830s.
From April 1905, Genée danced in 400 performances of the musical play, The Little Michus
, at Daly's Theatre
.
. The producer, Florenz Ziegfeld
, described her on the posters as "The World's Greatest Dancer." In the United States at that time, many people were entirely unfamiliar with ballet, so a ballet performance needed to be presented as part of a musical spectacular.
In 1910, Genée married Frank S. N. Isitt and gradually reduced the frequency of her appearances. In 1911, Alexis Kosloff presented her with a silver trophy, inscribed "To the World's Greatest Dancer". For several years, Genée alternated between a season in London and one in New York. Diaghilev saw her dance and immediately offered her a contract, but she refused it. On 21 June 1913, she returned to her greatest role, as Swanilda in Coppélia
, this time in Melbourne
. On 6 August 1913, Genée danced in Sydney
.
During her tours in America, Australia and New Zealand, she also danced her own ballets, created in collaboration with the composer Dora Bright
and the designer C. Wilhelm. These ballets, which she also performed in London, included The Dryad, La Camargo and La danse.
In 1916, she went on a sixteen-week tour of Australia with J. C. Williamson
's company. The Australian navy wildly cheered her dancing a hornpipe in a charity performance billed as "Navy Night". On returning to London, she gave her last major performance in April 1916 at the Coliseum
in The Pretty Prentice. Thereafter, she appeared only in occasional charity performances and commemorations. In 1923, Genée was awarded the Order of "Ingenu et Arti" by the King of Denmark. Genée last performed at the Coliseum Theatre in London on March 4, 1933, when the theatre changed from a music hall
into an opera house
.
Genée became a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
in 1950. She gave her name to the Genee Theatre in East Grinstead
and the Genée studio in the Royal Academy of Dance
, Battersea
, London.
in Piccadilly
, with Genée as one of the special guests representing what were, at the time, recognised as the leading methods of Classical Ballet training.
This meeting ultimately led to the formation of the Association of Teachers of Operatic Dancing of Great Britain, which was officially founded in December 1920. The Association grew in size and influence, with Queen Mary
consenting to become its Patron. A Royal Charter
was eventually granted by King George V
in 1935, with the Association becoming the Royal Academy of Dancing. In 1953, Genée instituted the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award
. She was President of the Academy until her retirement in 1954, when she was succeeded by Dame Margot Fonteyn.
Today, the Association is known as the Royal Academy of Dance
(RAD), with Dame Antoinette Sibley as President. It has grown to become one of the largest and most influential dance teaching and examination boards in the World. The RAD now has over 13,000 members, and operates in 79 countries Worldwide. There are currently over 1,000 students in full-time or part-time teacher training programmes with the Academy and each year, the examination syllabus is taught to more than a quarter of a million students worldwide.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
/British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
dancer.
Early years
Anina Kirstina Margarete Petra Jensen was born in Århus, Denmark. Her uncle, Alexandre Genée, gave her dancing lessons from the age of three. When she was eight, Alexandre and his wife, the former Antonia Zimmerman, adopted her. As well as changing her last name to Genée, she changed her first name to Adeline in honour of the Italian opera star Adelina PattiAdelina Patti
Adelina Patti was a highly acclaimed 19th-century opera singer, earning huge fees at the height of her career in the music capitals of Europe and America. She first sang in public as a child in 1851 and gave her last performance before an audience in 1914...
. Genée's debut was with her uncle's touring company at the age of ten in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
(at that time called Christiania).
In 1895, she became the principal dancer at the Royal Opera House in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. Subsequently, in 1896, she danced with the Berlin Court Opera Ballet and the Munich Opera Ballet. In 1897, she accepted a booking for six weeks in England. She gained such success that she stayed for ten years.
At the Empire
While dancing with the Ballet of the Empire Theatre in London, she was so admired for her classical style in Monte Christo that she was offered the position of Prima Ballerina at the same theatre. She performed in The Press, Les Papillons and the British premierePremiere
A premiere is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media...
(1906) of Coppélia
Coppélia
Coppélia is a sentimental comic ballet with original choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon to a ballet libretto by Saint-Léon and Charles Nuitter and music by Léo Delibes. It was based upon two macabre stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Der Sandmann , and Die Puppe...
. The Edwardian period probably represents the lowest point in the history of English ballet. It consisted of short dances in variety programs. Genée did much to raise the status of ballet by reviving earlier productions and creating an audience for more elaborate works.
She was versatile enough to dance light musical hall roles and in more severe classical roles. Slender and elegant, she was often described as like "Dresden china". In one respect she was very backward-looking, preferring a style of costume that belonged to the 1830s.
From April 1905, Genée danced in 400 performances of the musical play, The Little Michus
The Little Michus
Les p'tites Michu is an opérette in three acts, composed by André Messager. The libretto was by Albert Vanloo and Georges Duval.Dismayed by the Paris reception for his 1896 piece, Le Chevalier d’Harmental, Messager retreated to London vowing to write no more...
, at Daly's Theatre
Daly's Theatre
Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937.-Early years:...
.
Around the world
In November 1907, Genée sailed to the USA to perform in The Soul Kiss at the New York TheatreNew York Theatre
Several theatres in New York City have been called New York Theatre at various times during the building's life. They include the following:*Bowery Theatre*Olympia Theatre *Church of the Messiah...
. The producer, Florenz Ziegfeld
Florenz Ziegfeld
Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. , , was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the Ziegfeld Follies , inspired by the Folies Bergère of Paris. He also produced the musical Show Boat...
, described her on the posters as "The World's Greatest Dancer." In the United States at that time, many people were entirely unfamiliar with ballet, so a ballet performance needed to be presented as part of a musical spectacular.
In 1910, Genée married Frank S. N. Isitt and gradually reduced the frequency of her appearances. In 1911, Alexis Kosloff presented her with a silver trophy, inscribed "To the World's Greatest Dancer". For several years, Genée alternated between a season in London and one in New York. Diaghilev saw her dance and immediately offered her a contract, but she refused it. On 21 June 1913, she returned to her greatest role, as Swanilda in Coppélia
Coppélia
Coppélia is a sentimental comic ballet with original choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon to a ballet libretto by Saint-Léon and Charles Nuitter and music by Léo Delibes. It was based upon two macabre stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Der Sandmann , and Die Puppe...
, this time in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. On 6 August 1913, Genée danced in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
During her tours in America, Australia and New Zealand, she also danced her own ballets, created in collaboration with the composer Dora Bright
Dora Bright
Dora Estella Bright, later known as Dora Estella Knatchbull, was an English composer and pianist. She composed works for orchestra, keyboard and voice, and music for opera and ballet, including ballets for performance by the dancer Adeline Genée.-Biography:Bright was born in...
and the designer C. Wilhelm. These ballets, which she also performed in London, included The Dryad, La Camargo and La danse.
In 1916, she went on a sixteen-week tour of Australia with J. C. Williamson
J. C. Williamson
James Cassius Williamson was an American actor and later Australia's foremost theatrical manager, founding J. C. Williamson Ltd....
's company. The Australian navy wildly cheered her dancing a hornpipe in a charity performance billed as "Navy Night". On returning to London, she gave her last major performance in April 1916 at the Coliseum
Coliseum Theatre
The London Coliseum is an opera house and major performing venue on St. Martin's Lane, central London. It is one of London's largest and best equipped theatres and opened in 1904, designed by theatrical architect Frank Matcham , for impresario Oswald Stoll...
in The Pretty Prentice. Thereafter, she appeared only in occasional charity performances and commemorations. In 1923, Genée was awarded the Order of "Ingenu et Arti" by the King of Denmark. Genée last performed at the Coliseum Theatre in London on March 4, 1933, when the theatre changed from a music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
into an opera house
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
.
Genée became a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1950. She gave her name to the Genee Theatre in East Grinstead
East Grinstead
East Grinstead is a town and civil parish in the northeastern corner of Mid Sussex, West Sussex in England near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders. It lies south of London, north northeast of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester...
and the Genée studio in the Royal Academy of Dance
Royal Academy of Dance
The Royal Academy of Dance is an international dance education and training organization, and examination board that specialises in the teaching and technique of Ballet. The RAD was established in London, England in 1920 as the Association of Operatic Dancing of Great Britain, and received its...
, Battersea
Battersea
Battersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...
, London.
Royal Academy of Dance
In 1920, Genée collaborated with Philip Richardson of the Dancing Time magazine, with the aim of improving the standard of dance and the teaching of dance in the United Kingdom. This led Richardson to organise a meeting of eminent dance professionals at the former Trocadero RestaurantTrocadero (London)
The London Trocadero is an entertainment complex in Shaftesbury Avenue, London originally built as a restaurant but most recently used as an exhibition and entertainment space....
in Piccadilly
Piccadilly
Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...
, with Genée as one of the special guests representing what were, at the time, recognised as the leading methods of Classical Ballet training.
- Phyllis BedellsPhyllis BedellsPhyllis Bedells was an English ballerina and teacher. She studied with Bolm, Cecchetti, and Pavlova. From 1907 she was a dancer at the London Empire Theatre and became the first British prima ballerina there in 1914. She left in 1916 to dance in West End musical revues and in opera ballets at...
- English Method - Lucia CormaniLucia CormaniLucia Cormani was a 19th and early 20th century Italian ballet dancer and one of the founders of the Royal Academy of Dance.Lucia's life is not well documented, in part because she never danced in the most famous female roles. She was probably born about 1854 and died shortly after 1934...
- Italian Method - Edouard EspinosaEdouard EspinosaEdouard Espinosa was co-founder and Principal Examiner of the Association of Operatic Dancing. Born in Moscow - the son of Léon Espinosa and Mathilda Oberst...
- French Method - Adeline Genée - Bournonville Method, Denmark
- Tamara KarsavinaTamara KarsavinaTamara Platonovna Karsavina was a famous Russian ballerina, renowned for her beauty, who was most noted as a Principal Artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and later the Ballets Russes of Serge Diaghilev...
- Imperial Method, Russia
This meeting ultimately led to the formation of the Association of Teachers of Operatic Dancing of Great Britain, which was officially founded in December 1920. The Association grew in size and influence, with Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
consenting to become its Patron. A Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
was eventually granted by King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
in 1935, with the Association becoming the Royal Academy of Dancing. In 1953, Genée instituted the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award
Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award
The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award is an honour presented annually by the Royal Academy of Dance, to people who have made a significant contribution to the ballet and dance industry. The award was instituted by Dame Adeline Genee in 1953, to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and her...
. She was President of the Academy until her retirement in 1954, when she was succeeded by Dame Margot Fonteyn.
Today, the Association is known as the Royal Academy of Dance
Royal Academy of Dance
The Royal Academy of Dance is an international dance education and training organization, and examination board that specialises in the teaching and technique of Ballet. The RAD was established in London, England in 1920 as the Association of Operatic Dancing of Great Britain, and received its...
(RAD), with Dame Antoinette Sibley as President. It has grown to become one of the largest and most influential dance teaching and examination boards in the World. The RAD now has over 13,000 members, and operates in 79 countries Worldwide. There are currently over 1,000 students in full-time or part-time teacher training programmes with the Academy and each year, the examination syllabus is taught to more than a quarter of a million students worldwide.