Kranenburgh builds a stage for Gertrud Leistikow (1885–1948), a leading dancer and choreographer of German descent. After her first performance in the Netherlands exactly one hundred years ago, she put modern dance on the map as an art form in the years that followed. Her work was trendsetting. “There is no dancer who has escaped her influence,” wrote a reviewer in the 1930s. Besides being a pioneer, Leistikow is considered one of the founders of modern dance education. She was a breadwinner and mother and lived for several years in the municipality of Bergen, where she is also buried. The exhibition puts this “Pina Bausch of the interwar period” on the map through paintings, sculptures, masks, costumes, watercolors, woodcuts, posters, photographs, and two reconstructed choreographies on video.
Pioneer of a new world
Gertrud Leistikow, a century of dance art
Jan Sluijters
The divide between the dance and visual arts worlds was less distinct a century ago than it is today, and as a creative innovator, Leistikow became acquainted with the Dutch avant-garde. She posed for artists like Jan Sluijters, Else Berg drew her, Mommie Schwarz designed her posters, and she danced with masks by sculptor and decorative artist Hildo Krop. Poets also had her in their sights. In the early 1920s, Adriaan Roland Holst defended her in a letter to the editor of the Alkmaarse Courant. Two years ago, a poem for her by Bertolt Brecht surfaced; he was deeply impressed by Leistikow. Pioneer of a New World includes work by these artists, as well as by Elfriede Lohse-Wächtler, Hugo Erfurth, Hanns Holdt, and Harmen Meurs.
The sculptures by Edmund Möller, a well-known sculptor in Dresden at the time, are, as far as we know, being exhibited in the Netherlands for the first time. Striking are the dancer’s twisted posture, her head thrown back, and her complete immersion in the dance. In these images, Möller captures the ecstasy of dancing.
Bergen
Following in the wake of her artist friends, Leistikow discovered Bergen at the beginning of the 20th century. She enjoyed visiting and had friends with whom she could stay. For several years, she lived with her family in the house “Onder de Peppels” in Schoorl, in the municipality of Bergen; this house still stands. For her dance practice, she often went to the beach. When she became ill towards the end of her life, she often returned to Bergen. Her son Igor designed a house for her on Rondelaan in Bergen, but she died before she could move in.
Whistling and Cheering
Leistikow was born in 1885 in Bückeburg, Germany. She studied at the School of Arts and Crafts in Dresden and then discovered her talents in dance. Before the First World War, she built a successful career and toured Russia. In 1914, she performed for the first time at the Panopticum – later the Centraal Theater – on Amstelstraat in Amsterdam. A celebrity in Germany, she was greeted with whistles and jeers in the capital. The audience was at a loss; Leistikow’s dancing style was new, had nothing to do with classical ballet; she devised her own movements.
Success
To make amends, the director of the Panopticum invited the Amsterdam art world to perform, and she was met with success with this audience. When, after the First World War and her marriage to a Dutch rose grower, she settled permanently in the Netherlands, she received a warm welcome. The Netherlands gained a renowned dancer. She performed in many theaters, including the Carré Theatre and the Concertgebouw. The Stadsschouwburg in Amsterdam was her favorite venue, and Leistikow became the leading dancer at this capital’s theater. She also made a successful tour through the Dutch East Indies and taught in Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam.
Artworks
Jan Sluijters
De danseres Gertrud
Ca. 1920
Onbekende kunstenaar
Gertrud Leistokow
Ca. 1917
