Adeline Genée

Dame Adeline Genée DBE (born Anina Kirstina Margarete Petra Jensen; 6 January 1878  – 23 April 1970) was a Danish-British ballet dancer.

Early years

Anina Kirstina Margarete Petra Jensen was born in Hinnerup north of Aarhus, 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 Patti. 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 of the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen. Subsequently, in 1896, she danced with the Berlin Royal Opera Ballet and the Munich Opera Ballet.

At the Empire

In 1897, she accepted a booking for six weeks to appear in ''Monte Cristo'' at the Empire Theatre of Varieties in London. She was so admired for her classical style in that ballet, that she was offered the position of ''prima ballerina'' at the Empire, and stayed there for ten years.Cohen-Stratyner (1982), pp. 358–359, "Genée, Adeline"

The Empire's ballets were mostly choreographed by Katti Lanner, but Genée supplied much of her own choreography, in conjunction with her uncle Alexandre. Her further successes there included ''The Press'' (1898), ''Les Papillons'' (1900), ''High Jinks'' (1904), ''Cinderella'' (1906), and the British premiere of ''Coppélia'' (1906).

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.

Around the world

In November 1907, Genée sailed to the USA to perform in '' The Soul Kiss'' at the New York 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.

For several years, Genée alternated between a season in London and one in America, although after her marriage to Frank S. N. Isitt in 1910 she gradually reduced the frequency of her appearances. Sergei Diaghilev saw her dance and immediately offered her a contract, but she refused it.

When she returned to America in 1908 she toured with ''The Soul Kiss''. In subsequent American tours, she danced in ''The Silver Star'' (1909), ''The Bachelor Belles'' (1910), and ''Roses and Butterflies'' (1911). In the latter she was partnered by Alexis Kosloff, who presented her with a silver trophy, inscribed "To the World's Greatest Dancer".

On 3 December 1912 she made her debut at New York's Metropolitan Opera, with a program of divertissements which included ''La Camargo'', which had premiered earlier in 1912 at the London Coliseum. In it she recreated the dancing of the great ballerina Marie Camargo. On 17 December 1912, the Met saw the premiere of ''La danse'', subtitled "An Authentic Record by Adeline Genée of Dancing and Dancers between the Years 1710 and 1845". Its seven tableaux portrayed past ballerinas from Françoise Prévost to Marie Taglioni. ''La Camargo'' and ''La danse'' were original ballets by Genée, created in collaboration with the composer Dora Bright and the designer C. Wilhelm. She took these on her subsequent tours of America, Australia and New Zealand, as well as ''The Dryad'', an earlier collaboration with Bright which had been a success at the Empire in 1908.

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.

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 benefit show 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 Ingenio et Arti medal by the King of Denmark.

Her last performance was on 15 March 1933, for the early television service of the BBC
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