Anna Charlotta Behle (9 August 1876 – 2 October 1966) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

dancer and teacher of

rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coord ...

and solfège.

Biography

Behle was born in Stockholm in 1876 to unwed parents, and was adopted, along with her brother August, by the Granbäck family, who ensured that she had a full education. She received her degree as an organist from composer in 1896. In 1898 she enrolled at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, where she took courses in solo singing for five semesters and then spent time in France, where she changed her surname from Granbäck to Behle. Considered a pioneer of modern dance in Sweden, she first became interested in the art after watching Isadora Duncan perform. Back in Sweden, on 1 May 1906, she went with a friend, Louise Wikström, to the on Karlavägen in Stockholm to see guest Isadora Duncan. They sought out the dancer and were invited to her school outside Berlin in what is now the

Grunewald Grunewald is the name of both a locality and a forest in Germany: * Grunewald (forest) * Grunewald (locality) Grünewald may refer to: * Grünewald (surname) * Grünewald, Germany, a municipality in Brandenburg, Germany * Grünewald (Luxembourg), ...

quarter. After initial studies in singing with Eugène Crosti and Emile Wartel in Paris, she studied dance with Duncan and with Emile Jacques-Dalcroze in Geneva, later graduating from the Dalcroze Institute near Dresden in 1911. Combining Duncan's artistry with Dalcroze's pedagogy and technique (), Behle's own version of free dance was formed. After returning to Geneva in 1907 for another summer course, the two friends set up Sweden's first Duncan school of plastic and

in a four-room apartment at Brahegatan 45 in Stockholm. Her students included dancer and writer . In 1909, Behle became a member of

Nya Idun Nya Idun is a Swedish cultural association for women founded in 1885, originally as a female counterpart to Sällskapet Idun ('the Idun Society'). Its aim was to "gather educated women in the Stockholm area for informal gatherings". There was a ...

, a Swedish women's association. Behle died in Stockholm in 1966. A portrait of Behle by

Maj Bring Ebba Maria Bring, better known as Maj (Uppsala, 29 August 1880 – Stockholm, 5 December 1971) was a Swedish painter and model. She was the daughter of Sven Casper Bring. Bring was educated at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm ...

, painted in 1906, is part of the collection of portraits at Gripsholm Castle.

Biography

References

Further reading