Asta Malthea Mollerup (22 May 1881 – 25 September 1945) was a Danish dance teacher who was one of the first to introduce the Danes to
modern dance
Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert dance, concert or theatrical dance which includes dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th ...
, a new trend which was inspired by the American dancer
Isadora Duncan
Angela Isadora Duncan (May 26, 1877, or May 27, 1878 – September 14, 1927) was an American-born dancer and choreographer, who was a pioneer of modern contemporary dance and performed to great acclaim throughout Europe and the United States. Bor ...
and the German choreographer
Mary Wigman
Mary Wigman (born Karoline Sophie Marie Wiegmann; 13 November 1886 – 18 September 1973) was a German dancer and choreographer who pioneered expressionist dance, dance therapy, and movement training without pointe shoes. She is considered on ...
. From 1914, she ran her own dancing school for children in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
and in 1927 she founded the Asta Mollerup School for Female Dancers (''Asta Mollerup Danserindeskolen''). Apart from the
Royal Danish Academy of Music
The Royal Danish Academy of Music, or Royal Danish Conservatory of Music (), in Copenhagen is the oldest professional institution of musical education in Denmark as well as the largest, with approximately 400 students. It was established in 186 ...
, it was Denmark's only dancing school.
Biography
Born on 22 May 1881 in Copenhagen, Asta Malthea Mollerup was the daughter of the museum director Arthur Julius William Mollerup (1846–1917) and Caroline Susanne Ewald Rothe (1853–1938). She was initially trained as a dancer by a Russian ballet master in
Oslo
Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
. On returning to Copenhagen in 1914, she opened a ballet and rhythmic dance school for children and young adults. Until 1925, she also taught gymnastics and dance at Marie Mørk's School in
Hillerød
Hillerød () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 36,604 (1 January 2025)Lyubov Yegorova in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and Wigman in
Dresden
Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
. Her own courses developed from a foundation in classical ballet to far more expressive choreography based on trends in modern dance.
The school she opened in 1927 (''Danserindeskolen'') was very special in that it not only taught dance with special attention to anatomy, Mensendieck gymnastics, history of dance, music, costumes and
scenography
Scenography is the practice of crafting stage environments or atmospheres. In the contemporary English usage, scenography can be defined as the combination of technological and material stagecrafts to represent, enact, and produce a sense of plac ...
, but covered the normal school curriculum with Danish, German, French, English, maths, geography and cultural history. Every two years the pupils displayed their skills, sometimes also appearing on the stages of Copenhagen and the provinces. For her attention to French language and culture, Mollerup was awarded the
Ordre des Palmes Académiques
A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...
.
The school continued to prosper, especially in the 1930s. Among its students were the actress
Lilian Ellis
Lilian Ellis (25 May 1907 – 21 February 1951) was a Denmark, Danish actress. She was born as Ellis Stampe Bendix.
Selected filmography
* ''Strauss Is Playing Today'' (1928)
* ''Lieutenant of His Majesty'' (1929)
* ''Wiener Herzen'' (1930)
* ''1 ...
, the dancers Bodil Genkel and Else Knipschildt, and the ballerina
Nini Theilade
Nini Arlette Theilade (15 June 1915 – 13 February 2018) was a Danish ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher.
Early life
Theilade was born in Purwokerto on the island of Java, then in the Dutch East Indies, now in Indonesia. She was an only ...
. Asta Mollerup's niece Mette Mollerup (1931–1983) also attended the school.
Asta Mollerup died in Copenhagen on 25 September 1945. She is buried in
Taarbæk
Taarbæk is a neighbourhood in Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality. The neighbourhood covers approximately 0.5 km2, located between Jægersborg Dyrehave and Øresund. The population is estimated to ca. 1700 residents. Traditionally, Taarbæk was a f ...