Hendrina Cornelia (Corrie) Hartong (23 February 1906 – 9 August 1991) was a dancer, dance teacher and choreographer in the Netherlands.

Biography

Hendrina Cornelia Hartong was born in Rotterdam on 23 February 1906. She studied modern dance with Mary Wigman in Dresden. Mary Wigman's ''

Ausdruckstanz ''Expressive dance'' from German ''Ausdruckstanz'', is a form of artistic dance in which the individual and artistic presentation (and sometimes also processing) of feelings is an essential part. It emerged as a counter-movement to classi ...

'' expressionist modern dance style inspired Corrie Hartong and others to start their own dance schools and to develop performances themselves. Between 1928 and 1931 she taught in

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany a ...

and Magdeburg. She then returned to Rotterdam to teach. In 1931 Hartong set up the

Rotterdam School of Dance Codarts University for the Arts ( nl, Codarts hogeschool voor de kunsten) is a Dutch vocational university in Rotterdam that teaches music, dance and circus. It was established in its present location in 2000. History Codarts can trace its origin ...

along with the German dancer and teacher

Gertrud Leistikow Gertrud Leistikow (12 September 1885 – 23 November 1948) was a German dancer and choreographer. She is primarily associated with nude and Grotesque dance. Life and work Gertrud Leistikow was born on 12 September 1885 in Bückeburg, Lower S ...

, who was 21 years older. The two disagreed over objectives, and after three years Leistikow left. In 1935 the dance school became part of the

Rotterdam Conservatory Codarts University for the Arts ( nl, Codarts hogeschool voor de kunsten) is a Dutch vocational university in Rotterdam that teaches music, dance and circus. It was established in its present location in 2000. History Codarts can trace its orig ...

under

Willem Pijper Willem Frederik Johannes Pijper (; 8 September 189418 March 1947) was a Dutch composer, music critic and music teacher. Pijper is considered to be among the most important Dutch composers of the first half of the 20th century. Life Pijper was b ...

, with Hartong as director. She was to remain in this position until 1967. She initiated creation of the dance library to the Amsterdam Theater Instituut Nederland.

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

broke out in 1939 and the Netherlands were invaded in May 1940. On 14 May 1940 the buildings of the dance school and the main building of the conservatory were destroyed by bombs, and it was decided to merge the two conservatories in one building on the Mathenesserlaan, where the music school had a branch. Soon they moved again to a big old house that had somehow been spared, totally surrounded by rubble, and managed to continue day classes and early evening classes before curfew throughout the remainder of the war. After the war ended in 1945 she held several administrative positions. In 1946 she was co-founder of the Dutch Association of Dance Artists, and for seven years was chairman. Corrie Hartong died in Rotterdam on 9 August 1991 at the age of 86.

Legacy

The Corrie Hartong Fonds is named in her memory. The fund awards an annual scholarship to exceptionally talented students at

Codarts Codarts University for the Arts ( nl, Codarts hogeschool voor de kunsten) is a Dutch vocational university in Rotterdam that teaches music, dance and circus. It was established in its present location in 2000. History Codarts can trace its origin ...

. Two former students of the

Havo voor Muziek en Dans (School for Music and Dance) formerly is a secondary school ( havo) in Rotterdam, Netherlands that specializes in music and dance. It has about 200 pupils from all parts of the country. The shares a building and music and dance teachers with ...

, a secondary school co-located with Codarts with a special focus on music and dance, received a Corrie Hartong scholarship for the 2011-2012 academic year. Joris Bergmans was funded for an internship at

Introdans Introdans is a dance company based in the city of Arnhem in the Netherlands, established in 1971 by Hans Focking and Ton Wiggers. In 2009 the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science designated Introdans part of the basic national infrastructure ...

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It i ...

and Christopher Renfurm for a stint at

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is a modern dance company based in New York City. It was founded in 1958 by choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey. It is made up of 32 dancers, led by artistic director Robert Battle and associate a ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

Bibliography

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References

;Notes ;Citations {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartong, Corrie 1906 births 1991 deaths Dutch choreographers Dutch female dancers Entertainers from Rotterdam Codarts University for the Arts alumni