Gerd Neggo (9 November 1891 – 1 September 1974) was an

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

dancer, dance teacher and choreographer. She studied the musical response methods of É. Jaques-Dalcroze, trained under Rudolf von Laban in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, Germany, and in 1924 established her own dance studio at

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, Estonia, and promoted

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 ...

and

mime A mime artist, or simply mime (from Greek language, Greek , , "imitator, actor"), is a person who uses ''mime'' (also called ''pantomime'' outside of Britain), the acting out of a story through body motions without the use of speech, as a the ...

based on

classical ballet Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as en pointe, pointe work, turnout (ballet), turnout of the legs, ...

. During the

Soviet occupation of Estonia The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, (abbreviated Estonian SSR, Soviet Estonia, or simply Estonia ) was an administrative subunit ( union republic) of the former Soviet Union (USSR), covering the occupied and annexed territory of Estonia ...

, she and her husband Paul Olak migrated to Sweden. Her contributions to the cultural heritage of Estonia, as the founder of modern dance and mime in her country, is recognised via a scholarship, awarded annually since 2011.

Biography

Gerd Neggo was born in

Kuressaare Kuressaare () is a populated places in Estonia, town on the island of Saaremaa in Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saaremaa Municipality and the seat of Saare County. Kuressaare is the westernmost town in Estonia. The recorded popul ...

, Estonia, in 1891. She initially studied the Émile Jaques-Dalcroze methodology in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, then studied modern dance and mime under Rudolf von Laban, a Hungarian with an education in classical ballet, in his dance studio in

. After specializing in the art of modern dance, Neggo returned to Tallinn and established her own dance school in 1924. Here, she started teaching students adopting Laban's modern dance technique. She organized many solo and group dances, including pantomimes. She and her group held performances at the

Estonian Drama Theatre The Estonian Drama Theatre () is a theatre in Tallinn, Estonia. It has the role of a national theatre for Estonia. The Estonia Theatre is located next door. History The building that houses the Estonian Drama Theatre was originally built for the ...

in plays for children and young people with modern dance interludes, promoting intellectual, expressive, and creative development. Among the many famous artists who trained in her school were Ida Urbel (1900–83; she later founded the

Vanemuine Vanemuine () is a theatre in Tartu, Estonia. It is the first Estonian language, Estonian-language theatre. Stemming from the Vanemuine Society (1865), the theatre's first performance was Lydia Koidula's ''Saaremaa Onupoeg'' ("The cousin from S ...

dance company in 1935 and was its director until 1973); actress

Salme Reek Salme Helene Reek (10 November 1907 – 9 June 1996) was an Estonian stage, film, radio, and television actress and stage director whose career spanned nearly seventy years; sixty-six of which were spent as an actress at the Estonian Drama T ...

; Helmi Tohvelman; Edith Oltrop; Ida Urbel; Oskar Põlla; and Adele Kalmet. In 1925, she married Paul Olak, a theatre manager, journalist and

dramaturge A dramaturge or dramaturg (from Ancient Greek δραματουργός – dramatourgós) is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and pr ...

. In 1944, following the Soviet occupation and annexation of Estonia, she and her husband migrated to Sweden, initially staying in refugee camps, and sought job opportunities through correspondence with other Estonians living in Swedish camps. They were instrumental in creating a cultural life for Estonians living in the camps. Olak died in December 1949. In 1952 she performed with other Estonian expatriates at the

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera () is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the centre of Sweden's capital, Stockholm, in the borough of Norrmalm (borough), Norrmalm, on the eastern si ...

in Stockholm. Neggo died in Stockholm in 1974. In recognition of her contributions in founding modern dance in Estonia and promoting it as a national cultural heritage, the Estonian Cultural Endowment for Folk Culture of the

Government of Estonia The Government of the Republic of Estonia (''Estonian language, Estonian: Vabariigi Valitsus'') is the cabinet (government), cabinet of Estonia. Under the Constitution of Estonia, Constitution, it exercises executive power pursuant to the Cons ...

instituted an annual scholarships award, in 2011, to artists who promote modern dance as dance teachers. The scholarship is awarded through the Estonian Dance Education Union. It carries a cash prize to meet training costs within Estonia or

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

1000 for training abroad.

Citations and references

Cited sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Neggo, Gerd 1891 births 1974 deaths People from Kuressaare People from Kreis Ösel Estonian female dancers Estonian choreographers Estonian women choreographers Estonian World War II refugees Estonian emigrants to Sweden