Jana Andrsová (Večtomová; 8 August 1939 – 16 February 2023) was a Czech ballerina and actress. In 1957 she graduated from the Dance Conservatory in Prague and began to work with the Vitus Nejedly Army Art Ensemble. FDb
Jana Andrsová

Laterna Magika

From 1959 to 1978, Andrsová worked with

Josef Svoboda Josef Svoboda (10 May 1920 – 8 April 2002) was a Czech artist and scenic designer. He was a production designer and director, known for Amadey (1984), Laterna Magika: Puzzles (1996) and Laterna Magika: Trap (1999). Education Svoboda was ...

's avant-garde multimedia company

Laterna Magika Laterna magika (), largely considered the world's first multimedia theatre, was founded as a cultural program at the 1958 Brussels Expo. It launched its official activity on 9 May 1959, as an independent company of the National Theatre, perform ...

, initially as a chorus girl and later (beginning in 1973) as a prima ballerina. In Allen Hughes' review of the company's August 1964

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

debut of a presentation that gave 23 performances at that venue under the direction of

Miloš Forman Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech Americans, Czech-American film film director, director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the Uni ...

,Dietz, D., ''The Complete Book of 1970s Broadway Musicals'' ( Lanham, MD:

Rowman & Littlefield Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an American independent academic publishing company founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns ...

, 2015)
p. 433
they are described as "a Czech theatrical spectacle that first came to international attention at the

Brussels World's Fair Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (; ), was a world's fair held on the Heysel Plateau, Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Belgium, from 17 April to 19 October 1958. It was the first major world's fair registered under the Bu ...

."Hughes, A.
"Theater: A Musical Spectacle From Czechoslovakia"
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 4 August 1964. In 1966 Andrsová starred in

Alfréd Radok Alfréd Radok (17 December 1914 in – 22 April 1976) was a distinguished Czech people, Czech stage director and film director. Radok's work belongs with the top Czech stage direction of the 20th century. He is often cited as a ''formalist'' in h ...

's choreographed multimedia production ''Laterna Magika: Variation 66, The Opening of the Wells'', cowritten by Forman in collaboration with

Jan Švankmajer Jan Švankmajer (born 4 September 1934) is a Czech retired film director, animator, writer, playwright and artist. He draws and makes free graphics, collage, ceramics, tactile objects and asse ...

.Miloš Forman's Official Website
About Theatre

Retirement and death

In retirement, Andrsová continued to make stage appearances. In 2014 (also a 2016 reprise) she performed as elderly virtuous heroine Madame de Rosemonde in the National Theatre Ballet world premiere production of ''Valmont'', choreographer Libor Vaculík's adaptation of ''

Les Liaisons dangereuses ''Les Liaisons dangereuses'' (; English: ''Dangerous Liaisons'') is a French epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in four volumes by Durand Neveu on March 23, 1782. It is the story of the Marquise Isabelle de Merteu ...

''.National Theatre Ballet (Prague)
''Valmont''
, 2014. Andrsová died on 16 February 2023, at the age of 83.

Filmography

* '' Strakonický dudák'' (1955) – wood nymph * '' Jak se Franta naučil bát'' (1959) – miller's daughter Veronika * ''

Rusalka In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalki; , plural: русалки; , plural: ''rusałki'') is a female entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water. It has counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as th ...

'' (1962) – Rusalka (part sung by

Milada Šubrtová Milada Šubrtová (24 May 1924 – 1 August 2011) was a Czech operatic soprano who had a lengthy career at the National Theatre in Prague from 1948 through 1991. She was part of an instrumental group of post-World War II Czech opera singers that ...

)Cheek, T., ''Rusalka: A Performance Guide with Translations and Pronunciation'' ( Lanham, MD:

Scarecrow Press Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an American independent academic publishing company founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns ...

, 2009)
p. 260
filmexporthomevideo
"Rusalka Jana Andrsová"

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

, 30 May 2012. * ''Hoffmannovy povídky'' (1962) – Olympia * ''Dvanáctého'' (1963) – dancer * ''Svět je báječné místo k narození'' (1968) – herself * ''Bludiště moci'' (1969) – ballerina * ''Kočičí princ'' (1978) – mother

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Andrsova, Jana 1939 births 2023 deaths 20th-century Czech actresses Czechoslovak actresses Czech dancers Actresses from Prague Prima ballerinas Czech ballerinas Dancers from Prague