Luise "Niddy" Impekoven (2 November 1904 – 20 November 2002) was a German dancer of the

Golden Twenties The Golden Twenties (), also known as the Happy Twenties (), was a five-year time period within the decade of the 1920s in Germany. The era began in 1924, after the end of the hyperinflation following World War I, and ended with the Wall Stree ...

Career

Impekoven took up dancing at a young age and first performed publicly in 1910. She was considered a child prodigy and received intense dance training from and others. She danced almost exclusively to

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

. Her performances were

expressionistic Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radi ...

and sometimes humorous. Her well-known choreographies included ''Der gefangene Vogel'', ', and ''Schalk''. Impekoven became famous outside Germany during the 1920s, performing in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. By the 1930s she had toured in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

and

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. She appeared in three 1920s films, most notably ''

Ways to Strength and Beauty ''Ways to Strength and Beauty'' () is a 1925 German cultural film directed by Wilhelm Prager. The 125 minute full-length silent film was produced by Ufa-Kulturabteilung of Weimar Germany. The film was first screened on 16 March 1925 and in a r ...

''. She retired from professional dancing in 1934, in part due to the

Nazi seizure of power The rise to power of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919, when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He quickly rose t ...

, and went on to live in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, where she published her memoirs in 1955.

Personal life

Impekoven was born in 1904 in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Toni Toni, Toñi or Tóni is a unisex given name used in several European countries as well as among individuals with ancestry from these countries outside Europe. In Spanish language, Spanish, Italian language, Italian, Croatian language, Croatian an ...

and Frieda Impekoven. The family later moved to

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

and then

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. In 1919 she experienced a personal crisis, suffering from depression and

anorexia nervosa Anorexia nervosa (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by Calorie restriction, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. Individuals wit ...

; her parents brought her to

Bad Ragaz Bad or BAD may refer to: Common meanings *Evil, the opposite of moral good * Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect * Unhealthy, or counter to well-being *Antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy o ...

, Switzerland, where she recovered under the care of . She married in 1923 but they divorced in 1929. She died in 2002 in Bad Ragaz.

References

External links

* 1904 births 2002 deaths Dancers from Berlin German female dancers 20th-century German dancers 20th-century German women {{germany-entertainer-stub

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading

External links