Gerd Larsen
| Gerd Larsen | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Gerd Elly 19 February 1921 Oslo, Norway |
| Died | 4 October 2001 (aged 80) London, England |
| Occupation | Ballerina |
| Organization | Royal Ballet |
| Spouse(s) | Harold Turner |
Gerd Larsen born Gerd Elly (19 February 1921 – 4 October 2001) was a Norwegian ballerina who performed frequently with England's Royal Ballet, in a career lasting over fifty years up until her seventy-fifth birthday. In her later years she was known for her mime roles.
Gerd Elly was born in Oslo, Norway on 19 February 1921. Her father, Leonard, was a civil servant.
In the late 1930s, Elly came to London to study with Margaret Craske, and Antony Tudor, the first British ballet expert to recognise her skills. She joined Tudor's London Ballet in 1938, founded after he broke with Ballet Rambert. In 1938, Tudor created two roles for Larsen, Canonetta in Soirée Musicale and the French ballerina in Gala Performance.
Elly first danced with Sadler's Wells Ballet (now The Royal Ballet) in 1944. This was the same year that she married the ballet star Harold Turner becoming his second wife. Now Gerd Larsen, she was later promoted to soloist in 1954. Sir Frederick Ashton noted her stage presence even in nearly static roles, casting her as Hera, in his 1951 Tiresias, and as Demeter is his 1961 Persephone. Back in 1960, Larsen had been selected by the Russian former prima ballerina Tamara Karsavina to be personally coached to play this mime role, for a revised staging of the ballet.
In 1965, Larsen created the role of Nurse in Kenneth MacMillan's Royal Ballet production of Romeo and Juliet to the music of Sergei Prokofiev. The ballerina Deborah Bull remembers Larsen as one of the "resident teachers" at the Royal Ballet. The others being Brian Shaw, Alexander Agadzhanov, and Elizabeth Anderton. Bull particularly admired Larsen's ability to introduce mime into the ballet.
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