The 1903 black-and-white film may be jerky, but the Danish ballerina's technique still impresses a century after its recording
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Ellen Price, the early-20th-century Danish ballerina, has two claims to immortality. Firstly as the model for Edvard Eriksen's statue of The Little Mermaid, the tourist face of Copenhagen; and secondly as one of the very first ballerinas whose dancing has been preserved on film.
Price belonged to one of Denmark's great performing dynasties, founded by an English circus rider and pantomime artist, James Price, who settled in Copenhagen in the late 18th century. Price's descendents became dominant throughout Danish theatre and ballet: his granddaughter Juliette was the first ballerina to dance Giselle for the Royal Danish Ballet: Ellen's mother and father (Juliette's cousin) were themselves principal dancers, and Ellen made her debut with the company in 1895.
It was Ellen's performance of the...
Reading on mobile? Click here to watch the video
Ellen Price, the early-20th-century Danish ballerina, has two claims to immortality. Firstly as the model for Edvard Eriksen's statue of The Little Mermaid, the tourist face of Copenhagen; and secondly as one of the very first ballerinas whose dancing has been preserved on film.
Price belonged to one of Denmark's great performing dynasties, founded by an English circus rider and pantomime artist, James Price, who settled in Copenhagen in the late 18th century. Price's descendents became dominant throughout Danish theatre and ballet: his granddaughter Juliette was the first ballerina to dance Giselle for the Royal Danish Ballet: Ellen's mother and father (Juliette's cousin) were themselves principal dancers, and Ellen made her debut with the company in 1895.
It was Ellen's performance of the...
- 9/5/2013
- by Judith Mackrell
- The Guardian - Film News
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