Waldeen Falkenstein
Face of a young woman with light skin and dark hair.
Waldeen Falkenstein, from a 1933 publication
Born(1913-02-01)February 1, 1913
Dallas, United States
DiedAugust 18, 1993(1993-08-18) (aged 80)
Cuernavaca, Mexico
AwardsJosé Limón Award (1988)

Waldeen (von) Falkenstein[1] Brooke de Zatz[2] better known as "Waldeen" (February 1, 1913 – August 18, 1993) was an American-born dancer and choreographer. Together with Anna Sokolow, Alicia Markova, Anton Dolin and Michel Descombey, she belongs to the great precursors of modern Mexican dance.[3]

Biography

Waldeen was born in Dallas. Her father, an engraver, and her mother, a pianist, greatly encouraged Waldeen to explore the arts from a young age. Due to this, among other influences, she developed a dream of becoming a ballet dancer, and said she never wanted to do anything else.[4] She spent the better part of her youth training under Theodore Kosloff in Los Angeles, where he recognized her talent early and invited her to tour with his ballet company.[5] Her first solo performance, done at age 13, was for the Los Angeles Opera Company.[6] She joined the Japanese choreographer Seki Sano when he moved to Mexico. She taught and performed in Los Angeles in the early 1930s.[7] She returned to Mexico with the dancer Winifred Widener to Mexico City in 1939, where they danced at the theater of fine arts (Spanish: Teatro de Bellas Artes). She was ordered to establish the Ballet de Bellas Artes, the ballet group of the theater, which she led until it was dissolved in 1947. At this time she had also an affair with Bodo Uhse and lived together with him, before he married Alma Agee.[8]

Waldeen married Rodolfo Valencia, a theater director, and was invited by the revolutionary government of Cuba, where she stood from 1962 to 1965. In 1966 she established a further ballet company, known as the "Waldeen Ballet". Notable dancers of the company were Guillermina Bravo and Ana Mérida.[9][10]

In 1988, she received the inaugural José Limón National Dance Award.[11]

She died in Cuernavaca.

References

  1. ↑ also findable under Falkestein
  2. ↑ Waldeen, 1913, 1993 (French), Bibliothèque de la danse de l'ESBCM.
  3. ↑ 25th Biennial Conference of ICKL. Also a published poet, Waldeen was an important early translator of the poetry of Pablo Neruda, who said to her: "Waldeen, thank you, for your poems of my poems, which are better than mine."
  4. ↑ "Waldeen and the Americas". www.jonathancohenweb.com. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Waldeen and the Americas". www.jonathancohenweb.com. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Waldeen and the Americas". www.jonathancohenweb.com. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  7. ↑ Who's who in music and dance in Southern California. University of California Libraries. Hollywood : Bureau of Musical Research. 1933. pp. 190.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. ↑ Kristin Silcher. Bodo Uhse: Sonntagsträumerei in der Alameda (German), Berlin, 1961.
  9. ↑ Von Falkestein, Waldeen
  10. ↑ Waldeen, Dirreción de Danza UNAM, Mexico City.
  11. ↑ "Este domingo, el 28º Premio Nacional de Danza José Limón a Cecilia Appleton" [This Sunday, the 25th José Limón National Dance Award to Cecilia Appleton] (in Spanish). Culiacán: Instituto Sinaloense de Cultura. April 11, 2015. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
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