La Sylphe
Encyclopedia
La Sylphe was an exotic American dancer who became a sensation while performing at the Folies Bergère in the 1890s. Her true name was Edith Lambelle Langerfeld.
has in their collection a photograph of Arthur Langerfeld with one of the machines he invented for use in the mining of coal.
in London during her second world tour. This was among the most lucrative positions in the dancing world. Soon she appeared for two seasons at the Folies Bergère.
She made her debut in the United States at the age of 14, appearing first on the Pacific Coast
. She danced in New York City beginning in 1899. There she introduced her rendition of The Vision of Salome
dance.
by Richard Strauss
was banned by the Metropolitan Opera
in 1907. She called her performances The Remorse of Salome. She understood the body dance of the Far East, which had been termed the houchee kouchee when it was first observed at the Chicago World's Fair
in 1893. She was part of a vaudeville
show at Koster & Bial's Music Hall in October 1899. She danced in a scene at a French ball included in a skit entitled Around New York In Eighty Minutes. A review described her as a young woman who was seemingly made up of muscle but without bones, and who would make an ordinary contortionist turn green with envy at his talk of suppleness. Her mid-waist was covered only by several yards of pearls. On occasion she wore tights or a picketfence skirt and a gossamer
bodice
. She once complained about the bodice being too warm and threatened to leave it off in the next day's show. Although her appearances often provoked shock, La Sylphe confessed that her New York performances were tame in comparison to those she gave earlier in Europe. She performed as close a rendition of her muscle dance as she dared, given American conventions. However, she admitted that a more accurate interpretation of the Salome dance would have more closely followed the dances of the Orient.
La Sylphe signed with Martin Beck, general manager of the Orpheum Circuit, Inc.
, for a tour in 1908. The danseuse debuted in Oakland, California
in March. She danced at Keith & Proctor's vaudeville theater at 125th Street in Harlem
under the watchful eye of a New York City police lieutenant and a squad of plainclothes men, in July 1908. Her repertoire began with a pirouette called the dance classical. This was a classic toe dance. During her Parisian gigolette she appeared sans tights. While she readied for the Dance Salome, moving pictures of her performances were shown on a white screen. Men mostly remained in their seats at this time while females in the audience often made a rush for fresh air. James J. Corbett
, giving a monologue
, was also on the bill, as were Bedini and Arthur, who did a burlesque
of La Sylphe. On July 20 La Sylphe altered her routine a bit. Instead of a toe dance she carried out a Spanish castanet
dance in costume, which earned her an enthusiastic response from the audience. The following week she was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre
. There she extended the length of her Salome dance, which was embellished by the addition of scenery. The head of John The Baptist
was not featured in the new show. Instead, the stage included a desert scene depicting a monolith
, in front of which incense was burning.
Joseph M. Gaites signed La Sylphe to tour with the Follies of 1907 for a period of thirty-five weeks at the end of July 1908. Returning to Keith & Proctor's in early August, she added a
new dance called The Devil to her repertoire.
La Sylphe was in the cast of George White's Scandals
of 1919. The show was a revue
in two acts with eighteen scenes. White was among the players, as was dancer Ann Pennington (Ziegfeld star)
.
La Sylphe did an acrobatic dance for a summer evening in June. Scandals of 1920 was staged at the Globe Theatre (Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
) and was a revue in two acts, with eighteen scenes. La Sylphe provided a contortionist routine in the first half of the show. Other noteworthy players were Pennington, White, Lou Holtz (actor)
, and Lester Allen
. Music for the summer 1920 presentation was by George Gershwin
, with lyrics by Arthur Jackson. La Sylphe was also a part of the Greenwich Village
Follies.
in April 1928. The Dance Art Society, a cooperative producing organization, included thirty of its members in the featured ballet, entitled The Mills of the Gods. She danced in a diminutive harlequinade and a Beardsleyesque
composition called The Faun and the Peacock. La Sylphe was the ballerina of the American Ballet Guild in 1930. At the same time Ariel Millais was ballet master.
Parents
Edith Lambelle Langerfeld was born on the third of July, 1883 at New York City, the daughter of Arthur (1855-1931) and Margaret Douglas Langerfeld. Her father was German, born at Elberfeld in Nordrhein-Westfalen, not far from the city of Düsseldorf, while her mother came from Loughgall, a small town that lay a few miles north of Armagh in Northern Ireland. The Library of CongressLibrary of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
has in their collection a photograph of Arthur Langerfeld with one of the machines he invented for use in the mining of coal.
Youth in Europe
She was taken abroad by her mother at the age of six, when she began to dance. United States laws prevented her from performing on stage as a young girl. She traveled for eight years, making two trips around the world. Much of the time she spent in London, England, Milan, Italy, Paris, France and Brussels, Belgium. La Sylphe became fluent in five languages. She was the primary dancer at the Alhambra TheatreAlhambra Theatre
The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as The Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two years and reopened as the Alhambra. The building was...
in London during her second world tour. This was among the most lucrative positions in the dancing world. Soon she appeared for two seasons at the Folies Bergère.
She made her debut in the United States at the age of 14, appearing first on the Pacific Coast
Pacific Coast
A country's Pacific coast is the part of its coast bordering the Pacific Ocean.-The Americas:Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western border.* Geography of Canada* Geography of Chile* Geography of Colombia...
. She danced in New York City beginning in 1899. There she introduced her rendition of The Vision of Salome
Salome (opera)
Salome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann’s German translation of the French play Salomé by Oscar Wilde. Strauss dedicated the opera to his friend Sir Edgar Speyer....
dance.
Vaudeville dancer
La Sylphe's popularity in the United States increased after SalomeSalome (opera)
Salome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann’s German translation of the French play Salomé by Oscar Wilde. Strauss dedicated the opera to his friend Sir Edgar Speyer....
by Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
was banned by the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
in 1907. She called her performances The Remorse of Salome. She understood the body dance of the Far East, which had been termed the houchee kouchee when it was first observed at the Chicago World's Fair
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
in 1893. She was part of a vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
show at Koster & Bial's Music Hall in October 1899. She danced in a scene at a French ball included in a skit entitled Around New York In Eighty Minutes. A review described her as a young woman who was seemingly made up of muscle but without bones, and who would make an ordinary contortionist turn green with envy at his talk of suppleness. Her mid-waist was covered only by several yards of pearls. On occasion she wore tights or a picketfence skirt and a gossamer
Gossamer
Gossamer commonly refers to:* Gossamer , very fine spider silk used for ballooning or kiting by various species of spiders* Gossamer , very light, sheer, gauze-like fabricGossamer may also refer to:- Technology :...
bodice
Bodice
A bodice, historically, is an article of clothing for women, covering the body from the neck to the waist. In modern usage it typically refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the 18th century, or to the upper portion of a modern dress to distinguish it from...
. She once complained about the bodice being too warm and threatened to leave it off in the next day's show. Although her appearances often provoked shock, La Sylphe confessed that her New York performances were tame in comparison to those she gave earlier in Europe. She performed as close a rendition of her muscle dance as she dared, given American conventions. However, she admitted that a more accurate interpretation of the Salome dance would have more closely followed the dances of the Orient.
La Sylphe signed with Martin Beck, general manager of the Orpheum Circuit, Inc.
Orpheum Circuit, Inc.
Orpheum Circuit, Inc., was a company started by Martin Beck who owned a series of vaudeville theaters and motion picture theaters.- The company :...
, for a tour in 1908. The danseuse debuted in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
in March. She danced at Keith & Proctor's vaudeville theater at 125th Street in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
under the watchful eye of a New York City police lieutenant and a squad of plainclothes men, in July 1908. Her repertoire began with a pirouette called the dance classical. This was a classic toe dance. During her Parisian gigolette she appeared sans tights. While she readied for the Dance Salome, moving pictures of her performances were shown on a white screen. Men mostly remained in their seats at this time while females in the audience often made a rush for fresh air. James J. Corbett
James J. Corbett
James John "Gentleman Jim" Corbett was an Irish-American heavyweight boxing champion, best known as the man who defeated the great John L. Sullivan. He also coached boxing at the Olympic Club in San Francisco...
, giving a monologue
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
, was also on the bill, as were Bedini and Arthur, who did a burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
of La Sylphe. On July 20 La Sylphe altered her routine a bit. Instead of a toe dance she carried out a Spanish castanet
Castanet
Castanets are a percussion instrument , used in Moorish, Ottoman, ancient Roman, Italian, Spanish, Sephardic Music, and Portuguese music. The instrument consists of a pair of concave shells joined on one edge by a string. They are held in the hand and used to produce clicks for rhythmic accents or...
dance in costume, which earned her an enthusiastic response from the audience. The following week she was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre
Fifth Avenue Theatre
Fifth Avenue Theatre was a Broadway theatre in New York City in the United States located at 31 West 28th Street and Broadway. It was demolished in 1939....
. There she extended the length of her Salome dance, which was embellished by the addition of scenery. The head of John The Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
was not featured in the new show. Instead, the stage included a desert scene depicting a monolith
Monolith
A monolith is a geological feature such as a mountain, consisting of a single massive stone or rock, or a single piece of rock placed as, or within, a monument...
, in front of which incense was burning.
Joseph M. Gaites signed La Sylphe to tour with the Follies of 1907 for a period of thirty-five weeks at the end of July 1908. Returning to Keith & Proctor's in early August, she added a
new dance called The Devil to her repertoire.
La Sylphe was in the cast of George White's Scandals
George White's Scandals
George White's Scandals were a long-running string of Broadway revues produced by George White that ran from 1919–1939, modelled after the Ziegfeld Follies. The "Scandals" launched the careers of many entertainers, including W.C. Fields, the Three Stooges, Ray Bolger, Helen Morgan, Ethel Merman, ...
of 1919. The show was a revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
in two acts with eighteen scenes. White was among the players, as was dancer Ann Pennington (Ziegfeld star)
Ann Pennington (Ziegfeld star)
This article is about Ann Pennington, the stage actress. For the Playboy model of the same name, go to Ann Pennington .Ann Pennington was an actress, dancer, and singer who starred on Broadway in the 1910s and 1920s, notably in the Ziegfeld Follies and George White's Scandals.She became famous for...
.
La Sylphe did an acrobatic dance for a summer evening in June. Scandals of 1920 was staged at the Globe Theatre (Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 205 West 46th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by the architectural firm of Carrere and Hastings, it was built by producer Charles Dillingham and opened as the Globe Theatre, in honor of London's Shakespearean playhouse, on...
) and was a revue in two acts, with eighteen scenes. La Sylphe provided a contortionist routine in the first half of the show. Other noteworthy players were Pennington, White, Lou Holtz (actor)
Lou Holtz (actor)
Lou Holtz was an American vaudevillian and comic actor.He was discovered by vaudevillian Elsie Janis in San Francisco while still in his teens, and came to New York. He appeared in his first Broadway show in 1913, World of Pleasure...
, and Lester Allen
Lester Allen
Lester Allen was a screen, stage, vaudeville, circus actor, and film director. In vaudeville, he appeared in a double act with Nellie Breen and also emceed at the Palace Theatre.-Selected filmography:...
. Music for the summer 1920 presentation was by George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, with lyrics by Arthur Jackson. La Sylphe was also a part of the Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
Follies.
Ballerina
She was a guest artist at Carnegie HallCarnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in April 1928. The Dance Art Society, a cooperative producing organization, included thirty of its members in the featured ballet, entitled The Mills of the Gods. She danced in a diminutive harlequinade and a Beardsleyesque
Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Vincent Beardsley was an English illustrator and author. His drawings, done in black ink and influenced by the style of Japanese woodcuts, emphasized the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement which also included Oscar Wilde and James A....
composition called The Faun and the Peacock. La Sylphe was the ballerina of the American Ballet Guild in 1930. At the same time Ariel Millais was ballet master.
Death
Edith Lambelle Langerfeld passed away at the age of eighty-five on December 20, 1968 at Greenwich, Connecticut.External links
- Images of La Sylphe from the New York Public LibraryNew York Public LibraryThe New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
Digital Gallery