Gisela Taglicht
Gisela Taglicht | |
|---|---|
 Gisela Taglicht, from a 1948 documentary film made in New Zealand. | |
| Born | Gisela Frankl 28 November 1898 Vienna, Austria |
| Died | 1981 (aged 82–83) Salzburg, Austria |
| Nationality | Austrian (by birth) New Zealander (naturalized 1946) |
| Other names | Gisa Taglicht, Gisa Taglight, Gizette Taglicht, Gisette Taglicht |
Gisela Taglicht (née Frankl; 28 November 1898 – 1981) was a notable New Zealand rhythmical dance and gymnastics teacher.
Early life[edit]
Gisela Frankl was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1898, the daughter of Hermann Frankl and Malvine Neuner. Her parents were Jewish;[1] her father was a tinsmith. She studied dance and movement with Ellinor Tordis and Bess Mensendieck. Her mother and sister were later killed at Auschwitz.[2]
Career[edit]
Taglicht assisted Ellinor Tordis at her Vienna dance studio in the 1920s. She left Austria fleeing Nazi persecution in 1938, going first to London, where she worked briefly as a domestic servant. In 1939 she moved to New Zealand with her younger brother's family. In 1941 she opened a rhythmic gymnastics studio in Wellington. From 1942 or 1943[3][4] to 1963, she was director of physical education at the YWCA in Wellington.[5][6]
Taglicht also taught relaxation and breathing classes for pregnant women in the 1950s,[7] and taught movement to actors and opera singers through programs of the New Zealand Drama Council, the New Zealand Players, and the New Zealand Opera Company.[1][2] "From simple keep fit work to creative dance, rhythmical gymnastics covers a wide scope as to the need and ability of a person, and is easily adjusted to every age group," she explained to a New Zealand newspaper in 1948.[8]
Gisa Taglicht was a fellow of the Physical Education Society of New Zealand from 1942, and became a naturalized citizen of New Zealand in 1946. A 1948 documentary, Rhythm and Movement, captured Taglicht's work on dance-inspired rhythmic fitness at the YWCA.[5] In 1950 she returned to Vienna as a visitor, representing New Zealand at an international gymnastics festival.[2]
Personal life[edit]
Gisela Frankl was married to Adolph Leo Taglicht from 1921 to 1923. She returned permanently to Austria in 1964,[1] and died in Salzburg in 1981.[2]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Gisa Taglicht". The New Zealand Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d Dart, Margaret. "Gisela Taglicht". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "Miss H. McDonald Resigns". Evening Post. 9 November 1942. p. 6. Retrieved 4 April 2020 – via Papers Past.
- ^ "Relaxation after Work". Evening Post. 24 February 1943. p. 6. Retrieved 4 April 2020 – via Papers Past.
- ^ a b Schultz, Marianne (19 September 2017). "Tracing the Steps of Modern and Contemporary Dance in Twentieth-Century New Zealand". In Buck, Ralph; Rowe, Nicholas (eds.). Moving Oceans: Celebrating Dance in the South Pacific. Routledge. pp. 73–74. ISBN 978-1-317-34169-7.
- ^ "Graceful Display". Evening Post. 8 November 1945. p. 10. Retrieved 4 April 2020 – via Papers Past.
- ^ "Parents Centres New Zealand". NZHistory, New Zealand history online. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ "Grace and Poise by Gymnastics". Bay of Plenty Beacon. 8 September 1948. p. 3. Retrieved 4 April 2020 – via Papers Past.
External links[edit]
- Gisa Taglicht and her students, and Gisa Taglicht, photographs in the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Dance Archive of New Zealand Collection.
- Rhythm and Movement (1948), a short documentary film made about the work of Gisa Taglicht in New Zealand; from the New Zealand Archive of Film, Television and Sound Ngā Taonga Whitiāhua Me Ngā Taonga Kōrero.
- Leonard Bell, Strangers Arrive: Emigrés and the Arts in New Zealand, 1930-1980 (Auckland University Press 2018). ISBN 9781869408732.