Alice Eis
American dancer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gertrude Alice Eis (November 9, 1889 – December 21, 1956) was an American dancer who appeared on vaudeville programs, in London and Paris, and in one silent film, The Vampire (1913).
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November 9, 1889
Alice Eis | |
|---|---|
Alice Eis in 1914 | |
| Born | Gertrude Alice Eis November 9, 1889 Dayton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | December 21, 1956 (age 67) Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Other names | Alice Eis French, Alice de Sevelinges |
| Occupation | Dancer |
| Notable work | The Vampire (1913) |
Early life and education
Eis was born in Dayton, Ohio, the daughter of George Eis and Alice Eis. Her father left the family when Eis was three years old.[1]
Career
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Stage
Eis was a dancer. Her Broadway credits included Wonderland (1905), Fascinating Flora (1907), and Nearly a Hero (1908). On the vaudeville stage, she was known for performing "daring" dances in revealing costumes,[2] with her partner, Bert French.[3][4]
"To call it a dance is a libel against the name of art," declared the New York Dramatic Mirror of the suggestive French and Eis act. The couple danced in London in 1910,[5][6] and at the Folies Bergère in Paris in 1911 and 1912. "Miss Eis wears as few clothes as the police will permit," reported a Los Angeles publication in 1914. "She is a serpentine creature, electrically alive from her hair to her bare toes, and she writhes with a sinuous grace that is as wonderful as it is repellent."[7]
In "The Dance of Fortune" (1913), Eis wore a costume that was mostly transparent, with "a startling display of bare legs," according to Variety.[8] In response to criticisms of her too-revealing costumes, Eis and French created a dance set in the Arctic, titled "The Lure of the North" (1915).[9] Their "Dance of the Temptress" (1915) was sea-themed and "spectacular", but possibly more pantomime than dance.[10] Eis and French headlined a Halloween-themed dance and pantomime performance at the Columbia Theatre in 1916.[11]
French left the stage to become a manager and producer; Eis danced with Joe Niemeyer in 1918.[12] She was billed as "formerly of French and Eis" when she performed a five-part dance act with a new partner, James Templeton, in 1919.[13][14] "Templeton's unison of motion with Miss Eis is accomplished with such skill that the shadow illusion is startling," wrote a San Francisco reviewer that year.[15]
Film
Eis and French appeared in the silent film The Vampire (1913), performing their "The Vampire Dance".[16] Her onscreen portrayal of a female vampire predated Theda Bara's in A Fool There Was (1915).[17]
Personal life
Eis hosted a dog show and garden party at her Annadale home in 1917.[18] She married her dance partner, choreographer Bert French, in 1917. They had three children, Richard, Elaine, and Barbara.[19] French died in 1924.[20] She married French-born businessman Jean de Sevelinges in 1925.[21] She died in 1956, at the age of 67, in Queens, New York.