Elna Lillback
American dance educator
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elna Theresa Lillback Addison (1906 – January 16, 1950), also known as Elna Lillback Kline, was an American dancer, choreographer, and college professor. She taught at Brooklyn College in the 1930s and 1940s.
Elna Lillback | |
|---|---|
Elna Lillback, from a 1925 newspaper | |
| Born | 1906 Fitchburg, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | January 16, 1950 (aged 43–44) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Other names | Elna Lillback Addison, Elna Lillback Kline |
| Occupations | dancer, dance educator, college professor |
| Spouse | Arthur Addison Kline |
Early life and education
Lillback was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, a daughter of John Erik Lillback and Frances Theresa (Fanny) Mattson Lillback.[1] Her father was a Congregational pastor, born in Finland.[2] She graduated from Hunter College in 1927.[3] She studied in Germany with Mary Wigman and in New York with Martha Graham.[4]
Career
Lillback and her dance company gave their New York debut recital in 1935,[5] at the Guild Theatre; she was accompanied by pianist and composer Norman Lloyd. Critic John Martin of The New York Times observed the influences of Wigman and Graham.[6] She gave another recital at the Guild Theatre in 1936,[7] which John Martin called "manifestly over-ambitious", while admitting that Lillback had "grown considerably in poise and assurance since last year".[8] Another Guild Theatre appearance in 1937 was panned as "a program of excessive dullness" by Virginia Mishnun in the Brooklyn Eagle.[9] She gave a benefit dance performance at the Barbizon Plaza in 1939, to raise scholarship funds for Brooklyn College.[10]
In the 1930s and 1940s, Lillback taught physiology and hygiene at Brooklyn College,[4] where she organized the dance department in 1931,[11] and directed the college's Modern Dance Club in several performances a year.