Gisela Taglicht

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]

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]