Photograph of the Szentpál Dance Group by Leichtner, Erzsébet; (Szentpál, Olga) - 1930

(Budapest), 1930. Original, vintage, black and white photograph. With the photographer's vignette at lower right corner. In fine condition.. Original, vintage, black and white photograph. With the photographer's vignette at lower right corner. 228 × 168 mm.

A scene from a dance play of the Szentpál Dance Group, played by three young girls.

Erzsébet Leichtner was a Hungarian woman photographer, mostly known for her dance photographs and the documentation of the Szentpál Dance Group's performances. Her master in photography was the Angel (Pál Funk, 1894-1974) the Italian-born, Hungarian photographer who was the collaborator of the book published about the Szentpál Dance Group (Tánc. A Mozgásművészet könyve; 1928).

Olga Szentpál (1895-1968) was a Hungarian pioneer of modern dance, choreographer, teacher and theoretician of dance. After her studies at the Hungarian Academy of Music she gained her diploma at Émile Jacque-Dalcroze's (the founder of eurhythmics) school in Hellerau. She became involved into the modernist art scene through her husband Márius Rabinovszky (1895-1953; Hungarian art historian, art critic), and into modernist theatre as a teacher of Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest. She opened her own school in 1919 and established the Szentpál Dance Group in 1926.

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