Dancer Ellen Edinoff died in her hometown of Amsterdam on Tuesday at the age of 70. Ellen, together with her husband Koert Stuyf, formed a unique dance couple in the 1960s-'70s that reactions in extremes. The Dutch dance world came of age partly thanks to them. Ellen battled her illness for the last three years. She was still able to make a comeback on stage in 2012.
American Ellen Edinoff met Koert Stuyf in New York. They settled in the Netherlands where they pioneered great postmodern dance. They founded the Contemporary Dance Foundation and their productions hit like a bomb. Reviewers reacted with terms like 'anti-theatre', 'movement theatre' and 'I left Carré rather broken'. In 1974, it was suddenly over. With as much impact as they started with, Koert and Ellen disappeared from the Dutch stages. Until April 2012.
De Volkskrant once proclaimed Ellen Edinoff "the most grandiose dancer in the Netherlands", NRC Handelsblad called her "a phenomenon, an unsurpassed mistress", and De Telegraaf "a miniature woman with a unique stage presence and formidable technique". In a film portrait that Danspubliek made in 2012, a fragile Ellen can be seen with still a magical, timeless look on stage. She performed in Intaglio, a work by Koert Stuyf which was premiered during an evening with composer Philip Glass.
It is remarkable that Ellen returned to the stage. Koert Stuyf speaks affectionately of his girl who struggled through the final years, temporarily overcoming time. Or to use producer Rob Malasch's earlier words:
'Greater artists I have not come across in my life. These people live entirely for art in an uncompromising way.'
Ellen Edinoff is buried at Zorgvlied, Amsterdam, on Thursday.
(Source: Het Parool, Rob Malasch)
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