ALBERTINA RASCH (1924-32) Set of 3 photos

[New York]: Various, 1924-1932. Group of three vintage original 8 x 10″ (20 x 25 cm) black-and-white photos: two double weight matte and one glossy. All have written notes and newspaper clipping attachments regarding their publishing use on verso. Minor wear, about fine.

Dancer/choreographer Albertina Rasch (1891-1967) was born in Austria-Hungary. She was married to composer Dimitri Tiomkin. Rasch began performing as a teen during the American “dance craze” of the 1910s. She left Vienna for the United States, appearing in shows at the New York Hippodrome and the Winter Garden. She also appeared with opera companies, including the Metropolitan, Los Angeles, and Chicago operas before becoming première danseuse for the Century Opera Company.

Rasch wished for her own company of dancers. During 1916 and 1917, she toured with Sarah Bernhardt before returning to New York as a concert performer with a supporting ballet troupe. That troupe marked the beginning of the Albertina Rasch Dancers, a troupe of highly disciplined and balletically trained girls who performed in many revues, musicals, and recitals during the 1920s and 1930s. During the early 1930s her troupe moved to Los Angeles and she and her dancers appeared in films, mostly for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer: The Rogue Song (1930), The Merry Widow (1934), Rosalie (1936), and several Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald films. She remained married to Tiomkin until her death. (Wikipedia)

An early photo shows her dancers in rehearsal while in the gardens of the Halsey estate at Irvington. There is a formal portrait of Albertina from 1924 to promote her ballet at the Hippodrome. There is also an image of Albertina in formal pose with Tiomkin to promote a 1932 performance of her ballet for which Tiomkin composed. This photo was also reused for her obituary in 1967.