Silvia Kesselheim

Silvia Kesselheim

Born in Hamburg in 1942 and trained at the Hamburg State Opera’s ballet school as well as the Royal Ballet in London. Her first professional engagement brought her back to Hamburg in 1960/61 for a season with the Hamburg State Opera Ballet. Then John Cranko took her to Stuttgart for five years. The creator of the “Stuttgart Ballet Miracle” held Kesselheim and her excellent technique in high regard but – unlike Kesselheim herself – he did not see her in the role of White Swan in Swan Lake. She moved to the Deutsche Oper Berlin (1965–71), where she quickly came to attention. This is how critic Klaus Geitel described the ambitious dancer in Ballett 1967. Chronik und Bilanz des Ballettjahres: “Silvia Kesselheim: Ballet Campari – more bitter than sweet. A potent mixture. Shimmering austerity, razor-sharp precision. The highly trained type – works hard at being the opposite of lovable. Has admiration in her sights. A dangerous opponent for women of a gentler disposition. Kesselheim will dance rings around them. […] There’s no more room for cuteness, for “keep smiling”. Silvia Kesselheim puts on a bit of Vamp – and it works well for her. A dash of irony, a dash of parody; an engine built of lithe anger. It runs perfectly.”

Time for modern dance

With this kind of profile, Kesselheim seemed predestined to work with Tanztheater Wuppertal. Her path did, in fact, lead her to Pina Bausch years later. But in the meantime, she danced in Düsseldorf (1971–72) and Darmstadt (1972–75; thereafter as guest). In Darmstadt, where Gerhard Bohner was trying to shake up the system, she shone in many roles created by herself, e.g. The Tortures of Beatrice Cenci and Lillith. It was Marion Cito, with whom she’d been friends since they were both at Deutsche Oper Berlin, who suggested that she should audition at Wuppertal. Pina Bausch was looking for expressive and unmistakable characters and invited Kesselheim to join the company in 1978. She immediately became one of Tanztheater Wuppertal’s most notable characters. She danced in a total of sixteen productions and contributed to the creation of four world premieres: Kontakthof, Arien, Auf dem Gebirge hat man ein Geschrei gehört (On the Mountain a Cry Was Heard)r. Her performances in Kontakthof (1978) and Arien (1979) were particularly memorable. With her red coloured hair and narrow cupid-bow lips, she looked almost like a George Grosz figure. But there was nothing cute, nothing harmless about this established ballerina. Her presence confronted the audience, and her voice – for example, when reciting children’s rhymes – could take on a sharp, jagged tone. She was equally capable of lacing whispers and coos with irony. Silvia Kesselheim was highly versatile, yet remained herself at all times.

All-round talent with star potential

Time and again, Pina Bausch cast her in revivals of repertoire pieces. Her performance as Anna I in the Brecht–Weill double bill The Seven Deadly Sins was a triumph, because Silvia Kesselheim’s singing was as good as her acting. In New York she was celebrated as the new Lotte Lenya. Pina Bausch saw star potential in her too. But Kesselheim was particular and reluctant to make Tanztheater Wuppertal her home. It was as if she didn’t want to be wherever she actually was – as if she was always looking for new goals – like the time she left Cranko.
Silvia Kesselheim died in Hamburg on 28 April 2009, only a few months before Pina Bausch. The dance world did not even hear of her death. She is remembered as an outstanding dancer and actor: precise and rigorous – with herself too.

Text: Norbert Servos
Translation: Rachel McNicholl