Angèle Albrecht

Angèle Albrecht (12 December 1942 – 1 August 2000) was a German ballerina born in Freiburg im Breisgau. Her father, Elmar Albrecht, was a Munich-based painter and stage designer. She received her dance training under Lula von Sachnowsky and at the Royal Ballet School in London before beginning her professional stage career.

Albrecht's early engagements took her to the Mannheim National Theatre during the 1960–61 season, followed by a six-year tenure at the Hamburg State Opera from 1961 to 1967. During her time in Hamburg, she performed roles including Calliope in George Balanchine's Apollon Musagète (1962), the Choleric variation in Balanchine's Die Vier Temperamente (1963), and lead parts in both Concerto barocco and Symphony in C (1966). Guest tours with the Hamburg State Opera brought her to Berlin and Venice in 1964, Spain in 1965, Munich in 1966, and Zurich in 1967. It was at Hamburg that she came to prominence under Balanchine.

From 1967, Albrecht joined Maurice Béjart's Ballet du XXième Siècle in Brussels as a solo dancer, a position she held for many years. Her work with the company included notable roles in Bhakti, Boléro, and The Rite of Spring. She also performed in Béjart productions including Baudelaire, Romeo et Juliette, and Les Vainqueurs, among others. Touring with the company brought her to Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Cuba, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, and Portugal. It was through her association with Béjart's company that she appeared on Broadway, where she performed with Béjart: Ballet of the Twentieth Century between 1977 and 1979.

In 1969, Albrecht married Polish concert pianist and composer Piotr Lachert, who dedicated his ballet Angelica to her in 1972; the marriage later ended in divorce. Her son Tigran Albrecht was born of her relationship with choreographer Lorca Massine, the eldest son of Léonide Massine.

Albrecht retired from the stage in 1979 and established a ballet school in Brussels, which she operated until the mid-1980s. She subsequently taught in Munich, including at the Dance Project and the Roleff-King Ballet School. She died in Munich on 1 August 2000 at the age of 57. Her estate is held at the Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln.