Who was Elsa Lindenberg?
“Her name first came to my attention after reading a book on Wilhelm Reich, the controversial Austrian psychoanalyst best known for his theories on the orgasm and for coining the term ‘sexual revolution’.”
Ilse Ghekiere explains. “Reich lived in Oslo between 1934 and 1939 to escape Nazi Germany. He fled here with his partner, Elsa Lindenberg. According to Store Norske Leksikon (the Norwegian Encyclopedia), Lindenberg was a pioneer of Laban-based free dance and one of Norway’s first practitioners of dance therapy. Beyond this, however, very little seemed to be known about her.”
Who was this mysterious figure, emerging from the shadow of the renegade and cult figure Wilhelm Reich? Their relationship unfolded between two world wars – a time marked by contradictions: the simultaneous rise of fascism alongside movements for sexual reform, and a growing belief in psychoanalysis and in the healing potential of the “natural” body.
Ilse Ghekiere became intrigued with this story and during the course of her research she discovered that Elsa Lindenberg had entrusted her archive to her close friend and colleague, Ida Korsvold. Even at the age of 102, Korsvold remained fiercely protective of Elsa’s legacy and refused to share the material with anyone. Yet, through a series of coincidences – and with the help of many generous individuals – she eventually changed her mind. Ida led Ilse to an apartment at St. Hanshaugen, where Ilse has spent the past two years immersing herself in a maze of archival research. The Elsa Project is an experimental class about that maze.
● Ilse Ghekiere is a Belgian artist, dancer, and writer working across performance, research, and critique. As founder of ENGAGEMENT ARTS, she has been a leading voice on issues of sexual misconduct and abuse of power in the art world. Her work draws on dancers’ lived experiences and employs methods such as collecting, mapping, and cataloguing to challenge dominant narratives. She is currently a PhD candidate at Oslo National Academy of the Arts where she is researching the life and work of Elsa Lindenberg.
