Ivo Cramér

Born in 1921.

Swedish ballet dancer, choreographer and director.

A student of S. Leeder and a disciple of B. Cullberg, he developed a personal method influenced by the Laban-Jooss technique. In 1946, he founded his first, itinerant company with B. Cullberg and received second prize at the Copenhagen Choreographic Competition in 1947. He was ballet director at the Verde Gaio in Lisbon (1948-1949), he then worked for ten years as director and choreographer on operettas and musicals.
In 1957, for the Royal Swedish Ballet, he produced “The Prodigal Son” (1957, mus. Alfven), a ballet inspired by rural 18th C paintings and considered “national” masterpieces, and still part of the company’s repertoire. With his wife, Tyyne Talvo, he founded a company (1967-1986) that crossed the country with their productions, including in small theatres. He then directed the Royal Swedish Ballet (1975-1980).
He was a prolific and skilled choreographer with a great sense of theatre. He often dealt with themes connected to history or everyday life and stamped with a deep sense of the religious. In the 1980s, he specialised in the reconstruction of old ballets, including “Arlequin, Magicien d’Amour” (1984, based on Marcadet), “La Dansomanie” (1985, based on P. Gardel), “Médée et Jason” (1992, based on Noverre), presented at the Historic Theatre of Drottningholm, and also in France, thanks to R. Nureyev, as ”La Fille Mal Gardée” (1989) was performed in Nantes with the original score.

Source: Dictionnaire de la Danse, Larousse, éd. 1999, en ligne