Rita Sacchetto (1880–1959)
DANCER, FILM ACTRESS, KNOWN FOR HER RE-ENACTMENTS OF PORTRAITS OF LADIES
Born into a family of artists in Munich, Rita Sacchetto switched from painting to dance. She made her debut at the Künstlerhaus in 1905 with “dance pictures”, which were inspired by historical figures and portraits. She also enjoyed success with her dance pantomimes and dance poems. Rita Sacchetto’s artistry with costumes and poses predestined her to become a film actress: beginning in 1913, she became a well-paid star of Nordisk Film, the Danish film production. She left Munich in 1914 and opened a prestigious dance school in Berlin. Her daughters Carmen and Leonore Sacchetto likewise presented themselves as dancers at an early age and appeared in films together with their mother.
Rita Sachetto | picture postcard | © Ochaim Collection
Rita Sacchetto | series of stagings of herself in historicist settings, photos by Franz Grainer, Munich| picture postcards, published by Hermann Leiser, Berlin or by Gastspieldirektion Rita Sacchetto | © Deutsches Theatermuseum, inv. nos. II 30142, 37798, 37799
Rita Sacchetto | photo: Georg Gerlach, Vienna | picture postcard | © Betz Collection
Rita Sacchetto posing in her “Siamesische Tanzphantasie” (“Siamese Dance Fantasy”) | photo: Franz Grainer, Munich | picture postcard, motif no. 1754 from the Berlin publisher Hermann Leiser | © Betz Collection
“Ballettens Datter” (“Daughter of the Ballet”) | Denmark 1913, silent film, 56 minutes | directed by Holger-Madsen; screenplay by P. Nielsen | production: Nordisk Films Kompagni | © Nordisk Film A/S, Valby, Copenhagen, Denmark, with kind permission