Brainard Ingrid

Ingrid Gretia Brainard (1925-2000) was a noted musicologist, dance historian, performer and teacher of historical dance.

Born Ingrid Kahrstedt in Göttingen, Germany, she studied several dance forms from early childhood, including ballet, modern, mime, and Baroque dance. As an undergraduate at the Hochschule für Musik Mozarteum, in Salzburg, Austria, Brainard studied voice (major), and keyboard, opera, acting and directing (1943-46), moving to the Georg-August-Universität zu Göttingen to study Musicology (major), German and English literature, and theater. After earning a doctoral degree in musicology in 1956, Brainard's chief interest became the study and reconstruction of early Renaissance dance. In 1960, she accompanied her husband, fellow musicologist Paul Brainard (whom she had married in 1953), to the United States, where he had accepted a teaching position. The couple eventually settled in the Boston, Massachusetts area, where Ingrid continued to write and teach extensively. In 1969, Brainard founded The Cambridge Court Dancers, a semi-professional ensemble specializing in the reconstruction and performance of authentic court dances from the early 15th to the 18th centuries. The troupe was known for the accuracy of their choreographic recreations, (which were taken from dance instruction manuals of the periods), the attention paid to the manner and styles of movement and to the design and construction of costumes. Dr. Brainard held many prestigious fellowships and offices throughout her career and she was actively publishing and working up until the time of her death.

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