Brainard, Ingrid

Ingrid Gretia Brainard (née Kahrstedt) was born on November 10, 1925 in Göttingen, Federal Republic of Germany. She was a noted musicologist, dance historian, performer and teacher of historical dance.

From early childhood Brainard studied several dance forms, including ballet, modern, mime, and Baroque dance. Her studies took her to Paris, where she studied mime under the famous Marcel Marceau (c.1950-1951). 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.

Dr. Brainard earned a doctoral degree in musicology from Göttingen in 1956; her dissertation was titled, The Choreographer of the Court Dances of Burgundy, France and Italy in the 15th Century . Brainard's chief interest was the study and reconstruction of early Renaissance dance, but her writings included articles on the history of dance from the 15th-18th centuries, as well as authentic costumes, theater and iconography of the periods. She frequently published her work in noted publications such as Die Musikforschung, the Dance Research Journal, the New Grove dictionary of Music and Musicians, Dance Chronicle, Early Music, and the International Encyclopedia of Dance, as well as regularly presenting research papers at scholarly meetings, especially the annual International Medieval Congress held in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where she often organized the music sessions.

In 1953 Brainard married fellow musicologist Paul Brainard, who was also studying in Göttingen. In 1960 they moved to Columbus, Ohio where he was awarded a teaching position. The Brainard's stay in Ohio was shorted-lived; they moved to the Boston, Massachusetts area, where Ingrid continued to write, and teach (Boston Conservatory of Music, Mount Holyoke College, Cambridge Center for Adult Education, Visiting Faculty at Dance Notation Bureau, Northeastern University, and the Longly School of Music, as well as many early music workshops and festivals.)

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 was one of the first fellows of the Radcliffe Institute for Independent Studies in Cambridge Massachusetts, was an artist-in-residence at Northeastern University and served on the Board of Directors of the Congress on Research in Dance (CORD) for eight years before being elected President in 1978.

The Brainard's separated and began divorce proceedings in 1977 (finalized in 1983) but Ingrid and Paul remained on very friendly terms. Their only child, Christopher, lived with his mother after they separated. Ingrid died of a heart attack on February 18, 2000 at her home in West Newton, Massachusetts, at age 74. She was actively publishing and working right up until her death. A memorial service for her was held on February 24, 2000.

From the guide to the Ingrid Brainard papers, 1890-2000, (The New York Public Library. Jerome Robbins Dance Division.)