Elza Brandeisz

Erzsébet "Elza" Brandeisz (18 September 1907 – 6 January 2018) was a Hungarian dancer, teacher, and supercentenarian. She was considered a pioneer of expressionist dance in Hungary. During World War II, she hid several Jews in her family's summer home in Balatonalmádi, including the 14-year-old George Soros. In 1995 she was recognized by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations.

Early life Brandeisz was born in Ruszt, Austria-Hungary (present-day Rust, Burgenland in Austria) on 18 September 1907. She grew up in Budapest, Hungary, in a German family which belonged to the Lutheran church. As a child, she witnessed the coronation of Charles IV of Hungary in Budapest. Dance competitions still call a difficult, spinaround movement that she taught the "Brandeisz Jump". When Lajtai was forcibly relocated to a yellow-star house, Brandeisz brought her food and helped her obtain a letter of protection from the Portuguese embassy.

In the postwar era, dance was viewed negatively by the new communist government and Brandeisz was banned from performing in 1948.