Edith Lambelle Langerfeld[2] (July 3, 1883 – December 20, 1968), known professionally as La Sylphe, was an American exotic dancer[3] who became a sensation while performing at the Folies Bergère in the 1890s.

[7] Her father was German, born at Elberfeld in Nordrhein-Westfalen,[7] now a part of Wuppertal, while her mother came from Loughgall, a small town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland.

[8] The Library of Congress has in their collection a photograph of Arthur Langerfeld with one of the machines he invented for use in the mining of coal.

[citation needed] She made her debut in the United States at the age of 14, appearing first on the Pacific Coast.

[10] La Sylphe's popularity in the United States increased after Salome by Richard Strauss was banned by the Metropolitan Opera in 1907.

She understood the body dance of the Far East, which had been termed "the houchee kouchee" when it was first observed at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893.

A review described her as "a young woman who was seemingly made up of muscle but without bones, and who would make an ordinary contortionist turn green with envy at his talk of suppleness.

[13] Although her appearances often provoked shock, La Sylphe confessed that her New York performances were tame in comparison to those she gave earlier in Europe.

[4] La Sylphe signed with Martin Beck, general manager of the Orpheum Circuit, for a tour in 1908.

[13] James J. Corbett, giving a monologue, was also on the bill, as were Bedini and Arthur, who did a burlesque of La Sylphe.

[17] Joseph M. Gaites signed La Sylphe to tour with the[18] Follies of 1907[19] for a period of thirty-five weeks at the end of July 1908.

The Dance Art Society, a cooperative producing organization, included thirty of its members in the featured ballet, entitled The Mills of the Gods.