The Makers of Modern Dance in Germany: Rudolf Laban, Mary Wigman, Kurt Jooss

by Isa Partsch-Bergsohn, Harold Bergsohn

Provides a roughly chronological account of the lives of three German choreographers of modern Rudolf Laban (1879-1958) and his students Mary Wigman (1886-1973) and Kurt Jooss (1901-1979). The authors weave together the connections between them and their peers using personal recollections, and archival photographs illustrating their lives and their work, much of which took place in the context of WWII. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Genres: Germany

112 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2002

Reviews

[Brendan Behan, MFA · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Makers of Modern Dance in Germany, while offering some valuable if brief first-person accounts of author Isa Partsch-Bergsohn's own autobiographical experiences working with Kurt Jooss and Mary Wigman, provides a highly problematic history of German modern dance in the period leading up to and through World War II. Among the major issues that I find with the authors' approach are an over-reliance on biographical sources and a lack of critical investigation into how historical participants, particularly though not exclusively Rudolf Laban and Mary Wigman, may have been motivated to recast or hide the extent of their own or others' participation in and collaboration with the National Socialist regime. My full review of The Makers of Modern Dance in Germany is posted on my website here.