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

by Isa Partsch-Bergsohn, Harold Bergsohn

This is the story of the founders of modern dance in Rudolf Laban, Mary Wigman, and Kurt Joos, whose work in the first half of the 20th century paralleled the independent development of modern dance in America—without being influenced by it. Laban is credited as being the most important innovator and guiding force and is best known as the inventor of Labanotation, a symbolic language for describing movement. Wigman became Laban's student in 1913 at a time when he was earning a reputation as an inspired choreographer and movement director. Joos was a young man of 19 when, hearing about Laban's pioneering work, he decided to pay a visit to the master. He soon became his assistant and lead male dancer. This book follows the connective threads of these remarkable individuals throughout their careers in chaotic times.

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.