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Mary Wigman (born Karoline Sophie Marie Wiegmann; 13 November 1886 – 18 September 1973) was a German dancer and
choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...
who pioneered
expressionist dance ''Expressive dance'' from German ''Ausdruckstanz'', is a form of artistic dance in which the individual and artistic presentation (and sometimes also processing) of feelings is an essential part. It emerged as a counter-movement to classic ...
,
dance therapy Dance/movement therapy (DMT) in USA and Australia or dance movement psychotherapy (DMP) in the UK is the psychotherapeutic use of movement and dance to support intellectual, emotional, and motor functions of the body. As a modality of the cre ...
, and movement training without
pointe shoes A pointe shoe (, ), also referred to as a ''ballet shoe'', is a type of shoe worn by ballet dancers when performing pointe work. Pointe shoes were conceived in response to the desire for dancers to appear weightless and sylph-like and have evolv ...
. She is considered one of the most important figures in the history of
modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert dance, concert or theatrical dance which includes dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th ...
. She became one of the most iconic figures of Weimar German culture and her work was hailed for bringing the deepest of
existential Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and value ...
experiences to the stage.


Early life

Karoline Sophie Marie Wiegmann was born in
Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
,
Province of Hanover The Province of Hanover () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1866 to 1946. During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position, alo ...
in the
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...
. Wiegmann was the daughter of a bicycle dealer. Already as a child, she was called Mary, "because the Hanoverians were once kings of England and the
House of Welf The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconian family from the Meuse-Mo ...
pride never quite got over the decline of the
Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover () was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Hanover, and j ...
to a Prussian province.


Development of expressionist dance, early career

Wigman spent her youth in Hanover, England, the Netherlands and Lausanne. Wigman came to dance comparatively late after seeing three students of
Émile Jaques-Dalcroze Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (6 July 1865 – 1 July 1950) was a Swiss composer, musician, and music educator who developed Dalcroze eurhythmics, an approach to learning and experiencing music through movement. Dalcroze eurhythmics influenced Carl O ...
, who aimed to approach music through movement using three equally important elements:
solfège In music, solfège (British English or American English , ) or solfeggio (; ), also called sol-fa, solfa, solfeo, among many names, is a mnemonic used in teaching aural skills, Pitch (music), pitch and sight-reading of Western classical music, W ...
,
improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...
and his own system of movements—
Dalcroze eurhythmics Dalcroze eurhythmics, also known as the Dalcroze method or simply eurhythmics, is a developmental approach to music education. Eurhythmics was developed in the early 20th century by Swiss musician and educator Émile Jaques-Dalcroze and has inf ...
. Wigman studied rhythmic gymnastics in
Hellerau Hellerau is a northern quarter ''(Stadtteil)'' in the city of Dresden, Germany, slightly south of Dresden Airport. It was the first garden city in Germany. The northern section of Hellerau absorbed the village of Klotzsche, where some 18th cent ...
from 1910 to 1911 with Émile Jaques-Dalcroze and
Suzanne Perrottet Suzanne Perrottet (; 13 September 1889 – 10 August 1983) was a Swiss dancer, musician, and movement teacher. Trained in music and dance, Perrottet ran the Bewegungsschule Suzanne Perrottet and was a member of the faculty at the École Polytec ...
, but felt artistically dissatisfied there: Like Suzanne Perrottet, Mary Wigman was also looking for movements independent of music and independent physical expression. After that, she stayed in Rome and Berlin. Another key early experience was a solo concert by
Grete Wiesenthal Grete Wiesenthal (9 December 1885 – 22 June 1970) was an Austrian dancer, actor, Choreography, choreographer, and dance teacher. She transformed the Viennese Waltz from a staple of the Ballroom-dancing, ballroom into a wildly ecstatic dance. Sh ...
. The Jaques-Dalcroze school's practice made dance secondary to music, so Wigman decided to take her interests elsewhere. In 1913, on advice from the German-Danish expressionist painter
Emil Nolde Emil Nolde (born Hans Emil Hansen; 7 August 1867 – 13 April 1956) was a German painter and printmaker. He was one of the first Expressionists, a member of Die Brücke, and was one of the first oil painting and watercolor painters of the early ...
, she entered the
Rudolf von Laban Rudolf (von) Laban, also known as Rudolph von Laban (; 15 December 1879 – 1 July 1958), was an Austro-Hungarian dance artist, choreographer, and movement theorist. He is considered a "founding father of expressionist dance" and a pioneer of ...
School for Art (''Schule für Kunst'') on
Monte Verità Monte Verità (Italian; German 'Berg Wahrheit', meaning "Mount Truth" or "Mountain of Truth") is a hill standing 321 Metres above the Sea (Switzerland), metres above sea level and a cultural-historical ensemble in the Swiss canton of Ticino. The ...
in the Swiss canton of
Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...
. Laban was significantly involved in the development of modern expressive dance (
Labanotation Labanotation (grammatically correct form "Labannotation" or "Laban notation" is uncommon) is a system for analyzing and recording human movement (Notation, notation system), invented by Austro-Hungarian choreographer and dancer Rudolf von Laban ...
). She enrolled in one of Laban's summer courses and was instructed in his technique.Mary Wigman Facts. (2010). http://biography.yourdictionary.com/mary-wigman Following their lead, she worked on a technique based on contrasts of movement; expansion and contraction, pulling and pushing. She continued with the Laban school through the Swiss summer sessions and the
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
winter sessions until 1919. In
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, Wigman showed her first public dances ''Hexentanz I'', ''Lento'' and ''Ein Elfentanz''. During the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
she stayed in Switzerland with Laban as his assistant and taught in
Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
and
Ascona 300px, Ascona Ascona ( ) is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It is located on the shore of Lake Maggiore. The town is a popular tourist destination and holds the yearly Ascona Jazz Festival. ...
. In 1917, Wigman offered three different programs in Zürich, including ''Der Tänzer unserer lieben Frau'', ''Das Opfer'', ''Tempeltanz'', ''Götzendienst'' and four Hungarian dances according to
Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...
. In 1918, Wigman suffered a nervous breakdown. Wigman performed this program again in Zürich in 1919 and later in Germany. Only the performances in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
and
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
brought her the big breakthrough.


Weimar Republic period

In 1920, Wigman was offered the post of ballet mistress at the Saxon State Opera in Dresden, but, after taking up residence in a hotel in Dresden and beginning to teach dance classes while awaiting her anticipated appointment, she learned that the position had been awarded to someone else.Newhall (2009)
p. 28.
/ref> In the same year, Wigman together with her assistant Bertha Trümpy, opened a school for modern dance on ''Bautzner Strasse'' in Dresden.
,
Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln The Deutsche Tanzarchiv Köln (German Dance Archive Cologne) is a national information and research centre for concert dance in Germany. It is located in the MediaPark in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, with an archive, library, video library an ...
, SK Stiftung Kultur (SK Culture Foundation)
During Wigman's time in Dresden, Wigman had contacts with the city's lively art scene, for example with the German expressionist painter
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (6 May 1880 – 15 June 1938) was a German Expressionism, expressionist Painting, painter and printmaker and one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to the foundation of Expr ...
. Rivalry and competition between Wigman's new school and the old schools of dance in Dresden would emerge, later especially with former students and teachers of the
Palucca School of Dance The Palucca University of Dance Dresden (), formerly the Palucca School Dresden, is a dance school in Dresden, Germany, founded in 1925 by the dancer and pedagogue Gret Palucca who taught until 1990. The school was recognised as a higher educat ...
. From 1921, the first performances took place with Wigman's dance group. Film recordings of the dance group made in 1923 in the Berlin Botanical Garden with excerpts from ''Szenen aus einem Tanzdrama'' were used in the 1925 German cultural silent film ''
Ways to Strength and Beauty ''Ways to Strength and Beauty'' () is a 1925 German cultural film directed by Wilhelm Prager. The 125 minute full-length silent film was produced by Ufa-Kulturabteilung of Weimar Germany. The film was first screened on 16 March 1925 and in a r ...
'' (''Wege zu Kraft und Schönheit''). For a long time, the school on ''Bautzner Strasse'' in Dresden was a rehearsal stage for the Saxon State Opera in Dresden. When the school moved under the name ''Semper Zwei'' next to the opera house, the state capital of Dresden bought the property and in 2019 gave it to the association Villa Wigman for Dance (''Villa Wigman für Tanz e. V.''), which uses it as a rehearsal and performance centre for the independent dance scene. Wigman's most famous male student was
Harald Kreutzberg Harald Kreutzberg (December 11, 1902 – April 25, 1968) was a German dancer and choreographer associated with the Ausdruckstanz movement, a form in which the individual, artistic expression of feelings or emotions is essential. Though largely fo ...
, but there was also
Ernest Berk Ernest Berk (12 October 1909 – 30 September 1993) was a dancer, modern dance choreographer and composer of electronic music. He left Nazi Germany in 1934 to live and work for most of his career in the UK, returning to Berlin in the 1980s. Ear ...
who worked in the UK from 1934 until the mid-1980s. Famous students included
Gret Palucca Gret Palucca (born Margarethe Paluka; 8 January 1902 – 22 March 1993) was a German dancer and dance teacher, notable for her dance school, the Palucca School of Dance, founded in Dresden in 1925. Life and work Margarethe Paluka was born in M ...
,
Hanya Holm Hanya Holm (born Johanna Eckert; 3 March 1893 – 3 November 1992) is known as one of the "Big Four" founders of American modern dance. She was a dancer, choreographer, and above all, a dance educator. Early life, connection with Mary Wigman Bo ...
,
Yvonne Georgi Yvonne Georgi (29 October 1903 – 25 January 1975) was a German dancer, choreographer and ballet mistress. She was known for her comedic talents and her extraordinary jumping ability. In her roles as a dancer, choreographer, and ballet mistress ...
, Margherita Wallmann,
Lotte Goslar Lotte Goslar (27 February 1907 – 16 October 1997) was a German-American dancer. Life Born in Dresden, Goslar came from a banking family and worked towards a career as a dancer from an early age. She took lessons with Mary Wigman and Gret Pal ...
,
Birgit Åkesson Anna Ida Birgit Åkesson (24 March 1908) – 24 March 2001) was a Swedish choreographer, dancer and dance researcher. Biography Birgit Åkesson was born in Malmö and trained as a dancer at Mary Wigman's school in Dresden from 1929 to 1931. A ...
,
Sonia Revid Sonia Revid (23 Jan 1902 – 8 Aug 1947) was a dancer born in Riga, and based in Melbourne for much of her career. Early life Sonia Revid was born in Riga to a Jewish family and lived in Saint Petersburg until she moved to Berlin in 1921. Sh ...
, and Hanna Berger.
Dore Hoyer Dore Hoyer (12 December 1911 – 31 December 1967) was a German expressionist dancer and choreographer. She is credited as "one of the most important solo dancers of the Ausdruckstanz tradition." Inspired by Mary Wigman, she developed her own s ...
, who further developed the expressive dance of Wigman and Palucca, worked together with Wigman on several occasions but was never her student. Student Irena Linn taught Wigman's ideas in the United States at Boston Conservatory and in Tennessee.
Ursula Cain Ursula Cain (April 24, 1927 in Dresden – October 16, 2011 in Leipzig) was a German dancer and dance teacher. Biography The dancer and the dance teacher Ursula Cain began her dance education at the age of 12 years in the preparatory class of th ...
was also one of Wigman's students. On tour, Wigman travelled throughout Germany and neighbouring countries with her chamber dance group. In 1928, Wigman performed for the first time in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and in 1930 in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. In the 1920s, Wigman was the idol of a movement that wanted dance free of being subordinate to music. Wigman rarely danced to music not composed for her. It was often only danced to the accompaniment of gongs or drums and in rare cases without any music at all, which was particularly popular in intellectual circles.


Selected works choreographed and dance school success

Wigman ceaselessly created and choreographed new solo dances, including ''Tänze der Nacht'', ''Der Spuk'', ''Vision'' (all 1920), ''Tanzrhythmen I and II'', ''Tänze des Schweigens'' (all 1920–23), ''Die abendlichen Tänze'' (1924), ''Visionen'' (1925), ''Helle Schwingungen'' (1927), ''Schwingende Landschaft'' (1929) and ''Das Opfer'' (1931). Group dances were titled ''Die Feier I'' (1921), ''Die sieben Tänze des Lebens'' (1921), ''Szenen aus einem Tanzdrama'' (1923/24), ''Raumgesänge'' (1926), ''Die Feier II'' (1927/28) and ''Der Weg'' (1932). In 1930, Wigman worked at the Munich Dancers' Congress as a choreographer and dancer in the choir work ''Das Totenmal'' created by in honour of the dead of World War I. By 1927, Wigman had 360 students in Dresden alone, and more than 1,200 students were taught at branches operated by former students in Berlin, Frankfurt, Chemnitz, Riesa, Hamburg, Leipzig, Erfurt, Magdeburg, Munich, and Freiburg, including from 1931 one in New York City by former student
Hanya Holm Hanya Holm (born Johanna Eckert; 3 March 1893 – 3 November 1992) is known as one of the "Big Four" founders of American modern dance. She was a dancer, choreographer, and above all, a dance educator. Early life, connection with Mary Wigman Bo ...
. The engineer and
Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...
manager helped Wigman part-time with the administration of this large organization and also became her life partner between 1930 and 1941. Wigman has been photographed dancing and in portraits by many well-known photographers, including
Hugo Erfurth Hugo Erfurth (14 October 1874 – 14 February 1948) was a German photographer known for his portraits of celebrities and cultural figures of the early twentieth century. Life Early years Erfurth was born in Halle (Saale), in what was then t ...
, ,
Albert Renger-Patzsch Albert Renger-Patzsch (June 22, 1897 – September 27, 1966) was a German photographer associated with the New Objectivity. Biography Renger-Patzsch was born in Würzburg and began making photographs by age twelve. After military service in the ...
and Siegfried Enkelmann. The commemorative stamp of the German Federal Post shown here is based on a photo by Albert Renger-Patzsch.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (6 May 1880 – 15 June 1938) was a German Expressionism, expressionist Painting, painter and printmaker and one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to the foundation of Expr ...
created the painting ''Totentanz der Mary Wigman'' (Mary Wigman's Dance of Death) in the mid-1920s.


United States tour

Wigman toured the United States in 1930 with her dance company, and again in 1931 and 1933. A Wigman school was founded by her disciples in New York City in 1931 and her work through dance and movement contributed as a gateway for social change with the
New Dance Group New Dance Group, or more casually NDG, is a performing arts organization in New York City, United States. History New Dance Group was established in 1932 by a group of artists and choreographers dedicated to social change through dance and movem ...
in the 1930s, this group was started by students from Wigman's New York school. Wigman's work in the United States is credited to her protegee
Hanya Holm Hanya Holm (born Johanna Eckert; 3 March 1893 – 3 November 1992) is known as one of the "Big Four" founders of American modern dance. She was a dancer, choreographer, and above all, a dance educator. Early life, connection with Mary Wigman Bo ...
, and then to Holm's students
Alwin Nikolais Alwin Nikolais (November 25, 1910 – May 8, 1993) was an American choreographer, dancer, composer, musician, and teacher. He created the Nikolais Dance Theatre, and was known for his self-designed innovative costume, lighting, and production des ...
an
Joan Woodbury
Another student and protegee of Wigman, Margret Dietz, taught in America from 1953 to 1972. During this time, Wigman's style was characterized by critics as "tense, introspective, and sombre," yet there was always an element of "radiance found even in her darkest compositions."


Dance under National Socialism

The seizure of power by the
National Socialists Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
in 1933 had an immediate effect on Wigman's school through the new law against racial overcrowding in German schools and universities of 25 April 1933 ('). Wigman initially obtained an exemption by allowing her "5% pupils of non-
Aryan ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''), Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood ...
descent" for the course from September 1933. However, in the course of the following years, a number of Wigman's students were forced to emigrate, such as the Jewish Berlin prima ballerina Ruth Abramovitsch Sorel and member of Wigman's dance company
Pola Nirenska Pola Nirenska (28 July 1910 — 25 July 1992), born Pola Nirensztajn, was a Polish performer of modern dance. She had a critically acclaimed if brief career in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Poland in the 1930s before fleeing the continent in 1935 ...
, whom Wigman had organized to perform at a school audition in 1935 and teacher for a summer course, whereupon Wigman was accused of "friendliness toward Jews" in 1935 and 1937. The Wigman school became a member of the
Militant League for German Culture The Militant League for German Culture (German: ''Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur'', ''KfdK''), was a nationalistic anti-Semitic political society during the Weimar Republic and the Nazi era. It was founded in 1928 as the ''Nationalsozialistische Ge ...
(''Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur'') in 1933. Wigman took over the local group leadership of the "Department of gymnastics and dance" (''Fachschaft Gymnastik und Tanz'') in the
National Socialist Teachers League The National Socialist Teachers League ( German: , NSLB), was established on 21 April 1929. Its original name was the Organization of National Socialist Educators. Its founder and first leader was former schoolteacher Hans Schemm, the Gauleiter ...
in 1933–1934, but noted for example "Local group meeting – sickening!" in her diary. With ''Schicksalslied'' (1935) and ''Herbstliche Tänze'' (1937) further solo dances were created. The Nazi press had criticized some of the 1934 dances by Wigman and other choreographers, for being insufficiently or unimpressively German, the 1935 '' Rogge'' and ''Wernicke'' works were lauded as appropriate examples of "heroic" German bodily movement, but
Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda ...
apparently disliked ''Amazonen'' for being too Greek in its iconography. In 1936 Wigman choreographed the ''Totenklage'' with a group of 80 dancers for the Olympic Youth Festival to mark the opening of the
1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...
in Berlin. In 1942, Wigman sold her school in Dresden. She received a guest teaching contract at the dance department of the
University of Music and Theatre Leipzig The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig () is a public university in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatorium der Musik (Conservatory of Music), it is the oldest univ ...
, where the concert pianist Heinz K. Urban accompanied her as a
répétiteur A (; from the French verb meaning 'to repeat, to go over, to learn, to rehearse') is an accompanist, tutor or coach of ballet dancers or opera singers. The feminine form is . Opera In opera, a is the person responsible for coaching singers ...
. In the same year, Wigman appeared for the last time as a solo dancer with ''Abschied und Dank'' (Farewell and Thanks).


German dance festivals and Goebbels Nazi propaganda

Amidst the fall of
Weimar Germany The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...
to
Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...
, Wigman's contributions to modern dance existed within the umbrella of Nazism and the rejection of structured dance (ballet) in favour of “freer” movements. Marion Kant writes in “Dance is a Race Question: The Dance politics of the Reich Ministry of Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda” that Wigman's dance style became a means through which Nazi ideologies were propagated. Describing Nazi perceptions of art, records of the Propaganda Ministry in the Federal Archives “embody an ideology to which dance became subject,” as Ausdruckstanz, or the new German Dance, arose as a widely accepted art form due to Nazi leaders’ beliefs that dance would benefit the movement. Document 4 in Kant's work features a letter from Fritz Böhme to Goebbels, which articulates how the “German artistic dance ... must not be allowed to be neglected as an art form” and must “function... as a constructive and formative force, as the guardian of racial values, and as a shield against the flood of confusing foreign postures alien to the German character and German stance”. Wigman and her colleagues’ modern dance styles were therefore deemed a means by which the German people could be shielded by outside influence and purified. A note from Ministerial Councilor von Keudell to the Reich Ministry for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda also recognized Wigman's school as one of the “four model schools of German art dance”. Ultimately, these records reveal how Wigman's work fit into the narrative of Nazism and how the fall of the Weimar Republic allowed for Wigman's success, yielding to the acceptance of “free” dance as Nazi propaganda. Wigman's work also contributed to dance as a gateway for fascist community-building. Susan Manning writes in “Modern Dance in the Third Reich, Redux” that “modern dancers conflated and confused their ideal of the Tanzgemeinschaft (‘dance community’) with the fascist ideal of Volksgemeinschaft (‘ethnic community’)”. German dance environments therefore indirectly supported budding Nazi communities. Manning cites another work by Kant, “Death and the Maiden: Mary Wigman in the Weimar Republic,” in which Kant examines many writings by Wigman in the early years of the rise of Nazism in Germany. Here, Wigman seemed to express support for “the conservative and right-wing nationalists... who would bring down the Republic,” which Manning claims was instrumental in “bringing Volkish thought into the mainstream of Weimar politics”. Modern dance therefore became a hallmark of German unification, with Wigman's art heading the establishment of Volkish communities through dance. Whether Wigman's contributions to Nazism and its rise were intentional or unintentional is a matter of dispute, as Manning recognizes that “Mary Wigman could
ave is a Latin word, used by the Roman Empire, Romans as a salutation (greeting), salutation and greeting, meaning 'wikt:hail, hail'. It is the singular imperative mood, imperative form of the verb , which meant 'Well-being, to be well'; thus on ...
.. opposed Nazi cultural policy, without recognizing that her own belief... reinforced the Nazi position”. Yet, despite Wigman's personal attitudes toward the Nazi Party, her work undoubtedly coexisted and even fit within Nazi ideals of Aryan freedom, community, and identity.


Post-war Germany

After 1945, Wigman began again with a
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
school and in 1947 staged a sensational performance of ''
Orfeo ed Euridice (; French: '; English: ''Orpheus and Eurydice'') is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the '' azione teatrale'', meaning an ...
'' with her pupils at the Leipzig Opera. In 1949, Wigman settled in
West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...
, where she founded a new expressive dance school, the Mary Wigman Studio.


Schiller Prize and Order of Merit

In 1954, Wigman received the
Schiller Prize of the City of Mannheim The Schiller Prize of the City of Mannheim has been awarded by the City of Mannheim since 1954. It was donated on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the National Theatre. The prize is awarded every two years and endowed with €20,000. It i ...
and in 1957 the Great Cross of the
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...
. In 1967, she closed her West Berlin studio and devoted herself to lecturing at home and abroad. Mary Wigman died in 1973. Her funerary
urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape ...
was buried on 14 November of that year in the Wiegmann family grave at the ''Ostfriedhof'' in
Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...
, Germany.


Productions

Wigman gave her first public performance in Munich in February 1914, performing two of her own dances, including one called ''Lento'' and the first version of ''Hexentanz'' (Witch Dance), which later became one of her most important works. While recovering from her nervous breakdown in 1918, Wigman wrote the choreography for her first group composition, ''Die sieben Tänze des Lebens'' (The Seven Dances of Life), which premiered several years later, in 1921. After that her career and influence began in earnest. In 1925, the Italian financier
Riccardo Gualino Riccardo Gualino (25 March 1879 – 6 June 1964) was an Italian business magnate and art collector. He was also a patron and an important film producer. His first business empire was based on lumber from Eastern Europe and included forest concessi ...
invited Wigman to Turin to perform in his private theatre and in his newly opened ''Teatro di Torino''. She had several years' success on the concert stage. Wigman's dances were often accompanied by
world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...
and non-Western instrumentation, such as fifes and primarily percussion, bells, including the
gongs A gongFrom Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and are circular and fl ...
and
drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...
s from India, Thailand, Africa, and China, contrasted with silence. In later years, she used composers' talents to create music to accompany her choreography, and many choreographers began to use this tactic. She would often employ masks in her pieces, influenced again by non-western/tribal dance. She did not use typical costumes associated with ballet. The subject matters included in her pieces were heavy, such as the death and desperation that surrounded the war. However, she did not choreograph to represent the happenings of the war; she danced to outwardly convey the feelings that people were experiencing in this hard time.Mary Wigman. German Expressionist Dancer and Choreographer. https://www.contemporary-dance.org/mary-wigman.html


Recognition

Wigman's former student Katharine Sehnert still teaches dance technique and improvisation based on the Wigman style. In
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
, a street in the ''Seevorstadt'' and near
Dresden Hauptbahnhof Dresden Hauptbahnhof ("main station", abbreviated Dresden Hbf) is the largest passenger station in the Saxon capital of Dresden. In 1898, it replaced the ''Böhmischen Bahnhof'' ("Bohemian station") of the former Saxon-Bohemian State Railway ('' ...
, which had previously been named after
Anton Saefkow Anton Emil Hermann Saefkow (; 22 July 1903 – 18 September 1944) was a Germans, German Communist and a German resistance to Nazism, resistance fighter against the Nazi Germany, Nazi régime. He was arrested in July 1944 and executed on 18 S ...
, was named after Mary Wigman. Streets were also named after her in the ''Vilich-Müldorf'' district of
Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...
, in the ''Bothfeld'' district of Hanover and in the '' Käfertal'' district of
Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...
. In Hanover, a
commemorative plaque A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, bearing text or an image in relief, or both, ...
was attached to Wigman's former home at ''Schmiedestrasse 18''. In
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
, a memorial plaque on the house at ''Mozartstrasse 17'' commemorates Wigman, who lived and taught there from 1942 until she moved to West Berlin in 1949.


Mary Wigman Societies and Mary Wigman Foundation

The first Mary Wigman Society was founded in Berlin in November 1925 as a society of friends of the Mary Wigman Dance Group. Founding members included the theatre director
Max von Schillings Max von Schillings (April 19, 1868 – July 24, 1933) was a German conductor, composer and theatre director. He was chief conductor at the Berlin State Opera from 1919 to 1925. Schillings' opera ''Mona Lisa'' (1915) was internationally successfu ...
,
Reichskunstwart The Reichskunstwart (German: Imperial Art Protector) was an official position within the Ministry of the Interior of the Weimar Republic, which was concerned with artistic matters and other regulatory issues. It mediated between regulators and arti ...
Edwin Redslob Edwin Redslob (22 September 1884, Weimar – 24 January 1973, West Berlin) was a German art historian and art collector who served as Reichskunstwart under the Weimar Republic. Appointed in 1920, he held the position until it was abolished after ...
, the composer
Eugen d'Albert Eugen (originally Eugène) Francis Charles d'Albert (10 April 1864 – 3 March 1932) was a Scottish-born pianist and composer who immigrated to Germany. Educated in Britain, d'Albert showed early musical talent and, at the age of seventeen, h ...
, the painters
Emil Nolde Emil Nolde (born Hans Emil Hansen; 7 August 1867 – 13 April 1956) was a German painter and printmaker. He was one of the first Expressionists, a member of Die Brücke, and was one of the first oil painting and watercolor painters of the early ...
and
Conrad Felixmüller Conrad Felixmüller (21 May 1897 – 24 March 1977) was a German expressionist painter and printmaker. Born in Dresden as Conrad Felix Müller, he chose Felixmüller as his '' nom d'artiste''. Early life and career He attended drawing classes ...
, the archaeologist and senior government minister , the journalists and theatre critics
Alfred Kerr Alfred Kerr (''né'' Kempner; 25 December 1867 – 12 October 1948, surname: ) was an influential German theatre critic and essayist of Jewish descent, nicknamed the ''Kulturpapst'' ("Culture Pope"). Biography Youth Kerr was born in Breslau ...
and , the art historian
Fritz Wichert Friedrich Karl Adolf Wichert (born 22 August 1878 in Mainz-Kastel; died 24 January 1951 in Kampen (Sylt)) was a German art historian. He was the director of the Kunsthalle Mannheim and the Frankfurt Städelschule. He also participated in New Fra ...
,
Wilhelm Worringer Wilhelm Robert Worringer (13 January 1881 in Aachen – 29 March 1965 in Munich) was a German art historian known for his theories about Abstraction, abstract art and its relation to avant-garde movements such as German Expressionism. Through his i ...
and and Privy Councilor
Erich Lexer Erich Lexer (22 May 1867 in Freiburg im Breisgau – 4 December 1937 in Berlin) was a German surgeon and university lecturer. With Eugen Holländer (1867–1932) and Jacques Joseph (1865–1934), he is regarded as the pioneer of plastic surgery. ...
, a surgeon. It only existed for a few years. The ''Mary Wigman Gesellschaft e. V.'', which has been committed to the history and future of modern dance for decades, published the ''Tanzdrama'' (Dance Drama) magazine and organized a number of symposia, which was converted into a Mary Wigman Foundation (''Mary Wigman Stiftung'') in 2013. This is located at the German Dance Archive
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
(''Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln''), which also owns the rights of use for Mary Wigman's works.


Mary Wigman Prize

Since 1993, the Foundation for the Promotion of the
Semperoper The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the Th ...
has honoured outstanding artists or ensembles who belong or belonged to the Saxon State Opera (''Sächsischen Staatsoper'') with the Mary Wigman Prize. The award is presented annually at a gala – the foundation's prizewinners' concert. The first prize winner in 1993 was . The prize was not awarded from 2006 to 2012.


Works published

* ''Die sieben Tänze des Lebens. Tanzdichtung.'' Diederichs, Jena 1921. * ''Komposition.'' Seebote, Überlingen 1925. * ''Deutsche Tanzkunst.'' Reißner, Dresden 1935. * ''Die Sprache des Tanzes.'' Battenberg, Stuttgart 1963; New Edition: Battenberg, Munich 1986, . * ''The Language of Dance.'' Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, Connecticut 1966, .


See also

*''
Ways to Strength and Beauty ''Ways to Strength and Beauty'' () is a 1925 German cultural film directed by Wilhelm Prager. The 125 minute full-length silent film was produced by Ufa-Kulturabteilung of Weimar Germany. The film was first screened on 16 March 1925 and in a r ...
'' *
Weimar culture Weimar culture was the emergence of the arts and sciences that happened in Germany during the Weimar Republic, the latter during that part of the Interwar Period, interwar period between Germany's defeat in World War I in 1918 and Hitler's rise ...
*
Weimar Germany The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...
*
Expressionist dance ''Expressive dance'' from German ''Ausdruckstanz'', is a form of artistic dance in which the individual and artistic presentation (and sometimes also processing) of feelings is an essential part. It emerged as a counter-movement to classic ...
*
Dore Hoyer Dore Hoyer (12 December 1911 – 31 December 1967) was a German expressionist dancer and choreographer. She is credited as "one of the most important solo dancers of the Ausdruckstanz tradition." Inspired by Mary Wigman, she developed her own s ...
*
Isadora Duncan Angela Isadora Duncan (May 26, 1877, or May 27, 1878 – September 14, 1927) was an American-born dancer and choreographer, who was a pioneer of modern contemporary dance and performed to great acclaim throughout Europe and the United States. Bor ...
* Ruth St Denis *
List of dancers A *Fred Astaire ( – ), American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer, musician and actor. He was an innovator in dance. He made 31 musical films, 10 featuring his dances with Ginger Rogers, and was honored with the fifth ...
*
Women in dance The important place of women in dance can be traced back to the origins of civilization. Cave paintings, Egyptian frescos, Indian statuettes, ancient Greek and Roman art and records of court traditions in China and Japan all testify to the import ...


References


Further reading

*Gilbert, Laure (2000). ''Danser avec le Troisième Reich'', Brussels: Editions Complex, *Karina, Lilian & Kant, Marion (2003). ''German Modern Dance and the Third Reich'', New York & Oxford: Berghahn Books, *Kolb, Alexandra (2009). ''Performing Femininity. Dance and Literature in German Modernism''. Oxford: Peter Lang. * Manning, Susan (1993). ''Ecstasy and the Demon: Feminism and Nationalism in the Dances of Mary Wigman'', University of California Press. . *Martin, John (1934). "Workers League In Group Dances", ''The New York Times'', 24 December. *Newhall, Mary; Santos, Anne (2009). ''Mary Wigman''. Routledge. *Partsch-Bergsohn, Isa; Bergsohn, Harold (2002). ''The Makers of Modern Dance in Germany: Rudolf Laban, Mary Wigman, Kurt Jooss'', Princeton Book Company Publishers. . *Song, Ji-yun (2006)
"Moving bodies and political movement: Dance in German modernism"
dissertation,
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
. *Song, Ji-yun (2007)
"Mary Wigman and German Modern Dance: A Modernist Witch?"
''Forum for Modern Language Studies'', Oxford University Press (1 October 2007), 43(4): 427–437. Special Issue on Stagecraft and Witchcraft. *Toepfer, Karl Eric (1997). ''Empire of Ecstasy: Nudity and Movement in Germany Body Culture, 1910–1935 (Weimer and Now: German Cultural Criticism, No 13)'', University of California Press. . *Wigman, Mary (1975). '' The Mary Wigman Book: Her Writings'', Olympic Marketing Corp. .


External links



a student of Wigman's.
Photographs of Mary WigmanMary Wigman-Schule in Dresden
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wigman, Mary 1886 births 1973 deaths Dance teachers Expressionist choreographers Expressionist dancers German women choreographers German choreographers German female dancers Modern dancers Dancers from Berlin People from Hanover