Arlene Rothlein was a

postmodern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wo ...

dancer Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

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 ...

and actress.

Life and career

Rothlein was born in 1939 in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, the daughter of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

parents Alex and Fanny Rothlein. She attended

Erasmus Hall High School Erasmus Hall High School was a four-year public high school located at 899–925 Flatbush Avenue between Church and Snyder Avenues in the Flatbush, Brooklyn, Flatbush neighborhood of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brookly ...

and was one of the principal artists at the

Judson Dance Theater Judson Dance Theater was a collective of dancers, composers, and visual artists who performed at the Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village, Manhattan New York City between 1962 and 1964. The artists involved were avant garde experimentalists ...

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

during the late 1960s and early 1970s. She studied dance at the

Merce Cunningham Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...

Dance Company along with James Waring,

Lucinda Childs Lucinda Childs (born June 26, 1940) is an American postmodern dancer and choreographer. Her compositions are known for their minimalistic movements yet complex transitions. Childs is most famous for being able to turn the slightest movements into ...

, and Valda Setterfield. Rothlein premiered an original dance work choreographed by James Waring in 1972 titled ''Twelve Objects from Tender Buttons'', based on the book by

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh), and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris in 1903, and ...

. Some of her other original works include ''Another Letter to the Sun'', a work inspired by

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, actuary and businessman. Ives was among the earliest renowned American composers to achieve recognition on a global scale. His music was largely ignored d ...

and a piece entitled ''It Seemed to Me There Was Dust in the Garden'', a lyrical dance she created and dedicated for her aunt. The dances she created were often a take on

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 ...

with an

Avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

approach. Arlene performed in the 1968 musical ''In Circles'' as Sylvia, based on work by

with lyrics by Al Carmines. Next in 1969 she choreographed and starred in a new musical ''Peace'', based on the play ''

Peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

'' by

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...

. The show played 192 performances at the

Astor Place Theatre The Astor Place Theatre is an off-Broadway house at 434 Lafayette Street in the NoHo section of Manhattan, New York City. The theater is located in the historic Colonnade Row, originally constructed in 1831 as a series of nine connected buildin ...

with a cast that included David Vaughan. In 1969 she won an

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given since 1956 by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theater artists and groups involved in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. Starting just after th ...

for Best Actress for her role as 'The Girl' in ''The Poor Little Match Girl'', a new work by Arthur Williams, choreographed by James Waring, based on the story by

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

. The show opened December 22, 1968, at the Judson Poet Theatre, with music by Al Carmines.

Death

Rothlein died on November 20, 1976, in her native

, New York, she was 37. The cause of death is believed to be

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasion ...

. She was married to

Malcolm Goldstein Malcolm Goldstein (born March 27, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American-Canadian composer, violinist and improviser who has been active in the presentation of new music and dance since the early 1960s. He received an M.A. in music composi ...

, who was also known for his work with the Judson Theatre.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rothlein, Arlene American female dancers Dancers from New York (state) 1939 births 1976 deaths American stage actresses Actresses from New York (state) 20th-century American actresses Artists from Brooklyn Erasmus Hall High School alumni 20th-century American dancers