Katja Wulff, also Käthe Wulff, (31 August 1890 − 11 June 1992), was a German-Swiss

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 ...

r (''Ausdruckstänzerin'') and dance instructor. She attended

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 ...

's dance classes and became associated with the

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...

movement. She ran a dance school and was still teaching there at the age of 90.

Life and career

Born 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 ...

, Wulff was educated as a teacher of drawing and

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

(') from 1912 to 1915. From 1913/14, she took dance lessons with Gertrud Falke, and also attended a 1914 summer class 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 ...

with

, dance theoreticist and pioneer 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 moved to

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 ...

in 1916 and studied for three years with Laban and

Mary Wigman Mary Wigman (born Karoline Sophie Marie Wiegmann; 13 November 1886 – 18 September 1973) was a German dancer and choreographer who pioneered expressionist dance, dance therapy, and movement training without pointe shoes. She is considered on ...

. She graduated in 1918 with a Diploma of Pedagogy in ''tänzerisches Turnen und Kunsttanz'' (" acrobatic dance and

"). She founded, together with

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 ...

, a school for

eurythmy Eurythmy is an expressive movement art originated by Rudolf Steiner in conjunction with his wife, Marie, in the early 20th century. Primarily a performance art, it is also used in education, especially in Waldorf schools, and – as pa ...

. She worked for three years on the

Amalfi Amalfi (, , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 metres, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramatic c ...

coast and

Capri Capri ( , ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. A popular resort destination since the time of the Roman Republic, its natural beauty ...

. In 1923, Wulff founded a school of ''Ausdruckstanz'' in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

where she still taught at the age of 90. She directed a dance company, ''Tanzstudio Wulff'', from 1926, with Mariette von Meyenburg as choreographer. They collaborated with

Paul Sacher Paul Sacher (28 April 190626 May 1999) was a Swiss conductor, patron and billionaire businessman. At the time of his death Sacher was majority shareholder of pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-La Roche and was considered the third richest person i ...

Max Bill Max Bill (22 December 1908 – 9 December 1994) was a Swiss architect, artist, painter, typeface designer, industrial designer and graphic designer. Early life and education Bill was born in Winterthur. After an apprenticeship as a silversmit ...

, Max Sulzbachner and

Méret Oppenheim Meret (or Méret) Elisabeth Oppenheim (6 October 1913 – 15 November 1985) was a German-born Swiss Surrealist artist and photographer. Early life Meret Oppenheim was born on 6 October 1913 in Berlin. She was named after Meretlein, a wild c ...

. She had contact with

artists such as

Jean Arp Hans Peter Wilhelm Arp (; ; 16 September 1886 – 7 June 1966), better known as Jean Arp in English, was a German-French sculptor, painter and poet. He was known as a Dadaist and an abstract artist. Early life Arp was born Hans Peter Wilhelm Ar ...

and

Sophie Taeuber-Arp Sophie Henriette Gertrud Taeuber-Arp (; 19 January 1889 – 13 January 1943) was a Swiss artist, painter, sculptor, textile designer, furniture and interior designer, architect, and dancer. Born in 1889 in Davos and raised in Trogen, Switzerlan ...

. She performed at the ''Tänzerkongresse'' in Germany from 1928 to 1930 and at the 1939 Landesausstellung (''Landi'', Swiss state exhibition) in Zürich. In 1936, Wulff became a Swiss citizen. She married Charles Ferdinand Vaucher, a dancer, actor and stage director from Basel, in 1937. They were divorced in 1947. Wulff died at age 101 in the in Basel. The dancer Mary Delpy noted that she walked like a queen, had perfect posture, and continued to teach beyond the age of 90 ("Katja war immer sehr dezent gekleidet und hatte, ich möchte sagen, einen fast königlichen Gang – gerader Rücken, perfekte Haltung. Sie war eine grosse, schöne Frau. Bis mit über 90 hat sie Stunden gegeben, Schülerinnen ausgebildet und sass daneben, wenn ehemalige Schülerinnen Stunden gaben, hat sich eingemischt und mal etwas gesagt dazu. Sie war eine ganz tolle Frau.") Her ''

nachlass ''Nachlass'' (, older spelling ''Nachlaß'') is a German language, German word, used in academia to describe the collection of manuscripts, notes, correspondence, and so on left behind when a scholar dies. The word is a compound word, compound in ...

'' is held by the

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 ...

References

Literature

* Vera Isler: ''Schaut uns an: Porträts von Menschen über Achtzig.'' Birkhäuser, Basel 1986, (). *

Frank-Manuel Peter Frank-Manuel Peter (born 1959) is a German dance researcher and historian. Life and work Born in Berlin, Peter studied theatre, history of art, German studies and library science at the Free University of Berlin and graduated as a master's d ...

: ''"Falls Sie geneigt sind zu kommen..." Käthe (Katja) Wulff zum 100. Geburtstag.'' In: ''Tanzdrama'' magazine. No. 12, 3rd quarter 1990, pp. 18–22. * Bettina Zeugin: ''Katja Wulff.'' Published by IG Tanz Basel. Zwischen-Raum-Verlag, Basel 2001.

External links

*
Portrait photo of Katja Wulff

Katja Wulff
theaterwissenschaft.ch {{DEFAULTSORT:Wulff, Katja 1890 births 1992 deaths 20th-century German dancers Dance teachers German female dancers Modern dancers Expressionist dancers Entertainers from Hamburg Swiss female dancers German women centenarians 20th-century German women

Life and career

See also

References

Literature

External links