Max Niehaus (17 December 1888 – 8 April 1981) was a German writer,
dance research
Dance research is the study of dance, including dance history, ethnochoreology, dance theory, dance anthropology, and dance science.
Dance research as an academic discipline is relatively new. In 1967, the first volume of the ''CORD Dance Re ...
er and ballet publicist.
Life
Born in
Wesel
Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel (district), Wesel district.
Geography
Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine.
Division of the city
Suburbs of Wesel i ...
, Niehaus, who was a full-time civil servant in
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...
,
was considered one of the leading representatives of factual modern dance literature. He was also a staff member at the
Goethe-Institut
The Goethe-Institut (; GI, ''Goethe Institute'') is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit German culture, cultural organization operational worldwide with more than 150 cultural centres, promoting the study of the German language abroad and en ...
, where he was responsible for German ballet guest performances abroad. His international contacts gave him a comprehensive view of the dance scene and also shaped his publications. These dealt both with German dancers such as
Heinz Bosl
Heinz Bosl (21 November 1946 – 12 June 1975) was a German ballet dancer.''Oxford Dictionary of Dance'' (2004) Oxford University Press
Bosl was born in Baden-Baden. He studied at the Bavarian State Opera's ballet school based in Munich. After gra ...
and with international dance makers such as
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 ...
and
Vaslav Nijinsky
Vaslav or Vatslav Nijinsky (12 March 1889/18908 April 1950) was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer of Polish ancestry. He is regarded as the greatest male dancer of the early 20th century.
Nijinsky was celebrated for his virtuosity and f ...
. His friendship with
Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), also known as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario an ...
and the
Ballets Russes
The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Russian Revolution, Revolution ...
as well as with numerous German and American artists allowed him to conduct intensive research. He gained professional international recognition by setting up ballet photo exhibitions in
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 ...
,
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
,
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
and
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 ...
. The special feature of the photos was that they did not depict posed positions, but rather snapshots of the performance process. Niehaus also published an annual ballet calendar from 1958.
Niehaus died in Munich at the age of 92. His estate is housed in 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 ...
.
Work
Monographs
* ''Sardinien: ein Reisebuch''. Societäts-Verlag, Frankfurt, 1938
* ''Ballett''. Prestel Verlag, München 1954.
* ''Junges Ballett''. Nymphenburger Verlag, München 1957 – NA 1972.
* ''Himmel, Hölle und Trikot – Heinrich Heine und das Ballett''. Nymphenburger Verlag, München 1959.
* ''Nijinsky. Gast aus einer anderen Welt''. Prestel Verlag, München 1961.
* ''Ballett im Bild''. Nymphenburger Verlag, München 1961.
* ''Ballett-Faszination''. Heyne, München 1972, ISBN 3-453-01061-2 – NA 1978 mit einem Kommentar vom Tanzarchiv Köln.
* ''Heinz Bosl''. Südwest-Verlag, München 1975, NA 1988,
* ''Peter Breuer''. Nymphenburger Verlag, München 1978.
* ''Isadora Duncan. Triumph und Tragik einer legendären Tänzerin''. Heyne, München 1982.
Further reading
* Alexander J. Balcar (Hg.): ''Knaurs Ballett Lexikon''. Knaur Verlag, München/Zürich 1958.
*
Horst Koegler
Horst Koegler (22 March 1927 – 11 May 2012) was a German dance critic, journalist and writer. He was the editor and author of books on the ballet scene in Germany, as well as the author of essays in journals and introductions to illustrated book ...
,
Helmut Günther
Helmut Günther (4 August 1911 – 17 February 1983) was a German dancer, dance historian, and dance critic. He researched historic and contemporary African dances and introduced a novel approach to study them. He also worked in the field of socio ...
(ed.): ''Reclams Ballettlexikon''. Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart 1991, .
* Horst Koegler (ed.): ''Friedrichs Ballettlexikon''. Friedrich Verlag, Velber bei Hannover 1972.
* Paul S. Ulrich: ''Biographisches Verzeichnis für Theater, Tanz und Musik''. Berlin 1997,
References
External links
*
Biographie und Abbildungen aus seinem Nachlass*
Zwanzigster Todestag von Max Niehaus*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niehaus, Max
20th-century German writers
1888 births
1981 deaths
People from Wesel