Ruth Elly Abramovitsch Sorel (18 June 1907 - 1 April 1974) was a German

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 ...

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 ...

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

and teacher. She spent the first half of her career working mainly in Europe (particularly Warsaw) and then was predominantly active in Canada after moving to that nation in 1944. In Canada she worked under the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

"Ruth Sorel", but in Europe she was known under her maiden name, Abramovitsch (sometimes spelled Abramowitz). ''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

'' states that Abramovitsch Sorel was, "A well-known, expressive performer, who was praised by local and international critics for her intensely theatrical German dance style, her literary inspiration and the emotion, musicality and precision of her execution... Working in Canada prior to the existence of grants for innovation, Sorel was a pioneer of European expressionism in Québec." As a choreographer she was at the forefront 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 ...

and

contemporary ballet Contemporary ballet is a dance genre that incorporates elements of classical ballet and modern dance. It employs classical ballet technique and in many cases classical pointe technique as well, but allows a greater range of movement of the upper ...

, combining two contrasting elements: German expressionist dance and

classical ballet Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as en pointe, pointe work, turnout (ballet), turnout of the legs, ...

. For many years she operated and directed her own dance company in Montreal, Les Ballets Ruth Sorel (also known as the Ruth Sorel Modern Dance Group).

Early life and career

Born to Polish-Jewish parents in

Halle, Saxony-Anhalt Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (), is the second largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Magdeburg as well as t ...

, Abramovitsch Sorel studied 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 ...

before becoming a dancer in

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 ...

's company in Dresden in 1923 where she remained for six seasons. From 1927-1933 she was a principal dancer with the

Berlin State Opera The Staatsoper Unter den Linden ( State Opera under the Lime Trees), also known as the Berlin State Opera (), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of P ...

where she was much admired as the lead soloist in the ballet ''Legend of Joseph''. Abramovitsch Sorel was forced to leave the Berlin State Opera by the

Nazis 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 ...

due to her Jewish heritage and Communist leanings. She left Germany for Poland in 1933 where she soon won first prize at the international solo dance competition in Warsaw for her performance of Salomé's dance of the seven veils. From 1933-1939 she taught dance and directed student productions at Warsaw's advanced dance school. She also actively performed in Poland during those years, often appearing with dancer George Groke with whom she gave performance tours to Palestine and the United States during the 1930s. At the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

she emigrated from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. She attempted to start a dance academy in that nation but was unsuccessful.

Career in Canada and later years in Poland

In 1944 Abramovitsch Sorel emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

with her husband, the author

Michał Choromański Michał Choromański (9 June O.S. 1904 – 14 May 1972), was a Polish writer, playwright and translator. He is best known for his novelistic studies of psychological states. Early life and education Michał Choromański was born in Yelisavetgr ...

. The couple settled in

Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and Sorel soon opened a number of dance studios in the area, including studios in

Westmount Westmount () is a city on the Island of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is an enclave of the city of Montreal, with a population of 19,658 as of the 2021 Canadian census. Westmount is home to schools, an arena, a pool, a public li ...

Shawinigan Shawinigan (; ) is a city located on the Saint-Maurice River in the Mauricie area in Quebec, Canada. It had a population of 49,620 as of the 2021 Canadian census. Shawinigan is also a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) ...

, and

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

. At the latter studio she frequently presented her most gifted students in recital, often dancing herself. Abramovitsch Sorel quickly established herself as an important choreographer and dancer in the

Québec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

region, now using the stage name "Ruth Sorel". She formed the Les Ballets Ruth Sorel which had a triumphant success representing

at the first

Canadian Ballet Festival The Canadian Ballet Festival was an annual event staged in Canada from 1948 to 1954 that brought together various Canadian dance companies to generate public interest in classical dance. Prior to the festivals, it was difficult for professional Ca ...

(CBF) in 1948 in Winnipeg. Later the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

of the CBF included sequences from her celebrated ''Mea Culpa Mea Culpa'', a medieval mystery. Sorel's dance company performed her choreography on tours in Canada and in the United States, notably giving performances at dance festivals 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 ...

and at Montréal's Chalet du Mont-Royal. In 1949 she had a major success in Montreal with ''La Gaspésienne'', the first choreography with Québécois content, which used music by

Pierre Brabant Pierre Brabant (26 August 1925 – 28 August 2014) was a Canadian composer and pianist. He appeared in concerts and recitals throughout Canada and performed numerous times on Canadian television and radio. He wrote music for a number of programs ...

. The ballet was given performances in Toronto, New York City, and at the Great Theatre, Warsaw in 1950. In 1955 Abramovitsch Sorel and her husband left Canada suddenly for Poland. She lived in Warsaw for the remainder of her life. She died there in 1974 at the age of 66.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abramovitsch Sorel, Ruth 1907 births 1974 deaths German choreographers German female dancers