Susana Zimmermann (1932-2021) was an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

dancer and choreographer. She was a pioneering figure in

contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of Concert dance, dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly stron ...

in Argentina and had choreographed at least sixty performances staged in different countries. Zimmermann was also an

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

and is noted for developing a methodology for dance instruction.

Biography

Zimmermann was born Susana Beatriz Breyter in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

on 7 December 1932. Her parents were Abraham Breyter and Juana Huberman. Breyter was a doctor and an immigrant from

Kherson, Ukraine Kherson (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and , , ) is a port city in southern Ukraine that serves as the administrative centre of Kherson Oblast. Located by the Black Sea and on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, Kherson is the home to a major ship-bui ...

. Huberman descended from

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

immigrants. She was awarded a scholarship to study dance in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. During this period, she trained under Renate Schottelius, Mary Wigman, Dore Hoyer and Maurice Béjart. She was also a student of Mercedes Quintana, Juan Carlos Gené, Alberto Ure, Francisco Kröfl, Centro Teatral Grotowsky, and

Vittorio Gassman Vittorio Gassman (; born Gassmann; 1 September 1922 – 29 June 2000), popularly known as , was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the greatest Italian actors, whose career includes both important producti ...

, among other masters. Zimmermann, who is known for her interest in

German Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radi ...

, had cited the strong influence of the German expressionist dancer and choreographer

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 ...

on her career.

Works

In the 1960s, Zimmermann presented her works at the

Torcuato di Tella Institute The Torcuato di Tella Institute is a non-profit foundation organized for the promotion of Argentine culture. Overview 1959-1960 The Di Tella Foundation and its institute were created on July 22, 1958, the tenth anniversary of the death of indust ...

, a prominent avant-garde art space. After the military coup that installed a dictatorship in 1966, she participated in artistic movements that criticized the oppressive regime. Dance Laboratory, a group she founded in 1957, began to feature performances that explored revolutionary spirit and protests against the dictatorship. The dance collectives that she was part of became associated with leftist militant groups. Her work criticizing the government continued until the last military dictatorship through her activism as well as her influence on dancers and performers she mentored. Zimmermann was a co-director of the ''Hoy Ballet'' company during its tour from 1968 to 1973 alongside Ana Labat and Oscar Araiz. Part of her pioneering work was a methodology that she developed for dance training. This was outlined in the book, ''The Laboratory of Dance and Creative Movement,'' which was published in 1983. She also created the Susana Zimmermann Company, which staged dance performances and theater works that featured unconventional themes and addressed current social issues. An example was the ''Dolentango'', which opened in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Using body movements punctuated by a sound score that featured tango citations, this performance commemorated the Madres de Plaza de Mayo. Zimmermann is also known for using improvisation and spontaneity in her choreography. These are demonstrated in her works ''Ceremonies'', ''Dies irae'' (Days of Wrath), and ''Oye, humanidad'' (Listen, Humanity), where said themes were treated as specific expressions.

Awards

Zimmermann had been recognized for her works. Her awards included the Outstanding Personality of Culture of the City of Buenos Aires, by the Porteña Legislature; the Artistic Career Award by the Argentine Dance Council; Lifetime Achievement Award by the Dance Schools of Emilia Romagna; and the UNESCO International Dance Council award.

Publications

* ''The Laboratory of Dance and Creative Movement'' (1983). Editorial Lumen-Humanitas. * ''Cantos y Exploraciones: Caminos de Teatro-Danza'' (2007). Balletin Dance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmermann, Susana 1932 births 2021 deaths Argentine dancers Argentine female dancers Argentine choreographers Argentine women choreographers Argentine people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Argentine people of Romanian descent Dancers from Buenos Aires