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Mary Wigman, a MagicianJacqueline RobinsonPublished online: 02 Jun 2008.

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Mary Wigman, a Magician

Jacqueline Robinson

It has been recently suggested to me that I write a book about MaryWigman. However, such a huge undertaking seems to me beyond myactual capacities, and considering that there are already some excellent,richly informative books about her, in English and in German, and inFrench several interesting theses, it seems to me that there would be arisk of duplication. I prefer therefore to share a few personal recollec-tions, and to bring again to light some of the articles I wrote about herin French in the past. I hope, thus, to evoke Mary Wigman, an almostlegendary character, in all her humanity and within the actual contextof her time.

In 1941 dance was not at all at the center of my life, as it was to be later.As a child I had been a happy once-a-week pupil of Yvonne Redgis inParis, in that delightful Studio on Avenue Wagram that was later tobe that of Jacqueline Chaumont. Class meant "rhythmic dance," a bitof Dalcroze, a bit of classical barre work, a bit of freedom and im-provisation, a sweet pale blue satin tunic, and a few performances(among others, at the Archives Internationales de la Danse, where Idanced a solo to Schumann's "Träumerei"). Later, as a teen-ager atschool in London, I simply loved taking part in English folk dance courses.I did have the opportunity to see some memorable performances:

© 1997 by Jacqueline Robinson

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24 DANCE CHRONICLE

entrancing La Argentina; the Ballets Russes performing Massine's LeTricorne and Les Présages-, the Loïe Fuller Group. But that would beabout all. Thanks to my mother all forms of art had interested me eversince I was a tiny tot—painting, theatre, and especially music, which Ihoped would one day be my profession.

And so it was that in 1941, in Dublin, where the hazards of thewar finally brought us, I one day walked into Erina Brady's danceschool, which had been recommended to me. I felt the need to movemy body around, after hours spent bending over the piano keyboard. Ihated sports, but why not try dancing again? I walked through the longpassageway into a large studio, and on the walls were photographs. AsI talked with Erina Brady, telling her who I was and what I wished todo, I could not help looking at those pictures from the corner of my eye.Dance scenes, groups, a single person, and especially one woman, herbody, her face—fascinating, striking, stirring—just set me dreaming.How often in the years to come would I dream away, looking at thosepictures.

Erina Brady had studied with Wigman in Dresden, been amember of her company, and taught at her school. After leaving Ger-many, Erina opened her own school, modeled on those Wigman schoolsthat existed in Germany before the war. Mary was in a way our house-hold goddess, our source of inspiration, our model. And Erina wouldtell us many stories about her. I had never heard of Wigman, or ofAusdruckstanz or modern dance. I was only aware of what I have al-ready mentioned and the common image of the ballet dancer, and I hadnever questioned or been drawn to question the why, how, and where-fore of dance; simply, I had enjoyed dancing tremendously. (Do we notfind that this phenomenon—the ignorance of a normally cultivated per-son concerning dance—is still to be found today?)

I soon became Erina's pianist and played a small part in thecomposition of her dances, and what I saw, felt, learned, and under-stood working with her—and under the spell of Mary—seemed so ob-vious that I questioned nothing at this point either. It was only when Istarted to study the history of dance that I realized how wide and deepwere the implications of the subject.

I gradually gave up the piano in favor of dance and started theprofessional training course with Erina, and dance gradually becamethe center of my life. I dreamed of the day when, the war over, life would

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MARY WIGMAN, A MAGICIAN 25

Start anew, traveling would again be possible, and I might return to theContinent and visit Wigman, wherever she might be. We had, of course,no news of her since the outbreak of war. And the war did end. Lifebegan afresh and my own path took unexpected turnings. England, thenFrance, where I continued to study, perform, and teach, and where Ifinally settled again in Paris.

In 19521 heard that there would be a summer dance course inMontreux, Switzerland, where along with other great dancers Wigmanwould teach. My dream come true. And so it did—but not quite as Iwould have wished, for I had been sick and could not dance at the time.However, I went to Montreux for the last days of the course, simply towatch the classes. (Incidentally, it is there that I was fascinated by oneof the students, an American man, powerful, lyrical, arresting; I sawhim a few months later in Paris, on stage, performing some of his elo-quent dances—Jerome Andrews, who was to settle in Paris and play avery important part in the development of French modern dance.)

I watched the classes of Rosalia Chladek, Harald Kreutzberg,and Wigman in a state of trance. I never imagined there could be danceteaching so incandescent. And there was the fact of being actually physi-cally close to her, Mary, of listening to her, she who had in a way hauntedmy first dancing years. At the end of her class, wishing to rest, she saton a very low sofa. I had written to her to inform her of my visit, intro-ducing myself as a pupil of Erina Brady, so I went to greet her, but shewas so close to the floor, and I was standing, it was in no way comfort-able. I simply knelt down in front of her, and that is how our first con-versation took place, so warm, as though a foretaste of what would laterbe.

And so, for several years, I saw her every summer and on diverseoccasions. We never ceased writing to each other, a rich, intimate, won-derful exchange. Mary was a remarkably gifted letter writer. With howmany people in the world did she thus share of herself by correspon-dence? In 1956, when I stayed in Berlin for several months to work ather school, I enjoyed precious moments, both tête-à-tête with her at herhouse and at those delightful parties, where white Rhine wine flowed gen-erously, and Mary would appear alternately serious and frivolous, teas-ing, profound, tender, and severe.

During those years, thanks to Pierre Tugal, the director of theArchives Internationales de la Danse, I had the opportunity to write for

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some of the French dance magazines (of which there were very few atthe time and those more than somewhat conservative) and that is howI wrote the following articles: written, as it were, on the spur of themoment, bursting with enthusiasm, but also, consciously or not, filledwith the necessary urge to proselytize. I give the articles in their entirety,not only what concerns Mary Wigman, for it seems to me that theyconstitute a record of some perhaps forgotten activities of the periodand reveal something of the manner of thinking about dance at thetime.*

Summer School (1953)

The eighth session of the International Summer Course organized bythe Swiss Association of Professional Dancers and Gymnasts took placethis year in Zurich.

For eight successive summers, for two weeks, over 150 dancersof all nationalities have met to work together with the greatest masters.This year the faculty comprised Mary Wigman, whose teaching base isin Berlin, Rosalia Chladek in Vienna, Gertrud Engelhardt in Stock-holm, Harald Kreutzberg in the Tyrol, Sigurd Leeder in London, andVictor Gsovsky in Paris—each one representing a specific approach todance.

The most popular classes were those of Mary Wigman, basedon the following themes: "Foundations and forms of expression" and"From exercises to group choreography." The atmosphere, the feelingof these classes was extraordinary, illuminated by the fantastic vitalityand fervent intensity of this astounding woman, who, in spite of her ageand recent sickness, distills such energy and ardor.

The essence of her pedagogical manner lies in a wonderfulblend of severe discipline and inner freedom. She can awaken in herstudents a capacity for projection and luminous expressiveness, whilerespecting their individual personality. She remains for this generation

* I wish to point out that these articles were published in France and therefore take into accountthe local context of the time. In the 1950s and 1960s modern dance was little known in France,frequently suffering from prejudice; we modern dancers had to "hang on"!

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MARY WIGMAN, A MAGICIAN 27

of dancers a major source of inspiration with a worldwide influence,and she may still hold the title that has been given her: The High Priest-ess of Dance.

The themes of the classes given by Rosalia Chladek were "Bodyconsciousness, basis for modern technique of dance" and "The rela-tionship between form and expression"; that of Gsovsky, "ClassicalDance"; of Engelhardt, "Harmony of movement"; of Kreutzberg, "Ex-ercises to stimulate choreographic imagination"; and of Leeder, "Move-ment dynamics and interpretation." The teachers were accompaniedby the remarkable pianist and composer Alaida Montijn, and byFriedrich Wilckens. There were also classes in drawing and modelingdirected by Else Hausin, and of music improvisation and dance accom-paniment by Montijn.

A few other interesting events took place. On one occasion aViennese film was shown. The first part described in a symbolic mannerthe birth and the life of the city of Vienna, and this through a very newand arresting use of dance and film techniques. The one and only role,that of "Vienna," was danced by Rosalia Chladek.

There were two recitals. One was by Harald Kreutzberg, as eversubtle and deliciously witty, with Hilda Baumann from Bern and RogerGeorge. The other was given by some of the students, the most inter-esting being Dick Van Hoogstraten from Holland, a pupil of Jooss;Joujou Gazi from Greece; Wolfgang Reuter from Germany, who withRomi Bickel from Switzerland danced a piece by Kurt Jooss; JacquelineRobinson from Paris; Mary Tiffany from the United States; and HeidiVogel from Germany.

One of the great qualities of this congress, perhaps the mostconstructive, was the friendliness that prevailed among all those takingpart. These young men and women, come from different countries anddifferent schools, in spite of their differences in experience, style, andapproach, worked together in a common effort, a common love of dance.There was a true brotherhood among these people, who did not speakthe same tongue but understood the same language, that of dance. Dur-ing the break periods the students would get together to discuss pointsof view and experiences, sharing and comparing with an equal enthu-siasm their opinions and ideals, all for their mutual enrichment and forthe growth of dance.

(Art et Danse, August 1953)

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Mary Wigman's Summer Course (1954)

The summer course of the Mary Wigman School, a yearly event sincethe reopening of her school in Berlin in 1949, took place from July 1 to10. Wigman herself taught at least two hours each day—wonderfulhours that were a revelation for many of us. For in such a simple, directway she makes the students feel the very essence of dance, and with thefirst step plunges them into a state of grace. By what magic does thisastonishing woman transform an oddlot collection of people of suchvarying styles and standards into a unified group, moved by a singleimpulse, alive with the same breath, having acquired the dignity of theancient chorus?

At the end of a long career, in which she began as pioneer andleader of creative dance, and inspired so many dancers and artiststhroughout the world, Mary Wigman seems to have reached a rare wis-dom, born of patient searching and passionate faith. She is younger thanany of us when she dances, and her body expresses the infinite richnessof life. Majestic, tender, or diabolical, she is like a priestess who holdsthe secret of the sacred fire.

It is fascinating to watch her deal with a pupil, to make him orher feel a nuance, or bring forth from a sluggish body the spark of move-ment. Through the eloquence of her own gesture or a compelling andvivid phrase, through the touch of her hands, which seem to mould themuscles and nerves of the student, she makes that body-instrumentsing—it is miraculous.

What then is this state of grace into which she places us? I thinkit is a concentration of the whole being, attentive to inner motivationsand outer pressure; a heightened awareness of all the vital forces readyto leap into action, be it a rushing whirl of movement or a tiny, delicategesture of a single hand. And from this single-minded awareness comesa sense of both power and sensitivity. The body seems to acquire newdimensions, to move more freely in a more exciting space.

With ruthless but salutary severity Wigman loosens the bondsof old comfortable habits, destroys mannerisms and false securities, andbrushes aside prejudices. Then, watchful and discreet, she helps thestudents to conquer their true freedom and strength. She thrusts theminto the deep waters of movement, where they will flounder but emergeas they discover the intoxication of their own dynamic potentialities, or

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MARY WIGMAN, A MAGICIAN 29

else she curbs them under the discipline of a subtle and rigorous control,and they will suddenly be aware of their own mastery and intensity.

We had several opportunities, outside of lessons, to talk withMary Wigman about her methods of teaching. I use the word "method"even though I know how much Wigman hates it and how much she fearswhat may stultify and hinder the growth of a creative idea. Nevertheless,she does admit for the sake of clarification to have resorted to certainclassifications, acceptable only insofar as they are never arbitrary oracademic. She proposes four categories, four aspects under which dancemay be studied:

1. The experience of stance (Haltungslehre), that is, the attitude or man-ner of holding the body, out of which movement arises and which atthe outset determines the motor impulse. This manner of being isconditioned by the theme of the dance, the situation, or the emo-tional state. The body may be stretched or slumped, tense or free,light or heavy, noble, or tender or grotesque. In terms of music, Ithink one could draw a parallel with the key in which a piece is writ-ten or the timbre of the instrument for which it is conceived.

2. Movement (Bewegung) constitutes the second category. It begins inone of the multiple keys, out of one of the infinitely various mannersof holding the body. This subject is so vast that one can do no morethan indicate, for it contains all the possibilities of breath, impulse,and actions; of steps and gestures; of rhythmic, kinetic, and dynamicpatterns. However, I would like to mention as an example the pro-gression of possible types of movement arising from a simple walk:

• If emphasis is placed on the horizontal accent, we achieve a pow-erful striding, a noble demeanor, a stately gait.

• If we introduce an upward curve during the transference of weight,the body lifts over each step and it will lead through and bounceinto the jump. With an opposite curve, the body sinks and makescontact with the earth.

• With both horizontal and vertical accents, we achieve a glidingthrough space, like a breath of wind.

• With the weight lifted off as much as possible, the walk becomesalmost flight.

• With a constant vibration, slow or fast, it becomes a vitalized, spring-ing gait or a demoniacal pulsation.

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3. All movement is inscribed in space (Raum). Space is the material inwhich the dancer-sculptor works, space which he may fashion likeclay, out of which he builds, against which he may fight or into whichhe may yield. Play of lines, of planes, of volumes, directions, weight,and resistance, all these are spatial problems, whether consideredfrom a plastique point of view or that of space as a symbol of theworld in which the dancer moves.

4. The last category is that of form (Form). The laws that govern formare common to all the arts, and the basic principles of dramatic con-struction or musical construction are to be found in choreographiccomposition.

Apart from these hours of dance classes, Mary Wigman alsodirected workshops in improvisation and group choreography, fromwhich some fine studies were built with the collaboration of all the stu-dents. I must mention moreover Ulrich Kessler, whose contribution wasinvaluable. A fine musician with an amazing feeling for dance, he im-provised the accompaniment to all the classes, creating an appropriateatmosphere with great sensitiveness.

The 1954 summer course numbered about twenty-five dancers,both amateur and professional, from the United States, Scandinavia,Switzerland, and other parts of Germany, and there were several mem-bers of the Paris modern dance group Les Compagnons de la Danse.Classes took place every morning from 9:00 to 1:00. During the after-noon students rehearsed, took private lessons, went sightseeing, orslept, according to their inclinations and endurance.

Tyl Thiele directed the daily limbering class: much floor workaiming at suppleness and control; the entire body worked, even up toacrobatics. Thiele also directed the dance technique classes. Her styleis subtle and refined, and demands great delicacy and precision of exe-cution. Fine foot work involving rapid and complex step patterns, ef-fortless jumps. And work of the arms, hands, and neck, in which onecan trace influences of Eastern dance forms: Indian, Japanese, orIndonesian.

An important part of the professional course at the WigmanSchool is devoted to those aspects of dance that are concerned not onlywith physical ability, but also with intellectual understanding andachieving clarity of form and expression. Ulrich Kessler is in charge of

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this part of the work and the summer course included a few classesshowing the method of approach:

• Improvisation: based upon folk songs, rhythmic studies, emotionalsituations, use of properties, or simple kinetic themes.

• Composition and music analysis: the study of form and structureand the relationship between dance and music. Thematic develop-ment, building up of motifs, and so forth.

• Rhythm and percussion: as in the teaching of music, the grammarof rhythm is studied in detail and translated into terms of movement;the student will find movement patterns equivalent to the rhythmpatterns proposed. These patterns are also played on a group of per-cussion instruments—drums, gongs, cymbals, and the like. The studyof percussion instruments leads to the practice of dance accompani-ment. Many of the dance studies shown by the students have scoresfor percussion ensemble, with flute and voice, for example, devel-oped along with the dance composition.

It is so often to be deplored that dancers have little feeling orunderstanding of music. It is therefore a pleasure to find the Wigmanstudents having not only a sense of, but also a real knowledge of, musicallaws and the relationship of dance and music.

Several recitals took place during the summer course, given bypast students of the school and some of the professional members ofthe summer course. The school is an attractive house in a garden. Thereare three studios apart from the office, dressing rooms, and a lobby. Itis situated in Dahlem, a delightful residential area in West Berlin.

(Art et Danse and Danser, Autumn 1954)

Let Us Prepare Our Next Holidays (1955)

Summer dance courses have multiplied in Europe this year—as usual,a pleiad of great masters in Zurich, gymnasts in Macolin, RosaliaChladek in Vienna, and particularly Mary Wigman in Berlin.

Some thirty students gathered in her studio from June 25 to July15 for four or five hours of class per day: gymnastics, technique, im-provisation, composition, group staging, musical accompaniment, andso forth. Along with Mary Wigman were Tyl Thiele, a refined teacher,

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Four students at Wigman's 1954 summer course join her inher garden at Dahlem: Saul Gilbert, Mary Wigman, JeromeAndrews, Karin Waehner, and Jacqueline Robinson.

Manya Chmiel, a dancer with a strong personality, and the musicianUlrich Kessler, whose understanding of dance is remarkable.

How to describe the enthusiastic, fervent atmosphere of Wig-man's classes? Each person is fully present, casting in the best of himselfand wishing to draw the most from this quiet, strong discipline, thisluminous concentrating, this inner liberation. And there is also thegroup work, which makes for enriched contacts and clarified approach.Each year Wigman seems greater, at the same time simpler and subtler.Through her we seem to reach the very essence of dance; effort is fruit-ful, and we leave her enriched by a new sensitiveness of the spirit as ofthe body.

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The majority of the students came from the United States, afew were from Paris, among whom were Rose-Marie Paillet, KarinWaehner, and I.

Wigman intends to give this summer course again next year inher school in Berlin. Let us hope that still more dancers will attend,dancers who wish to know themselves better, who wish to blossom tech-nically and emotionally, to know other dancers and benefit from com-mon studying, and who finally wish to go farther into the multiple truthsof dance.

(Art et Danse, April 1956)

Birthday in Zurich (1955)

It is again in Zurich that over 160 dancers from twenty different coun-tries—Switzerland, Germany, France, England, United States, Mexico,Israel, Holland, Finland, Italy, Greece, and others—were welcomed bythe warm and efficient secretary of the Swiss Professional Dancers andGymnasts Association, Frau Ilse Bickel. The dance course took placefrom July 20 to August 3 under the leadership of Mary Wigman, RosaliaChladek, Anna Sokolow, Harald Kreutzberg, Sigurd Leeder, and Vic-tor Gsovsky. The gym course, August 4-13, was led by Rosalia Chladek,Grete Luzi, and Anneliese Schmolke.

The main themes of Wigman's classes were "Modern DanceTechnique" and "The Creative Element in Dance." As ever, Wigmanseems to imprint a magical seal upon her students. Every movementbecomes filled with meaning; every part of the body vibrates, is highlyconcentrated. Thus, when the spirit fills the body and impregnates theslightest gesture, dance speaks.

Anna Sokolow's classes (she had come for the first time fromNew York) were also very popular. Many students were eager to findout about American techniques, of which we in Paris had had such awonderful example last year, when we saw Martha Graham's company.These classes were like a plunge into a mountain stream, so invigoratingand stimulating. Like Wigman, Sokolow sets about to make the studentfeel a complete body experience. She also gave more theoretical classesin dance composition and choreography, in which each student wasasked to show a work that was then discussed with the group.

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The theme of Kreutzberg's classes was "The Language ofMovement." Dear Kreutzberg, whose present style is now familiar, sofilled with harmony, a takeoff into joie de vivre, where still can be heardthe echo of a carefree Viennese waltz. A completely different atmos-phere was to be found in Chladek's classes. The themes were "Tech-nique" and "Teaching," in a very strict and austere style, techniqueextraordinarily pinpointed. With Sigurd Leeder, "Studies toward Mod-ern Dance Technique" and "Studies toward Dance Composition," bothof which began with a fluid barre, were very lively. The students wereable to perform increasingly difficult dance phrases without apparenteffort. Once again, Victor Gsovsky directed the classical ballet classwith his usual mastery and good spirits.

I would like to single out the invaluable collaboration of UlrichKessler, who accompanied the classes of Wigman and Sokolow. It isunusual to find a musician with such intense feeling for dance.

Several events took place in addition to classes. Some of thesewere special birthday events, but I feel they should take place everyyear. Such was the great ball, at which Kreutzberg danced his lovely"Valse de la Béatitude" with delightful abandon.

Mary Wigman gave a wonderful lecture on her own personalwork and the genesis of some of her dances. She uses speech as she doesmovement, with strength, elegance, and poetry. It was a moving expe-rience, for Wigman reveals depth of thinking, filled with beauty, gran-deur, and humanity, and a true gift for verbal expression.

Rosalia Chladek, in answer to her students' demand, gave arecital. The austerity of her style, virile strength, and beauty of formwere wonderfully revealed in two dances from the suite "Archangels:Michael and Lucifer."

A recital was also given by some of the students. Several mem-bers of the Paris group Les Compagnons de la Danse took this summercourse: Karin Waehner, Muggi Egger, Michèle Lebray, Jean Christiaens,and I. It was a wonderful occasion for us to work together once more.

It would be a good thing if similar holiday courses could beorganized in other places. Some do take place regularly in England, ledby Laban and his collaborators, in London by Sigurd Leeder; in Ger-many, in particular in Berlin, by Wigman; and in Vienna by Chladek.Why not in Paris? It is ever attractive to tourists and there are alwaysdroves of foreign visitors in summer. Paris boasts of being a center for

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dance. Maybe it is, judging by the number and quality of performancesthat take place in the city or because of the quality of the teaching ofclassical ballet: this is where Mesdames Preobrajenska, Egorova, andsuch others have their studios. But why not organize specific courses indifferent types of dance, which would take place during the summerholidays? Who would take the initiative? One can but wish that therewould be more frequent opportunities for fruitful work and enthusiasticsharing, and that from Paris and other cities might shine further pur-pose and action for ever greater and deeper dance.

{Danser, Autumn 1955)

Homage to Mary Wigman (1956)

Several events, official and private, took place in Berlin to celebrateMary Wigman's seventieth birthday on November 13,1956. How nu-merous and fervent have been the good wishes expressed by thosethroughout the world, dancers or not, who have been touched by herart, her teaching, her friendship, her more or less direct influence. Sheis to be considered one of the major figures of modern art, for what shehas contributed goes well beyond the sole domain of dance. Truly aspokeswoman of her period, which stretches from 1914 until today, herartistic pursuits have been carried on in parallel with those of painters,writers, and others.

Born in the heart of expressionism, her work has taken on auniversal dimension. She was among the most important artists inEurope to free dance from false classicism, false romanticism, falsenaturalism, too great a subservience to external factors, and who gaveback to the art of dance its specific character, its autonomy and func-tion, this not only from the point of view of content, but also of form.That is: the subject matter of dance is man, with the weight of his ques-tioning, his aspirations, his relationship to the universe. That is: danceno longer depends upon music and decor to produce an effect—Wig-man experimented with dance in silence or with minimal accompani-ment—but allows the body to be a complete instrument, movement tosing alone in the subtlest way, and considers structure, actual composi-tion, of extreme importance.

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Early in her career Wigman started teaching, and carried onher research along with her followers, who, in turn, have spread acrossthe world and pursued their work according to her principles. This doesnot imply an imitation of her style, for the very principle of "expressivedance," of which Wigman is the spiritual mother, is precisely to fosterthe individual contribution of each artist.

Mary Wigman gave her last solo recital in 1942. Since then, andafter the plagues of the war, she was asked to stage works in severalGerman cities, and she directed a group of her own students. Today,her school in the American sector of Berlin continues to attract youngdancers from all countries, and from September to July is hummingwith enthusiastic activity.

Seventy, that is a fine age, and this birthday was celebrated withparticular warmth. A family gathering, so to speak, at the school, where,among masses of flowers, sumptuous sheaves, and humble bouquets,in the light of hundreds of candles, the students, filled with a mosttouching fervor, presented a diversified program of solos and groupworks, all secretly rehearsed and presented with care and love. Theactual staging was excellent. Most remarkable were the group pieces byBetty Bowman, a young American dancer, whose style is full of fresh-ness and true wit.

A party with official personages, speeches, and lovely chambermusic in the delightful Eichergalerie at the Charlottenburg Palace wasthe program of events in the afternoon, and in the evening, in her apart-ment, were gathered around Wigman a few of her former students,exchanging recollections and projects, opening the dozens of telegramsfrom all parts of the world, bringing their message of love to this verygreat lady.

(Art et Danse, March 1957)

Le Sacre du Printemps in Berlin (1957)

Mary Wigman furthers her long, beautiful career with a major work:Le Sacre du printemps, presented during the Berlin Festival, on Septem-ber 24,1957, at the Berlin Opera House.

Stravinsky's fabulous music, blessed with a legendary aura,has tempted and no doubt awed many choreographers. Wigman has

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deliberately turned away from those evocations of an ancient paganRussia, and places this ritual outside time. She has kept the core of theoriginal theme: the adoration of the earth, the initiation of youngmen and women, and the sacrifice of one of the latter that sap may flowonce more.

As the curtain rises we forget the conventions of the theatre andtake part in this ritual, tense with awe. It was a brilliant idea to have thedancers move on a diagonally inclined stage floor, creating a magiccircle which allows for a dominant circular space pattern without losingperspective, showing grouping and lighting at its best, and creating fromthe outset a dramatic ambience with cosmic dimension. Never wereaustere and bare restraints more eloquent to render the eruptive forceof the music and to follow its complex rhythms. With what I feel isuncommon mastery, Wigman creates a coming together and disruptionof groups in logical patterns of staggering power.

There are some unforgettable moments: the procession of themaidens around the magic circle, filled, as it were, with a tremendouspregnant peace; the Old Sage kissing the earth, and the consequentwildly delirious hand movements of the community; the tender visionof the entwined couples, lying in a vast moonlit space at the beginningof "Night of the Sacrifice"; and above all the moment when the ChosenOne, livid in her scarlet robe, bound up and crowned, whose fate seemsto have already been accomplished, is thrown, stiff as a sacred puppet,from one group to another.

Dore Hoyer was the Chosen One. With her tremendously strongstage presence she seemed literally possessed and gave us to share thatdivine terror that is the key to the last part of this work. Perhaps becauseWigman had allowed her a certain amount of freedom in the com-position of her last solo, it did not fit in as perfectly as one might wishwith the general style of the work and would benefit by being morecondensed.

It is regrettable that not all the dancers were equal to the task.Wigman, having been forced to employ mostly classical dancers fromthe Berlin Opera company, did not have at her disposal a homogeneousgroup capable of working in her style. Quite frequently ballet manner-isms would break the singing line of the movement, and break for amoment the feeling of reverence; this was particularly obvious in thelovers' duet.

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In spite of these few shortcomings, it is all the more miraculousthat this work should be so impressive simply by its architecture. Onecould refer to primitivism, to modernism, to expressionism. In factit is to pure classicism that one should refer, considering the universalquality of power and purity of this awe-inspiring choreographic com-position.

The curtain fell, but not the magic. There was a long momentof silence, and obvious emotion among the public before they brokeout into frenetic applause. A true ovation for this extraordinary MaryWigman, who, at the age of seventy-one, has given us such a powerfulwork to enjoy.

(Danse et Rythmes, September 1957)

A Few Thoughts About Mary Wigraan (1959)

Delfor Peralta wrote [in Danse et Rythmes] two months ago about MaryWigman, pointing out that although no longer young, she showed morefreshness and vigor than many young choreographers of today. How Iagree with him!

I spent a few weeks with her in Berlin in July, and came back asthough I had bathed in the Fountain of Youth. Every year dancers andchoreographers from all over the world come to draw from the mostauthentic spring of modern dance; they work together, share their ex-periences and approaches in an extraordinarily fervent ambience, andthe Wigman magic works once more.

None who have taken part, or simply watched, one of her choricmovement classes could ever forget: twenty persons, utterly differentin their personality, style, or aptitude, within an hour seem to melt to-gether and form an eloquent, homogeneous group. With them Wigmanbuilds a dance work—an expressive and sober architecture using whatwould seem unblendable material. How does she do it? Certainly by acomplete mastery of staging; by her magnetic personality, yes; but alsobecause she knows just how to bring forth from dancers the significantessence of a movement, so that with her they feel reduced or enlargedto their essential core.

One of the chief features of Wigman's teaching was obvious ina lecture-demonstration she gave during the course with some of her

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regular professional students. I would attempt to describe this featurethus: The Passage from the Daily to the Transcendental. This implies—and Wigman insists on it—that the point of departure is natural move-ment, therefore triggered by human motivation and not by an a prioristylization. This natural movement is then heightened and refined inorder to become a language of artistic dimensions. Nothing untowardin this, but this passage does need such patience, will-power, and hon-esty. It means an extreme body sensitivity, a capacity for inner listening,awareness of inner motivations and of outer demands; an increasedconcentration of vital forces, ready for action, be this the wildest out-burst, the subtlest gesture, or the most skillful balance. And all thisknowingly placed and led through space, a tangible entity. For example,a plain walk, emphasizing an upward feeling, gives birth to a leap; em-phasizing the horizontal becomes a gliding through space. The phasesof breathing, deliberately legible in any movement, become dramatic.

I was very struck by a recital given by third- and fourth-yearstudents, young men and women aged about twenty. Not only is theirtechnical ability on the whole rather remarkable, but they also have atrue feeling for choreography. One could go more or less with the themeof this or that piece, but each dancer knew how to give form to thetheme, with a definite feeling for composition, stagecraft, and music.Most of them used music specially composed for their piece and, more-over, a truly personal approach. It was a satisfying experience and con-firms how indispensable it is to give young dancers the opportunity tostudy composition. To be sure, all dancers are not working to becomechoreographers any more than all students in a music conservatory areworking to become composers. We do need performers. But in musicconservatories there are harmony, counterpoint, and composition classes,attended by all those who dream of composing. Obvious.

What of choreographers then?{Danse et Rythmes, November 1959)

And so the years went by. Mary, increasingly impaired by ill-health andage, slowed down her activities. She stopped teaching in 1966.

As for myself, I was increasingly tied down by my work andcould not travel as I would have wished. The last time I saw Marywas for her eightieth birthday in 1966.1 went to Berlin with JeromeAndrews and Karin Waehner. It was a wonderful fete—both official

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and intimately private, as had been her seventieth birthday, which I hadalso attended—but even more important and moving. All the greatones of the dance world came; I could not list all the names. What aconstellation!

I was so honored to be able to take part in the dance recitalgiven by her students in her studio. I remember just the end of thedance, which was no doubt an improvisation, when I knelt before heras she sat in her armchair in the center and kissed her hand. It was asthough a circle had been completed from that first encounter in 1952in Montreux, where I had also found myself at her feet.

1886-1986: A Birthday Letter*

Mary Wigman was born a century ago. Half a century ago she offeredher art to Paris, but Paris did not realize that here was one of the greatartists of the twentieth century.

It is now more than ten years since she died. At the time, youngdancers were beginning to be more aware of their heritage and to placeher image and others appropriately; the public was aware that therewas in the twentieth century a new page added to the history of dance,following on the former (classical ballet). A new page, a new story,traveling along a zigzag path, with some important characters now bet-ter known to the "cultivated man in the street": Duncan, of course, butalso Laban, St. Denis, Graham, Humphrey, Limón, and Wigman, toname just these progenitors.

This centenary offers an opportunity to make Mary Wigman'simage more visible, more legible, more understandable to a greaterportion of the public. Her story and her work will be referred to in manyplaces. Her wonderful book, The Language of Dance, will at last beavailable in French.

It gives me great pleasure to meet the request that has beenmade for me to write about her from a personal, intimate point of view.She has been described by many specialists as an almost mythical char-acter, as the mother, the priestess of European modern dance. She was

* This article quotes passages from several of the earlier articles; hence the occasional repetitions.

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MARY WIGMAN, A MAGICIAN 41

that. She is also described as a dark, tragic figure, her dances oppressedand oppressive, closely linked to the painful events that struck her coun-try, closely linked also to expressionism, an art movement that did con-vey a sense of despair, exacerbation, and even morbidity. That is partlytrue, and yet we should go beyond. Otherwise we would not realize howrich and manifold was this truly unusual woman and her work.

I knew her personally from 1953 onward. However, I had, as itwere, been brought up and trained as a dancer under her tutelaryshadow, Erina Brady, who had been in her company and taught at herDresden school. When I met her, Mary was nearly seventy and alreadyhad health problems. What a wonder and privilege it was to study withher, to enjoy the sweetness of her affection, to share with her the greatjoys of dance and the small pleasures of daily life. And how she didenjoy life! With a good appetite!

She was like a fire by which to gather warmth, a spring fromwhich to quench your thirst, a wind that pushes you, a well from whichto draw wisdom. How to describe her humor, her gift for friendship,her faithfulness, her courage, that constant grandeur and mystery?Those blue eyes that looked at you sometimes as if from very far andat others with bantering tenderness. That deep voice—a bit hoarsesometimes from too much smoking—speaking as elegantly in Frenchas in German and in English, and a manner of saying things that wouldsend one soaring. That laugh tinged with a feeling of complicity. Thathand, persuasive or demanding, that woke the students' body by pres-sure or a caress. How many emotionally rich memories!

I have often been asked, What was Wigman's method? I cer-tainly could not answer as one would for a cooking recipe. She neverwould conceive of a technique guidebook or of set enchaînements, orabove all of any codification of a movement vocabulary.

In 1954, while working with her in Berlin, I wrote:

What is this state of grace into which she places us? I think it is aconcentration of the whole being, attentive to inner motivationsand outer pressures; a heightened awareness of all the vital forcesready to leap into action, be it a rushing whirl of movement or atiny, delicate gesture of a single hand. And from this single-mindedawareness comes a sense of both power and sensitivity. The bodyseems to acquire new dimensions, to move more freely in a moreexciting space.

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With ruthless but salutary severity Wigman loosens thebonds of old comfortable habits, destroys mannerisms and falsesecurities, and brushes aside prejudices. Then, watchful and dis-creet, she helps the students to conquer their true freedom andstrength. She thrusts them into the deep waters of movement,where they will flounder but emerge as they discover the intoxica-tion of their own dynamic potentialities, or else she curbs themunder the discipline of a subtle and rigorous control, and they willsuddenly be aware of their own mastery and intensity.

A most demanding manner of working indeed. Demanding forthe student at the same time as it liberates and elates. Demanding alsowhen one becomes a teacher who wishes to follow the same path: eachclass one gives should then be a great and exciting experience, never areeling off of clichés or a comfortable routine.

I never saw Wigman actually dancing on stage, although to seeher teach was truly stirring: this frail yet so intensely expressive, stately,tender, and witchlike body was ever so much younger, more passionate,subtle, and generous than any of ours. But I did see the admirableSacre du printemps, which she staged at the Berlin Opera in 1957, thestructural and dramatic splendor of which simply drew from me tearsofjoy.

Dare I confess that I learned from her a heightened reality ofjoy and sensuous pleasure? (I guessed I would.) Not just that ratherpretty-pretty would-be mystical sort of "joy" that was at one time prof-fered by some of the practitioners of "free dance," but a more essentialand universal joy—the joy of being, man or woman, in fullness and di-versity, in light and in shadow, the joy of mastery and power, the joy ofmetamorphosis whether toward pain or cruelty, the joy of complicitywith things visible and invisible, the joy of bringing out something fromnowhere, and of building all this potential of life in creative work.

And sensuous, voluptuous pleasure—delight in space, all themore alive, colored, malleable; delight in rhythm, breath, song; delightin sensations, subtle or violent; delight in effort; delight in letting go, ingoing to the end of things, as far as possible, knowing that there is nolimit to the possible.

How near Mary is to us who have known her. There are a fewof us here in France and many throughout the world who still carrytraces of the mark she put on us and wish to perpetuate what we

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discovered with her: the highest quality, perhaps the essence that ani-mates the human being, to be found in dance, in art, in the spirit.

(Bulletin de la Fédération Française de Danse, Autumn 1986)

A Luminous Task(a rectification)

I am ever moved when I speak or write about Mary Wigman, this greatartist whose influence has been paramount. We can realize that today,more so than what it seemed fifty years ago.

Recently I read some articles about her, published some yearsago in France, referring to her life in the postwar years, and describingher as "this lonely, broken woman." This description does not seem tofit at all.

We are still a few persons across the world who were pupils ofhers and who, today, in different ways, are attempting to pass on thisheritage we received from her.

Dare I say that she is ever with me? Not only had I the privilegeof being trained as a dancer first in a Wigman school in Dublin, by ErinaBrady, then by Mary herself in Berlin, but also what she accomplishedis ever a source of inspiration for me. Furthermore, she gave me themost precious of gifts, her friendship.

She indeed had a gift for friendship. How well she could give,share, speak straight to the heart of a person. How inspiring andstimulating she could be, by her enthusiasm, her curiosity, her courage,her demands, her example. All that shone out from her is still valid forme.

It is a fact that those years during which the Nazi party came topower were very difficult for her, then the war and her being put on theblacklist, her art said to be "degenerate" (such wistful tenderness is tobe read in her last solo in public, in 1942, "Abschied und Dank," whichfortunately was filmed), and it is well known that her independence ofspirit and her extolling of a free and responsible human being were illconsidered by the authorities.

At the end of the war Wigman obviously shared very stronglythe feelings prevalent in Germany of sorrow and confusion, faced withdestruction, pain, shame, and the division of the country. She wrote at

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the time, "I love my country more than I could say . . . more than ever.All of Germany has become my home country."

She was, one could say, exiled in Leipzig after 1943, and there-fore found herself in the Russian zone at the end of the war. She wentthrough extreme moral and material troubles. She had been able toresume teaching under dreadful conditions and in great poverty. (KarinWaehner can tell a lot about that period for that is when and where shehad her first training with Wigman.)

But little by little the screws loosened and she was able not onlyto teach, but also to create choreographies, solos for her students andgroup pieces whose themes were often inspired by the concerns of thetime, the horrors, misery, and pain of the war. In 1947 she directed thestaging and choreography of Gluck's Orpheus and Eurydice at theLeipzig Opera.

Then took place the well-known summer courses in Switzer-land, in Macolin, in Montreux, in Zurich, where Mary Wigman, alongwith Rosalia Chladek, Kurt Jooss, Sigurd Leeder, Harald Kreutzberg,Anna Sokolow, and Hans Zullig, to mention only these, were to awakenand reveal to hundreds of dancers coming from several countries what"expressive dance" was.

I would like to quote a few extracts from a lecture she gave inZurich in 1949 to the dancers who took part in the course, to whichWalter Sorell refers in his fine The Mary Wigman Book:

I shall speak to you about the dance, that most fleeting of all thearts, so completely of the moment and yet capable of perpetuatingitself infinitely. I shall speak ofthat which awakens joy in us, movesus, makes us tremble, brings happiness and freedom, becomingpart of experience when it has found fulfillment in us . . . .

We want a dance art worthy of us human beings. The dignityof dance, however, lies in the most noble of instruments, the livingbodies of men and women. That is why I place the dancing beingahead of the purely professional dancer.... For dance is greaterthan the dancer and always will be, in spite of the paradox that itcannot function without its living instrument....

But above the consummation of creation and ambition tosucceed in a profession, there emerges something quite colossaland wonderful—a climax of achievement that comes to you as aglorious gift of the gods. These are rare moments in which, com-

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pletely carried beyond yourself and removed from reality, you arethe vessel of an idea. In these rare moments you carry the blazingtorch that emits the spark jumping from the "I" to the "We," fromdancer to spectator. This is the moment of divine consummation,where the fire dances between two poles, when the personal expe-rience of the creator is communicated to those who watch.

Those are the moments of the greatest pride and deepesthumility a dancer can know, an experience for which I can find onlythese words: the great grace.

In 1950, at the age of sixty-four, Wigman went to Berlin, a cityin an odd situation, and, at first helped by Marianne Vogelsang, openedher school, a warm, open house, surrounded by a garden, where shetaught until she was eighty and where dancers from all over the worldcame to work. Humming with activity, it was to be a place for classes,rehearsals, performances; where Wigman, at the head of a fine team ofteachers, not only gave a rich and deep mode of training, but also hadher pupils take part in her own choreographic work, composing piecesfor and with them, experimenting with what she was to stage elsewhere,as in the case of Le Sacre du printemps, which was performed by thedancers from the Berlin Opera.

Berlin was for her an opportunity to rise up again. But the at-mosphere in dance had changed considerably in Germany, which nolonger seemed proud to be considered the birthplace and home of ex-pressive dance. It would appear that people needed something else af-ter such a difficult, ambiguous period. This was no longer the time forinner seeking, for exploring man's feelings and his relationship to theworld; it was more pleasing to take up recognized styles of dance, suchas classical and neoclassical ballet or jazz, which did not imply so per-sonal an approach. And Wigman had to fight against that general in-clination, at least where official recognition and grants were concerned,in spite of her worldwide reputation. She had to struggle with the nor-mal problems inherent in the running of a school, somewhat enlargedowing to the political instability and financial difficulties in Berlin.

With renewed ardor she began to choreograph again and evento perform. In 1953 she composed Choric Studies, which included "TheProphetess" and "The Temple," in which she danced as soloist, givenat the Berlin Festival. Then there were Klage, Mänadischer Rythmas,and, successively, at the Mannheim Opera Saul (Handel) in 1954,

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Catulli Carmina and Carmina Burana (Orff) in 1955, Alceste (Gluck) in1958. And the masterpiece Le Sacre du printemps at the Berlin Operain 1957.

In 1958 she went on a glorious lecture tour of the United States,which meant meeting again and echoing what she had brought to thatcountry twenty-five years before, when she toured with her companyintroducing Ausdruckstanz, the European form of modern dance suchas it had been conceived of by Laban and herself.

She had always loved traveling, and in the latter part of her lifelost no opportunity to do so. She visited Greece, Israel, Italy, and untilthe very end of her life Switzerland, and that beloved place Ascona,where she had grown in dance at the side of Laban between 1913 and1919.

Her pleasure in teaching was evident, and she often wrote tome on the subject. I quote from some of her letters:

I love to teach. I even have had quite a good period. . . . The at-mosphere at school is just fine, and the students try their best (Feb-ruary 1959).

The spirit at school is wonderful just now, and I just love towork there (December 1959).

To go to school again every morning and teach is real joy.. . . . Nice about our school, quite a number of new students, andthey go well together with those who have been here before.. . .There is quite an interesting group of students together, Germansand foreigners, and it is fun to work with them as they are so dif-ferent from each other, in talent, in character, in temperament, andof course in their looks too! (October 1964).

She had so many faithful friends, old students who came fromall over. She was a wonderful hostess and I remember lovely parties ather house, bubbling over with high spirits. In her letters she would al-most complain about "this chain of visitors coming and going from faraway, all wanting to see their 'old Mary' once again? It was lovely, butquite strenuous as well" (January 1970). At another time she wrote,"Though I could not do anything, not go anywhere, the world has cometo me. Since I am back home many of my friends came to see me fromJapan, the United States, the Congo, Greece, Brazil, Argentina, andMexico. That was lovely." She also appreciated meeting and seeing the

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work of dancers and choreographers from elsewhere, such as MargotFonteyn, Jerome Robbins, Merce Cunningham, and Alwin Nikolais.

And so the years went by. In 1963 her book, Die Sprache desTanzes, was published. She lectured in severarcities in Germany andon the radio. And then her health really broke down. She had severalbad falls, heart problems. She stopped teaching at age seventy-nine.The school was closed in 1967. At the end she became blind. She diedin 1973, ever filled with courage.

She wrote to me, "Well, I must still find a better way to bear itall. I would love to be, and could be, quite cheerful and it would bewonderful, only the pains are against that . . . . I can't play the happyprincess, if you are nothing but a suffering old woman. I confess thateven in this situation I am not at all unhappy, but try to make the bestof it and have very happy moments. And you?" (July 1971). And in hernotes, quoted by Walter Sorell in The Mary Wigman Book, she said, "Wemust learn to bear everything. This has nothing to do with humility.Even our shortcomings are lovable. And we should always remain trueto ourselves because this—I might have said only this—enriches andstrengthens our efforts and endeavors to accomplish real deeds."

I will conclude by quoting a few moving lines of a metaphysicalcharacter from The Language of Dance, in Walter Sorell's translation:

Our stars glow for us from afar and out of darkness. Aren't they athousand times more beautiful, more alluring and mysterious, be-cause they are unattainable? . . . There are so many moving andmagnificent images, so many poetic and philosophical examplesbearing witness to the eternal yearning of man for the expressionof perfection. And we have never ceased to ask questions. But thecloser our questions come to the roots of all things, the more spar-ing and hesitant do they become. And no man has yet found for hisfellowmen an answer to the ultimate questions.

(L'Atelier de la Danse bulletin, June 1994)

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