Modernism
Anita Berber: Dance Hard, Die Young
Unlike the “Blond Hans,” who made regular appearances in Sigrid Schultz’s letters and memoirs, Schultz mentioned Expressionist dancer, cabaret artist, and actress Anita Berber (1899-1928) only once. A year after Berber’s death, Schultz described Berber as “the wild woman of inflation days—who burned away her great dancing talent with dope and wild parties, portraying her…
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Before the Rockettes
Thirty-six years before the original Rockettes appeared on a St. Louis stage in 1925,* a failed cotton magnate named John Tiller formed a dance troupe that featured quick, perfectly synchronized dance steps. By the 1920s, several dozen troupes of Tiller Girls, selected for uniform height and weight, performed in major cities across Europe. They were…
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From the Archives: The Ballet that Caused a Riot
This weekend I walked away from desk–deadline or no deadline–to go the ballet. The Joffrey Ballet performed The Little Mermaid–a version that had nothing to do with Disney and everything to do with Hans Christian Anderson. The performance was dark, brilliant, and demanding. We came away exhausted. Now I’m back at work at The Book,…
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