Berber by Kallmus · 1922

**Atelier Madame d’Ora ::** Anita Berber in ihres Tanzstücks “Kokain”. Die Tänze des Lasters, des Grauens und der Ekstase, Wien, 1922. Photoinstitut Bonartes | src Der Standard

Photoinstitut Bonartes: Ausstellungsdauer: 25.08.2023 – 17.11.2023

Tänze des Lasters, des Grauens und der Ekstase. Anita Berber in Wien 1922

Im November 1922, inmitten der Wirtschaftskrise, kennt Wien nur ein Gesprächsthema: Anita Berber und ihre Tänze des Lasters, des Grauens und der Ekstase. Zusammen mit ihrem Partner Sebastian Droste bringt sie Tabuthemen wie Drogenmissbrauch, Suizid und homosexuelles Begehren auf die Bühne. Um das skandalumwitterte Programm zu bewerben, tritt das Duo vor die Kamera Madame d’Oras. Seit Jahren schon arbeitet Berber mit der Wiener Porträtfotografin an der Inszenierung ihres raffinierten Spiels aus kalkuliertem Schock und Tanzkunst. Diese düster-dramatischen Fotografien illustrieren nicht nur zahlreiche Zeitungsartikel, sondern auch Berbers einzige Publikation. Darin gibt sie Einblick in ihre Gedankenwelt, kritisiert die Hysterie um ihre Person und befeuert sie zugleich aufs Neue.

link zu Ausstellung

**Atelier d**‘**Ora ::** Anita Berber in Cocaine. Dances of Vice, Horror and Ecstasy, Vienna, 1922. | src Kulturpool FS_PE268437

New exhibition at Photoinstitut Bonartes:

Dances of Vice, Horror and Ecstasy. Anita Berber in Vienna 1922

In November 1922, in the midst of the economic crisis, Vienna only had one topic of conversation: Anita Berber and her dances of vice, horror and ecstasy. Together with her partner Sebastian Droste, she brings taboo topics such as drug abuse, suicide and homosexual desire to the stage. In order to promote the scandalous program, the duo appears in front of Madame d’Ora’s camera. Berber has been working with the Viennese portrait photographer for years on staging her sophisticated game of calculated shock and dance art. These darkly dramatic photographs not only illustrate numerous newspaper articles, but also Berber’s only publication. In it she gives insight into her world of thoughts, criticizes the hysteria surrounding her and at the same time fuels it anew.

link to the exhibition

Tänze des Lasters, des Grauens und der Ekstase. Anita Berber in Wien 1922 – Photoinstitut Bonartes via Kurier.at

Ausstellung über Anita Berber: Provokation einer Exzentrikerin mit Erotik und Ekstase

„Tänze des Lasters, des Grauens und der Ekstase“ brachte sie ab November 1922 auf die Wiener Bühnen: Anita Berber war für Monate ein Aufreger im Nachtleben der Stadt mit ihren trotz Hyperinflation stets restlos ausverkauften Auftritten im Wiener Konzerthaus. | src Kurier.at

Exhibition about Anita Berber: provocation of an eccentric with eroticism and ecstasy

She brought “Dances of Vice, Horror and Ecstasy” to the Viennese stages from November 1922: Anita Berber was a sensation in the city’s nightlife for months with her performances in the Vienna Konzerthaus, which was always completely sold out despite the hyperinflation. | src Kurier.at

Birgit Akesson by Sune Sundahl

**Sune Sundahl ~** Birgit Åkesson dances in a draping dress. Picture taken in studio. Architecture and Design Center Ark Des / ARKM.1988-111-02796

**Sune Sundahl ~** Birgit Åkesson dansar i draperande klänning. Bilden tagen i studio. Arkitektur- och designcentrum Ark Des / ARKM.1988-111-02799

**Sune Sundahl ~** Birgit Åkesson dances in a long draped dress. Picture taken in studio. Architecture and Design Center Ark Des / ARKM.1988-111-02795

**Sune Sundahl ~** Birgit Åkesson dances in a draping dress. Picture taken in studio. Architecture and Design Center Ark Des / ARKM.1988-111-02800-A

**Sune Sundahl ~** Birgit Åkesson dansar i draperande klänning. Bilden tagen i studio. Arkitektur- och designcentrum Ark Des / ARKM.1988-111-02800-B

**Sune Sundahl ~** Birgit Åkesson dances in a draped dress. Picture taken in studio. Architecture and Design Center Ark Des / ARKM.1988-111-02801

All the images in this post are from the exhibition: «Dansen har mycket gemensamt med arkitektur» (2013). Some of the images are dated 1939-1947 but most of them undated.

«Dance has a lot in common with architecture» (2013)

Movement, rhythm, space and body in dance have much in common with architecture. Spatiality can only be experienced with the body, in movement. There are several good reasons to pay attention to the connections between the room shape and people’s movements in the rooms. Whether dancing or walking around a building, there is both flow and embodiment. Perhaps it was precisely these common denominators that made Birgit Åkesson choose the architectural photographer Sune Sundahl to document her early choreographies?

Photographing movement is a big challenge, a movement in a frozen moment can easily turn into a rigid pose without context or dynamism. In Sundahl’s collection there are, among other things, pictures from Birgit Åkesson’s own performance Blue Evening from 1946. The title was probably taken from the blue-painted Konserthuset in Stockholm, designed by Ivar Tengbom 1924-26. Here, Birgit Åkesson experimented with movements without music, which was unique for the time. She also studied during her lifetime the dances of other cultures, including dances African dances from the south of the Sahara and the Butoh dance from Japan.

The dancer, choreographer and dance researcher Birgit Åkesson (1908-2001) taught the viewer to listen to the sound of movement in the silence. It was about holding a dialogue, where the rhythm carried the form that left invisible traces in the air. Birgit Åkesson started her dance career in the 1920s and 30s when she studied with the German-born choreographer Mary Wigman. It was from her that the Swedish dancer found the expressionist language, the free dance. Birgit Åkesson was one of the leading avant-garde artists in free dance.

Lenita Gärde, Center for Architecture and Design (quoted from ArkDes)

**Sune Sundahl ~** Birgit Åkesson dansar i draperande klänning. Bilden tagen i studio. Arkitektur- och designcentrum Ark Des / ARKM.1988-111-02804

**Sune Sundahl ~** Birgit Åkesson dansar i draperande klänning. Bilden tagen i studio. Arkitektur- och designcentrum Ark Des / ARKM.1988-111-02805

Wehrle in der Haller Revue

Helen Wehrle (Tänzerin USA), als Schmetterling in der Haller Revue ‘Wann und Wo’, erschienen in: Nr. 38/1927 und ‘Uhu’ 2/1927; Foto: Ernst Schneider (Berlin). | src Getty Images

Helen or Helene Wehrle (Tänzerin USA) in ihrem akrobatischen Tanz in der Herman Haller Revue ‘Wann und Wo’. Foto: Ernst Schneider, erschinen Nr. 38/1927 | Getty Images

Helene or Helen Wehrle (Tänzerin, USA) in ihrem akrobatischen Tanz in der Herman Haller Revue ‘Wann und Wo’, UHU Magazin 4/1928, Foto: Ernst Schneider | Getty Images

Helen Wehrle (Tänzerin USA), als Schmetterling in der Herman Haller Revue, ‘Wann und Wo’, erschienen Nr. 38/1927, Foto: Ernst Schneider. | Getty Images

Konopka and Welska c. 1928

Stanisław Brzozowski :: Dancers Alina Konopka and Stanisława Welska - situational photography; 1920-28. Daily Courier Illustration Archive. Światowid Nº 50/227 of December 8, 1928 — **Stanisław Brzozowski ::** Dancers Alina Konopka and Stanisława Welska – situational photography; 1920-28. Daily Courier Illustration Archive. Światowid Nº 50/227 of December 8, 1928

Gert by Schenker · 1916

Karl Schenker :: Valesca Gert (Tänzerin), 1916. | src Deutsche Fotothek — **Karl Schenker ::** Valesca Gert (Tänzerin), 1916. | src Deutsche Fotothek

Historic Index card of the photograph above

Karsavina dans Le dieu bleu

Le Dieu bleu : [Tamara Karsavina dans le rôle de la jeune fille], 1912. [Photographe présumé : Waléry] | src Gallica ~ BnF
Le Dieu bleu : Légende hindoue en 1 acte / chorégraphie de Michel Fokine. - Paris : Théâtre du Châtelet, 13-05-1912 — Le Dieu bleu : [Tamara Karsavina dans le rôle de la jeune fille], 1912. [Photographe présumé : Waléry] | src Gallica ~ BnF
Le Dieu bleu : Légende hindoue en 1 acte / chorégraphie de Michel Fokine. – Paris : Théâtre du Châtelet, 13-05-1912

Title : Le Dieu bleu : [photographie] : [Tamara Karsavina dans le rôle de la jeune fille] : [photographie de Waléry, Paris ?]
Author : Waléry (1866-1935 ; photographe). Photographe présumé
Publication date : 1912
Relation : Le Dieu bleu : Légende hindoue en 1 acte / chorégraphie de Michel Fokine. - Paris : Théâtre du Châtelet, 13-05-1912 — Le Dieu bleu : [Tamara Karsavina dans le rôle de la jeune fille], 1912. [Photographe présumé : Waléry] | src Gallica ~ BnF
Le Dieu bleu : Légende hindoue en 1 acte / chorégraphie de Michel Fokine. – Paris : Théâtre du Châtelet, 13-05-1912 (detail)

Kreutzberg and Georgi ca 1928

Yvonne Georgi and Harald Kreutzberg in a dance of flags - ca. 1929- Photographer: Hans Robertson / Atelier Robertson - Published: 'Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung' 43/1929 via Getty Images — Yvonne Georgi and Harald Kreutzberg in a Dance of Flags, ca. 1929. Photographer: Hans Robertson / Atelier Robertson.
Published: ‘Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung’ 43/1929 | src Getty Images

Harald Kreutzberg dancing with Yvonne Georgi in a scene of the ballet 'The creation of the World' by Blaise Cendrars; Neues Theater, Leipzig, 1929. Music by: Darius Milhaud Photographer: Hans Robertson / Atelier Robertson
Published in: 'Zeitbilder'; 38/1929 | src Getty Images — Harald Kreutzberg dancing with Yvonne Georgi in a scene of the ballet ‘The creation of the World’ by Blaise Cendrars; Neues Theater, Leipzig, 1929. Music by: Darius Milhaud Photographer: Hans Robertson / Atelier Robertson. Published in: ‘Zeitbilder’; 38/1929 | src Getty Images

Atelier Robertson :: Harald Kreutzberg with Yvonne Georgi in the play 'Stravinsky Suite', ca. 1928. Photographer: Hans Robertson / Atelier Robertson. Published in 'Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung' 48/1928. | src Getty Images — **Atelier Robertson ::** Harald Kreutzberg with Yvonne Georgi in the play ‘Stravinsky Suite’, ca. 1928. Photographer: Hans Robertson / Atelier Robertson. Published in ‘Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung’ 48/1928. | src Getty Images

Peter Pathé in Groteske, 1922

From : Walter Schnackenberg : Kostüme, Plakate und Dekorationen. Zweite Auflage. München, Musarion 1922. | src Ketterer Kunst

Greiner :: Peter Pathé in Groteske. From a book of Schnackenberg's works, published in Munich in 1922 by Musarion. | src Ketterer Kunst — **Greiner ::** Peter Pathé in Groteske. From a book of Schnackenberg’s works, published in Munich in 1922 by Musarion. | src Ketterer Kunst

Peter Pathé in Groteske. Photo by Greiner. Costume design: Walter Schnackenberg. | src L'Affichiste — Peter Pathé in Groteske. Photo by Greiner. Costume design: Walter Schnackenberg. | src L’Affichiste

Albertina Rasch Girls Rio Rita

Albertina Rasch Dance Group in costume for Rio Rita (1927). Photographed by Alfred Cheney Johnson.

Albertina Rasch Dancers in costume for Rio Rita (1927). Photographed by Alfred Cheney Johnson.

The Albertina Rasch Girls, sixteen ballet dancers, standing on point, wearing white ballet costumes, for the production of Rio Rita, at The New Ziegfeld Theater. Published in Vanity Fair, April 1927 (Photo by Florence Vandamm / Condé Nast / Getty Images) — The Albertina Rasch Girls, sixteen ballet dancers, wearing Mexican-style costumes, in the production of Rio Rita, at The New Ziegfeld Theater. Published in Vanity Fair, April 1927 (Photo by Florence Vandamm / Condé Nast / Getty Images)

The Albertina Rasch Girls, sixteen ballet dancers, wearing Mexican-style costumes, in the production of Rio Rita, at The New Ziegfeld Theater. Published in Vanity Fair, April 1927 (Photo by Florence Vandamm / Condé Nast / Getty Images)

Two dancers by Delight Weston

Delight Weston :: Rhythmic Dancing Study, 1921. Bromide print. | src Photoseed

Irma Delight Weston :: Rhythmic Dancing Study, 1921. Bromide print. | src Photoseed — **Irma Delight Weston ::** Rhythmic Dancing Study, 1921. Bromide print. | src Photoseed

These pictorial studies of two female dancers in motion are believed to have been taken at the former Ruth Doing Camp for Rhythmics in New York state’s Adirondack mountains. In the 1920’s and 30’s, photographer Delight Weston lived with camp founders Ruth Doing (1881-1966) and Gail Gardner (1878-1949) in New York City, along with other women artists, in a building at 139 W. 56th St. near Carnegie Hall.

Established in 1916, the summer camp was first located on the shores of Upper Chateaugay lake near Lyon Mountain until 1925, when it moved to Upper St. Regis Lake in Paul Smiths, New York. Renamed the Gardner-Doing Camp after this time, it was coeducational: besides regular summer camp activities, it specialized in the “rhythmic” style of dancing popularized by famed dancer Isadora Duncan, whom Ruth Doing was a former student of. Doing’s life partner, Michigan native Gail Gardner, had earlier made a name for herself as an accomplished and world-traveling opera singer. [quoted from Photoseed]

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