Research Catalog

Details

Additional authors

1. Wigman, Mary, 1886-1973.
2. Cullberg, Birgit.
3. Hoyer, Dore, 1911-1967.
4. Martin, John , 1893-1985.
5. Page, Ruth, 1899-1991.
6. Shawn, Ted, 1891-1972.

Description

1. .25 linear feet (1 box)

Summary

1. Dancer and choreographer Mary Wigman is the focus of this research collection created by Walter Sorell. Clippings, correspondence, reference materials, and writings found in the collection served as research files for The Mary Wigman Book (1975), an anthology of Wigman's works, edited and translated by Sorell. Correspondents include Birgit Cullberg, Dore Hayer, Ruth Page (Fisher), John Martin, Ted Shawn, and Mary Wigman.

Subject

1. Wigman, Mary, 1886-1973
2. Martin, John , 1893-1985 > Correspondence
3. Hoyer, Dore, 1911-1967 > Correspondence
4. Correspondence
5. Cullberg, Birgit > Correspondence
6. Dance critics > United States
7. Modern dance > Germany > History
8. Page, Ruth, 1899-1991 > Correspondence
9. Wigman, Mary, 1886-1973 > Correspondence
10. Sorell, Walter, 1905-1997
11. Shawn, Ted, 1891-1972 > Correspondence
12. Clippings

Genre/Form

1. Clippings.
2. Correspondence.

Call number

1. (S) *MGZMD 189

Biography (note)

1. Austrian-born Walter Sorell (1905-1997), who was dance critic, educator, and painter, as well as a prolific author of novels, plays, and poems, settled in New York City in 1939 after fleeing from the Nazi regime.
2. Dancer and choreographer Mary Wigman (1886-1973, real name, Karoline Sophie Marie Wiegmann) was a pioneering figure in German dance, having studied under Rudolf von Laban, another important innovator in the field.

Language (note)

1. Includes items in English and German.

Indexes/finding aids (note)

1. Collection guide available in repository and on internet.

Author

1. Sorell, Walter, 1905-1997.

Title

1. Walter Sorell research files on Mary Wigman, 1927-1976.

Biography

1. Austrian-born Walter Sorell (1905-1997), who was dance critic, educator, and painter, as well as a prolific author of novels, plays, and poems, settled in New York City in 1939 after fleeing from the Nazi regime. From 1950-1966, he was the New York dance critic for the Providence Journal, as well as a contributor to other publications, including Ballet Today, Dance Magazine, Dance News, and the Dance Observer. Sorell's published books (more than twenty-five in German and English) include The Dance Through the Ages (1967), Dance in Its Time (1981), and a biography of Hanya Holm (1969), in addition to English translations of two anthologies of writings by the German Expressionist choreographer, Mary Wigman, The Language of Dance (1966) and The Mary Wigman Book (1975).
2. Dancer and choreographer Mary Wigman (1886-1973, real name, Karoline Sophie Marie Wiegmann) was a pioneering figure in German dance, having studied under Rudolf von Laban, another important innovator in the field. Although she made only three tours of the United States, Wigman left a lasting influence upon American modern dance through disciples such as Hanya Holm and Alwin Nikolais. Her works often employed non-Western instrumentation, but the primary musical accompaniment for her most well-known dances was percussion. She often used masks in her pieces, influenced again by non-western motifs.

Language

1. Includes items in English and German.

Indexes

1. Collection guide available in repository and on internet.

Connect to:

1. Request Access to Special Collections (Dance Division) material
2. Finding Aid

Occupation

1. Dance critics.

Added author

1. Wigman, Mary, 1886-1973.
2. Cullberg, Birgit.
3. Hoyer, Dore, 1911-1967.
4. Martin, John , 1893-1985.
5. Page, Ruth, 1899-1991.
6. Shawn, Ted, 1891-1972.

Research call number

1. (S) *MGZMD 189