Theatermuseum

 

To those seeking inspiration, but not necessarily in the form painting or other varieties of the fine arts, I’d gladly recommend the exhibition "Alles tanzt. Kosmos Wiener Tanzmoderne" at Theatermuseum.

Admittedly, almost everything presented here was previously unknown to me. Of course, Isadora Duncan and Loïe Fuller are widely known – but that Vienna, too, had been a centre of modern dance, was quite new to me. The vestibule is dedicated to Rosalia Chladek, a personality who clearly was at the center and core of free dance. While, continuing, the outer round of the exhibition deals with the history and stations of the movement, the inner curve introduces individual dancers, choreographers and teachers. (Yes, dance was quite firmly in female hands, although there were collaborations and synergies with artists such as Gustav Klimt and other artists of the Secession). And so the arc stretches from the decorativity and (one could almost say) discovery of the body, via the institutionalization of dance, to its instrumentalization and the end of its freedom in Austrofascism, and the later expulsion of many of its protagonists.

"Alles tanzt.", in any case, stands out through film material and interviews, photos, posters, letters and drafts - and, yes! I, too, left with a springier step.

 

 

 

Julia Maurer

 

 

 

Venue:

 

Theatermuseum

Lobkowitzplatz 2

1010 Wien

 

 

 

 

Website:

 

www.theatermuseum.at

 

 

 

 

 

Content:

Header, 1: Ausstellungsansicht 1, Theatermuseum © KHM-Museumsverband

2: Rosalia Chladek im Vorraum zum Festsaal der Schule Hellerau für Rhythmus, Musik und Körperbildung, Dresden, 1925, Foto: Anonym, Theatermuseum © KHM-Museumsverband

3: Hilde Holger in "Golem", Wien, 1937, Foto: Anonym, © Hilde Holger-Archive London

4: Ausstellungsansicht 3, Theatermuseum © KHM-Museumsverband