2 3 Throwback Thursday and Anita Berber | Ballet Webb

Thursday, August 8, 2019

Throwback Thursday and Anita Berber



Throwback Thursday and Anita Berber

Born In Leipzig Germany on June 10, 1899, Anita Berber was raised mostly by her grandmother following her parents divorce. At age sixteen she made her debut as a cabaret dancer. By 1918 she began working in movies and also began dancing nude.

She quickly became famous and in 1925 the famous German painter Otto Dix did her portrait. It was titled “The Dancer Anita Berber” and portrayed her in red with her characteristic high cheek bones and heavy make-up. https://www.neuegalerie.org/content/portrait-dancer-anita-berber.

She appeared in many films including The Story of Dida Ibsen (1918); Circus People (1922) and A Waltz by Strauss (1925). A 1987 film called Anita – Tanze des Laster ("Anita - Dances of Vice") focuses on Anita Berber's life. 

Her decadent performances challenged social taboos and she was a frequent topic of public gossip. Sadly, she was addicted to drugs and alcohol but in 1928 she abruptly gave up alcohol – but apparently not the narcotics.

She died of advanced tuberculosis on November 10, 1928. She is buried in a pauper’s grave in Neukolin.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Dance History Secret #233:
“Anita Berber was a notorious dancer in Germany.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“We revel in the laxness of the path we take.”
― Charles Baudelaire

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