ABSTRACT
It is a daunting task to choose which works of Mary Wigman best represent her aesthetic practice and philosophy. In order to do this we must consider a career that stretched from her first solo choreography in 1914 to her final production of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring in 1957. Over this span of forty-three years, Mary Wigman made more than 170 solo dances and nearly 80 group works. From intimate experience, she knew well that, “in ninety-nine out of a hundred cases the choreographer is author and director in one person” (Wigman 1966: 22). In The Language of Dance, she reflects on the inspiration, motivation and “back stories” that gave birth to fifteen of her dances, from the 1927 solo Ceremonial Figure to her Farewell and Thanksgiving (1942). And in the final chapters, Wigman reminisces about making Totenmal, which sparks thoughts on the group dance and the choric dance.
