"Dance would have little meaning, and would have no life, no enduring quality at all,had   we already conquered it to such an extent. That its possibilities were clearly defined, its style set, and its development decided upon." ~Mary Wigman~

Why I care.

Mary Wigman is a very influential figure in modern and still is today. She is known for the freedom she exhibited in her dancing, which you are able to see today in Modern dance. I find Wigman’s work to be very moving since she was not afraid to experiment with different concepts in her work. For instance, the way she had used masks in her pieces to create different personalities on stage. It added to the concept of her stage dance, to create a more theatrical feel within her dances. I feel that Wigman had shown movement contrast in the pieces she created as well. She was able to show extreme tension and sharp angular movements, which was shown in her Witch Dance, but she was also able to illustrate more soft and free slowing movement, which was shown in her work, Totenmal. In my opinion it is important as a dancer to show versatility, rather then sticking with one particular form. 

Besides what I believe to have been influential movement concepts Wigman was known to be a leading figure in dance for other cultures as well. After WWII she reconstructed her school in Berlin, Germany. It became the center for all modern dance enthusiasts, bringing people in from all over the world. One of Wigman’s students, Neue Tranz, from Japan, was very inclined by her teachings. Tranz took what he had learned from Wigman’s school and brought modern dance to Japan. Here Tranz carried on Wigman’s teachings and stimulated the world of modern dance in Japan. Hanya Holm was another lineage of Mary Wigman. Holm also took Wigman’s teachings and expanded them to the United States, opening up a Wigman’s School of Dance in New York.

 I feel she went beyond just teaching, choreographing, and performing dance. Wigman came to inspire other dancers to expand and carry on her work through out the world. She brought modern dance to places where there was no modern dance and gave people a new form of movement and expression. Her concepts of dance as well can link to dance today, especially her stage dance. After Wigman I believe you saw more people take into account the stage part of the dance and explore new possibilities with the set, lighting, and costuming. The public should take note of Wigman’s teachings. She has been part of changing the course of dance history by her concepts and bringing modern dance to other countries. 

-Dani Koeck

 Below is one of Wigman's works titled, Totenmal, that I had mentioned above.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyNkEm-cFVk&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL824B75CA1ED32B68

The Bigger Picture.

Mary Wigman grew up during the industrialization of Europe, which was a major influence on her creative voice. There were new possibilities to look forward to and explore during this time that had never been offered before.  Many different art forms were embracing this idea of new possibilities to expand the repituare of work. For instance, cubism, a visual art form went outside the box from the usual portraits and landscapes done. Below is an example of cubism by Pablo Picasso.

    

As you can see the industrialization caused shifts within the artistic world.
Another event that was a major influence of Wigman's initial theory of dance would be WWII 1939-1945. During this time we was forced to close her school in Dresden and fire all her Jewish dancers, but allowed to teach a small amount of students in Leipzig, Germany. Here she performed solo work in private, due to Nazi rule.
There were many dramatic adjustments in Germany at the time and her life, such as, Industrialization of Europe, WWII, and the disapproval of her parents. These were all contributing factors to her work and movement quality.