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born on June 10, 1899 in Leipzig, Germany
died on November 10, 1928 in Berlin, Germany
German dancer
125th birthday on June 10, 2024
Biography
The career of Berlin dancer Anita Berber was marked by scandals. At 17, after a year of training, she performed for the first time and was charged with public indecency. She would continue to face such charges for the rest of her life. At 18, she appeared in films, and shortly thereafter she was already giving guest performances in New York.
Her name is associated with the Roaring Twenties in Berlin: frenetic, crazy, flamboyant and outrageous. But with the darker side of excess as well: alcohol, cocaine, illness and—had famous men neither described nor painted her – a final, almost complete disappearance into the past. Klaus Mann wrote that “Anita Berber dances coitus,” and Otto Dix portrayed her as vamp with red hair.
Her performances in variety theatres and nightclubs were so daring that some guests borrowed masks at the entrance to avoid being recognized.
Anita Berber paid dearly for her fame: she became addicted to alcohol and drugs, and her extreme unreliability meant that contracts were terminated. Her second marriage to the dancer Sebastian Droste failed, and she was unable to obtain any engagements.
In the end, she married the American dancer Henri, with whom she went on tour in the Middle East. In Damascus, she collapsed on stage and had to return to Germany, accompanied by Henri. Terminal tuberculosis and lack of money made her situation hopeless. She died on November 10, 1928 at the age of 29.
(Text from 1987; translated with DeepL.com; edited by Ramona Fararo, 2024)
Please consult the German version for additional information (pictures, sources, videos, bibliography).
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