Dance and Politics at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

The Role of Dance in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games

Historical Background of Olympic Art Competitions

Original Vision: The modern Olympic Games, revived in $1896$ by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, initially featured $5$ Olympic rings and $5$ art competitions: architecture, sculpture, painting, music, and literature. Dance was notably absent.
Coubertin's Aspiration: Coubertin aimed to combine art with athletic feats, mirroring the ancient Olympic model. However, the initial modern Games in Athens ( $1896$ ) were not the right time for this, and subsequent Games in Paris ( $1900$ ) and St. Louis ( $1904$ ), combined with World's Fairs, hindered the inclusion of art competitions, threatening the Games' survival.
Athens' Claim: When Athens sought to permanently host the Games, Coubertin disagreed, envisioning the Games shared globally each Olympiad.
Paris Conference on Arts and Letters: While in Greece in $1896$ , Coubertin agreed to interim Games in Athens for the $10^{th}$ anniversary of the modern Games. However, he intentionally prioritized a Paris Conference on Arts and Letters, hoping to integrate them into future Games. His invitation letter sought to study how "the Arts and the Letters could participate with the celebration of the modern Olympiades and, generally, associate with the practice of Sport for its benefit and ennoblement."
Conference Outcomes: The Paris conference program included architecture, dramatic art, choreography (defined as "Processions, parades, coordinated movements in groups," or "Dances"), decoration, letters, music, painting, and sculpture. A resolution passed for the $1908$ Olympiad to include competitions for these arts, with Olympic medals for winners in architecture, painting, sculpture, music, and poetry inspired by sport. Dance was not explicitly listed for competition.
Early Art Competition Debuts and Absence of Dance: Due to time constraints, art competitions didn't materialize for the London Games in $1908$ . They debuted at the Vth Olympiad in Stockholm, Sweden, in $1912$ . Following the cancellation of the $1916$ Games due to WWI, art competitions resumed in Antwerp ( $1920$ ), Paris ( $1924$ ), Amsterdam ( $1928$ ), and Los Angeles ( $1932$ ). Throughout these years, dance remained noticeably absent from any Olympic art competitions.

German Aspirations and the Role of Dance in 1936

German Goals for Berlin $1936$ : The Nazi organizers sought to add dance to the existing art competitions, alongside Gold and Silver Smithing and Works of the Screen (sport film). Their aim was to expand subcategories in each of the $5$ art disciplines, increasing both the number of medals and potential participants.
IOC Disapproval: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not approve the addition of Dance, Gold and Silver Smithing, or Works of the Screen.
Dance's Significance: Despite IOC rejection, dance played a crucial, significant part both before and during the $1936$ Berlin Olympic Games.
Nazi Exploitation: Nazi organizers leveraged the popular medium of dance to draw international attention to Adolf Hitler's achievements.
Enlisted Choreographers: Noted German choreographers and dancers Rudolf von Laban, Mary Wigman, and Harald Kreutzberg were enlisted for the Olympic program.
- Laban's Involvement: Isa Partsch-Bergsohn's book Modern Dance in Germany and the United States details Laban's extensive role. He was commissioned to direct a "triumphal celebration of German Dance" at the Dietrich Eckart Freilichtbühne (Outdoor Theater) and organize a "Great International Dance Competition" in July $1936$ . This dance celebration inaugurated the Dietrich Eckart stage on the opening night of the Games.

Laban's Banned Performance

Mass Event: Laban planned a monumental production, "Vom Tauwind und der Neuen Freude" (Spring Wind and the New Joy), training $1,000$ dancers divided into $22$ groups.
Banning: This innovative work was suddenly banned after its final dress rehearsal on June $20$ before $20,000$ invited guests at the Dietrich-Eckart outdoor theater.
Goebbels's Intervention: Dr. Josef Goebbels, Reich Minister of Propaganda, attended and immediately dismissed Laban's piece as "poorly-choreographed," "intellectual," and having "nothing whatever to do with Germans." Creating anything intellectual was deemed the "worst possible scenario" under Nazi ideology.
Ideological Clash: Goebbels believed Laban was attempting to use the Nazis for his own goals. He immediately prohibited the performance, as Laban's avant-garde modern dance philosophy, which often delivered intellectual messages, conflicted with the National Socialists' preference for traditional German dance.
Laban's Exclusion: Laban was permanently out of the Olympic picture, though Kreutzberg's and Wigman's choreography (with Wigman also dancing) was included on opening night.

The International Dance Competitions

Organization: Laban, despite his personal situation, organized and coordinated the international dance competitions scheduled for July $15-31$ at the Berlin theater at Horst-Wessel-Platz, as head of the Deutsche Meisterwerkstätten für Tanz (German Master Studio for Dance).
Judging and Criteria: An international jury evaluated dance works based on overall artistic value and cultural significance, with specific criteria including technique, musical accompaniment, and costumes.
Participation Rules: Performance groups were not restricted to a specific dance genre but required a minimum of $10$ members.
Invitations: Invitations were extended to all nations competing in the Olympic Games, encouraging them to send their best dancers and ensembles to Berlin for this "artistic prelude." National Socialist Germany aimed to project an image of "openness to the world."
Participating Nations: The $1936$ program, "Internationale Tanzwettspiele Anlässlich der $11$ .Olympiade Berlin, $1936$ ," listed $14$ participating countries: Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Jugoslavia, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Rumania, and Switzerland.
United States' Absence: The USA was notably missing. Martha Graham, a leading American modern dancer, refused Germany's invitation in an article published in the New York Times five months before the Games.
- Graham's Invitation: Issued by the dance division of the German Ministry of Culture, signed by Rudolf von Laban (president of the Deutsche Tanzbuehne), the president of the Organizing Committee of the Eleventh Olympic Games (Dr. Theodore Lewald), and the Reichminister of Volks-aufklarung, und Propaganda.
- Graham's Refusal Statement: She found it "impossible to dance in Germany at the present time" given the persecution of artists and stated she could not associate herself with such a regime. She also noted that some members of her concert group would not be welcome in Germany.
- Nazi Persuasion Attempt: Organizers offered "complete immunity" for her Jewish dancers, but Graham was not dissuaded, leading to no American dance group participating.
- Goebbels's Direct Invitation: Graham was deemed so important that Goebbels himself transmitted a short-wave invitation before the official one arrived in late $1935$ .
Other Declining Nations: England, France, Sweden, and Russia also declined.
Canada's Participation: Boris Volkoff, a Russian-born ballet dancer and teacher who had defected in $1924$ , enthusiastically led a Canadian contingent. He saw Berlin as an opportunity to promote Canadian dance and achieve international recognition. His program included a group ballet, a polka solo, and a North American Indian-inspired ballet.
- Experience in Berlin: Upon arrival, Volkoff's company was advised to "stay close to the theatres, restaurants and their accommodation and not to wander." Goebbels had temporarily cleansed Berlin of overt anti-Semitic signs and Nazi literature, ensuring politeness from Berliners. The only visible signs of trouble were the "taped, broken windows of Jewish stores."

Folk, Ballet, and Modern Dance in Competition

Unfulfilled Expectations: The international dance competitions did not fully meet expectations, partly due to varying artistic standards among soloists and ensembles, and the challenge of comparing $3$ distinct dance genres (folk, ballet, modern).
German Repertoire: Folk dance constituted a significant portion of the German repertoire, aligning with Goebbels's and the National Socialist Government's promotion of traditional German culture. An example was the Winninger Winzer-, Trachten-und Tanzgruppe, a folklore dance group from Penzberg, performing "Kronentanz," "Schuplattler," and "Mühlrad."
Leading German Dancers: Mary Wigman and Harald Kreutzberg, leading European modern dancers known for their North American tours, were showcased.
International Folk Focus: Bulgarians, Rumanians, and other European countries, as well as Indians (with classical dance based on Hindu myth), also focused on the folk genre.
Jugoslavian Success: Jugoslavian performers captivated the audience with $6$ stylized Croatian folk dances two days before the Olympics. German newspapers offered enthusiastic reviews, and an audience of $3,000$ spontaneously applauded and clapped in time with the music, showing "genuine empathy."
Mia Slavenska's Achievement: Mia Slavenska (Mia Corak), a prima ballerina with the Zagreb National Opera, won first prize at the Dance Olympiad in Berlin. She danced with Kreutzberg and Wigman, and her success led to guest appearances in Paris and London.
Cross-Genre Success: Folk, ballet, and modern dance genres all garnered success, with notable performances by German dancers like Wigman and Kreutzberg.

Prizes and Politics: Competition Becomes Festival

Measuring Art vs. Sport: At the award ceremony, Laban, as chief adjudicator, highlighted that artistic achievement could not be measured by "a stopwatch and meter measurement," unlike sport, especially given the incomparable variety of genres like folk dance and ballet.
Diploma for All: It was deemed nearly impossible to create sufficient categories for proper comparison, so "everyone was to receive a diploma."
Actual Awards: Despite the statement, medals and other prizes were awarded to outstanding dancers and groups.
Special Recognition: Harald Kreutzberg and Mary Wigman (Germany), Mia Corak-Slawenska (Jugoslavia), and the group from India received special recognition.
Transformation: The event, which started as an international dance competition, ultimately "became an international festival."
Nazi Agenda: Canadians noted that Laban preferred a festival from the outset, but the Nazis insisted on a competition, hoping for "easy glory to the predominant German groups."
Canadian Experience: Volkoff and his dancers were pleased with their performance and audience reception but received no special awards. Volkoff, however, "glowingly reported on the virtually valueless diploma, medal and silver cup" to enhance his popularity at home.

The Aftermath: Fate of Laban and Wigman

Rudolf von Laban: After the event, Laban was placed under house arrest, investigated for his past (including Freemasons membership from $1917-1918$ ), and forced to prove his Aryan ancestry. His role as head of the German Master Studio for Dance and his salary were diminished. He became jobless when his contract expired on March $31, 1937$ . He was confined to an apartment at Schloss Banz cloister in Bayreuth, and schoolchildren were warned against supporting him (facing forfeiture from "Kraft durch Freude" exhibitions). Laban escaped to Paris in November $1937$ and then to England in $1938$ , where he recovered from physical and mental ill health. He died in $1958$ , leaving behind his systematic method of recording dance movements, Labanotation.
Mary Wigman: Wigman realized the Nazis had no further use for her after the Games, leaving her to champion German modern dance alone. Her internationally recognized work was branded "degenerate," and she was categorized as an "intellectual" and "expressionist." Support for her school was withdrawn. Facing cultural isolation, exacerbated by many Jewish friends leaving Germany by $1936$ , she eventually defied Nazi ideology, ceased compromising her work (admitting past compromises), and reaffirmed her artistic integrity. Wigman died in West Berlin in $1973$ .

Conclusion: Art, Ideology, and The Regime

The Nazi regime sought an international dance competition, which ultimately transformed into a festival.
German dancers in the $1930$ s were compelled to conform to the regime's ideology or face professional marginalization.
Hitler's philosophy emphasized community ("we" over "I" or "you"), dictating that art, including dance, must be accessible to the masses.
The regime's stringent restrictions against expressionism and "intellectual" works severely impacted leading German dancers of the era, notably Mary Wigman and Rudolf von Laban.