Hilde Boman-Behram (née Sofer) (1905–2001), better known by her stage name Hilde Holger, was an Austro-Hungarian-born British expressionist dancer, choreographer, teacher, and educator, who was trained by Gertrud Bodenweiser in Vienna. She was highly acclaimed, well known throughout Vienna’s flourishing artistic circles during the 1920s and 1930s.[1] At an early age, while still touring, she had developed a dedication towards teaching and in 1926 had opened the successful New School of Movement Arts in Palais Ratibor, right in the heart of Vienna.[2] Upon the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938, Holger was forbidden to perform or work. In 1939 with the help of a friend, Charles Petrach, she was able to escape the country within a day's notice. The Holocaust claimed fourteen members of her family, including her mother, stepfather and sister.[3]
Holger took refuge in India, a country that she described herself as "being of most attraction to Western artists".[4] She wasted no time absorbing new influences on her work, particularly paying close attention to studying Indian hand movements - some 300 of them.[5] She reopened her School for Art and Modern movement in Bombay which became an immediate success; however in 1948 the political upheavals that took place in the wake of partition forced her to move once again - this time to London.[6]
In London, Holger continued to develop her art for the next fifty years till her death in 2001; but probably her proudest achievement was pioneering work which included those with mental and physical diasabilities in her performances, as early as the 1960s.[7]
Hilde Holger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Hilde Sofer 18 October 1905 Vienna, Austria–Hungary |
| Died | 24 September 2001 (aged 95) |
| Nationality | British, Austrian |
| Known for | Dance, choreography and teaching |
| Movement | Expressionism |
| Spouse | Adershir Kavershir Boman-Behram |
References
- ^ Hilde Holger Company ltd. Hilde Holger 1905-2001 Company Press Pack. 2007
- ^ Leslie Alan Horvitz. Movement of the Heart. Yoga & Health Magazine, 2006 pg16
- ^ Leslie Horvitz. The Hilde Holger Biography. New York 2005
- ^ Ibid
- ^ Ibid
- ^ Hilde Holger Company ltd. Hilde Holger 1905-2001 Company Press Pack. 2007
- ^ Hilde Holger Company ltd. Hilde Holger 1905–2001 Company Press Pack. 2007