147:(13 January 1913 – 4 November 2003) was a German-born dancer and teacher, who lived in England from 1938. In 1959, she developed her own method of exercise, drawing on ballet moves and positions, that concentrated on the idea of building "core stability". In the 21st century, derivatives of her method are offered by gyms and studios as
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In her 40s, she moved in with a painter, with the permission of her husband, who suggested that she do so for two years, after which he would take her back. At the age of 50, her 30-year marriage came to an end. She married again, to
Herbert Felix Rieser, a commercial photographer, in 1964; the
163:, Germany, to a German mother and Russian-born father, both of whom were Jewish. Her mother died of a stroke when Lotte was aged eight; her father, Nicolai Heymansohn, had been a tailor and owned a chain of menswear shops.
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In 1959, at the age of 46, Berk opened a women-only exercise studio in London: the
Manchester Street Studio for Exercise. She gave certain exercises unusual names, such as "the Prostitute", "the
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She initially studied the piano for 11 years, according to her father's wishes, but she preferred dancing and went on to train under modern dance pioneer
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in the 1930s, they fled
Germany and because her husband had a British passport, the family was able to live in England, where Berk worked as a model at
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Berk continued to teach her method of exercise well into her 80s. Her clients included
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second marriage lasted three weeks, though they maintained a lasting friendship.
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Berk died aged 90 on 4 November 2003 at the
Brendoncare Foundation,
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Lotte Berk was born
Lieselotte Heymansohn on 13 January 1913, in
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Jewish emigrants from Nazi
Germany to the United Kingdom
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16:German dancer living in England (1913–2003)
278:, and wrote a biography of Berk entitled
499:British people of Russian-Jewish descent
382:, Oxford University Press, January 2007.
509:German people of Russian-Jewish descent
379:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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189:In 1933, she married a fellow dancer
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85:Dancer, fitness trainer and teacher
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448:Esther Fairfax official website
374:"Berk , Lieselotte (1913–2003)"
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300:Lotte Berk Method of Exercise
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199:Heatherley School of Fine Art
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411:"Lotte Berk (1913 – 2003)"
319:, Natural Journeys, 2003.
489:20th-century German women
280:My Improper Mother and Me
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145:Lieselotte "Lotte" Berk
317:The Lotte Berk Method
33:Lieselotte Heymansohn
302:(with Jean Prince),
114:Herbert Felix Rieser
68:, Wiltshire, England
524:People from Cologne
494:British ballerinas
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413:, lotteberk.co.uk.
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60:(2003-11-04)
484:2003 deaths
479:1913 births
457:Lotte Berk
453:Julie Welch
180:Fritz Busch
168:Mary Wigman
473:Categories
331:References
272:Hungerford
226:Peeing Dog
191:Ernst Berk
172:Carl Ebert
96:Ernst Berk
39:1913-01-13
23:Lotte Berk
276:Berkshire
268:Wiltshire
264:Froxfield
211:osteopath
155:Biography
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90:Spouse(s)
66:Froxfield
49:, Germany
306:, 1979.
135:Children
215:pilates
161:Cologne
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