Viola Farber Views
Viola Farber was born on February 25, 1931 in Heidelberg, Germany and died on December 24, 1998 on Bronxville, NY [1]. In Germany, Farber began dancing. However, at the age of six she was told by her parents, “No, you cannot do this anymore”. At the age of seven, Farber and her family moved to the United States. Even though her parents did not allow her to dance, Farber continued dancing on her own, though she focused more of her energy on learning to play the piano. During the one year that Farber spent at the University of Illinois studying music, she began taking dance classes from Margaret Erlanger. [2]. When Farber transferred to George Washington University, she focused on both music and dance. By 1952, Farber had transferred once again, to Black Mountain College was dance with Katherine Litz and music with Lou Harrison.
Ms. Farber formed the Viola Farber Dance Company in 1968, creating most of her choreography for the troupe, which disbanded in 1985. Writing in the International Encyclopedia of Dance, Christopher Caines describes her earliest dances as having a febrile atmosphere and ''a dark, violent intensity that some interpreted as sadomasochistic, despite moments of tenderness.'' By the 1970's, Ms. Farber had mellowed considerably. ''My dances report what I see,'' she told Jack Anderson in a 1978 interview in The New York Times. ''They are my response to the way everything is mixed up together in this world -- people and microbes and elephants and cassowary birds.''
Buy your copy!ref=/visit/viewwork.asp?id=23360 destUR AmazonAmazon.co.ukFroogleBarnes / Noble.comThe Prickly Rose The Prickly Rose is a biography of Viola Farber, an American dance icon and a legend in the dance community of France. The book follows her life and her constant struggles to keep her company working in the United States and Europe. It includes interviews with the dancers who worked with her company, dancers who performed with her in the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, family members and some of her students. The Prickly Rose was written for the present and future dancers who are interested in the history and historical figures of their art form. It is, however, written with the non-dancer in mind, and therefore can be enjoyed by all.
It is tempting to assume that life is easy for a person of reputation and acclaim that fame comes without effort and that their accomplishments have somehow exonerated them from all future struggle. In this inspiring biography of modern dance pioneer Viola Farber author Jeff Slayton exposes the sacrifices she made as well as the passion that carried her through the dark and impenetrable patches of her career. Farber was Slayton's teacher mentor friend and dance partner for 20 years. The two were also married for nine years. He wrote the book to describe her life and art and to capture a unique period in dance history when it was birthing into an artistic profession in its own right.
Viola Farber Images
