Empire of Ecstasy: Nudity and Movement in German Body Culture, 1910-1935 (Weimar and Now: German Cultural Criticism)

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Empire of Ecstasy offers a novel interpretation of the explosion of German body culture between the two wars—nudism and nude dancing, gymnastics and dance training, dance photography and criticism, and diverse genres of performance from solo dancing to mass movement choirs. Karl Toepfer presents this dynamic subject as a vital and historically unique construction of "modern identity."

The modern body, radiating freedom and power, appeared to Weimar artists and intelligentsia to be the source of a transgressive energy, as well as the sign and manifestation of powerful, mysterious "inner" conditions. Toepfer shows how this view of the modern body sought to extend the aesthetic experience beyond the boundaries imposed by rationalized life and to transcend these limits in search of ecstasy. With the help of much unpublished or long-forgotten archival material (including many little-known photographs), he investigates the process of constructing an "empire" of appropriative impulses toward ecstasy.

Toepfer presents the work of such well-known figures as Rudolf Laban, Mary Wigman, and Oskar Schlemmer, along with less-known but equally fascinating body culture practitioners. His book is certain to become required reading for historians of dance, body culture, and modernism.

Empire of Ecstasy: Nudity and Movement in German Body Culture, 1910-1935 (Weimar and Now: German Cultural Criticism) Review

This book is positively fascinating for about the first half. You find out about the "nude dance" craze of the Weimar Republic and the dancers/dances/movements it inspired. However, Toepfer's work is SO complete, SO intricate, it comes off more like a doctoral thesis than a book. As pure reportage, it's a fine volume. But I kept waiting for some kind of idea of what the author thought about all of this; was it fascinating or does he just think it was weird? We never really find out. Still, some of the images he leaves you with makes you wish you could transport yourself back to some of these obviously sensual and often bizarre performances to see them for yourself. If you're a fan of dance history, or a nudist, I recommend this book. But don't be surprised if you put it down long before you finish; this is definitely more than most people would really want (or need) to know. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | PermalinkComment�Comment

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