Katja Erfurth
Mary Wigman in Dresden-Hellerau

Mary Wigman was twenty-four years old when she moved to Dresden-Hellerau in 1910. At this time, she still wore her real name Marie Wiegmann and was driven by an unconditional desire for self-determination, artistic exploration and economic independence. Émile Jaques-Dalcroze' “Rhythmic Training Centre” offered her the opportunity to obtain a teaching diploma so that she could earn an independent living in the future. Together with her fellow students Ada Bruhn, who would later marry the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Elsy Knüpfer from Livonia and Erna Hoffmann, who was engaged to the psychiatrist Hans Prinzhorn at the time, she moved into a small house in the Hellerau garden city ‘Am grünen Zipfel’. This flat-sharing community became an inspired place of fervent dialogue about art and life. For Mary Wigman, the period from 1910 to 1912 marked the beginning of her artistic career.

Katja Erfurth researches this period of Mary Wigman's life in written and photographic documents and at the places where she worked.

After studying dance at the Palucca School in Dresden, Katja Erfurth was a member of the ballet ensemble of the Saxon State Opera in Dresden. She has been working as a freelance dancer and choreographer since 1997. As chairwoman of the ‘Villa Wigman für Tanz’ association, she is committed to using the former Wigman School as a production venue for the independent performing arts. Together with Julia Amme and Josefine Wosahlo, she is a member of the villa\wigman management team. In 2020, she received the Art Prize of the City of Dresden.