The Dancers Ernest and Yvonne
One of the most popular and prestigious ballroom dancing acts in Germany in the Jazz Age of the 1920s and 1930s was that of Ernest and Yvonne who seemingly emerged out of nowhere in about 1925 and danced not just in Germany but also France, Holland, England and other parts of Europe.
One of Germany’s leading exponents of dance in the Jazz Age of the 1920s and 1930s, alongside Mary Wigman, Harald Kreutzberg and Rudolf von Laban, was Hanns Gerard who created his touring company the Ballett Gerard out of Berlin. His performance style was totally distinctive, unique and different. Although described as ballet it was also more akin to pantomime and revue with themed ‘stories’ supported by distinctive costumes and décor.
The Florida Tanzpalast in Berlin was only open for a short period of time from late 1927 to 1928 and then ownership changed and it became Himmel und Hölle. Nevertheless, it was one of the premier night rendezvous in Berlin during the Jazz Age of the 1920s and 1930s.
The Valencia was a smart dance-restaurant in Charlottenburg, Berlin popular in the Jazz Age of the 1920s. It was opened and owned by George Tichauer and his brother Dagobert, who also ran the famous Barberina and Kakadu. Prior to this it had been the Café of the Theater des Westens and then a fashionable restaurant called the Palais Heinroth.
The fashionable Barbarina tanzpalast or night-club was situated at 18 Hardenbergstrasse in the Charlottenberg district of Berlin and was allegedly founded in 1921. It became one of the most prestigious of all dance-restaurants in Berlin in the Jazz Age of the 1920s.
Zammit and Grube were a German dancing team who specialised in arty acrobatics. They thrived for about 10 years from 1925 to 1935 and although originating in Germany and in particular Berlin, they travelled all over Europe and even the Near East and performed in Paris, London, Istanbul, Cairo, Dresden, Munich, Vienna, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Stockholm.
One of the most novel and amusing cabaret acts from the Jazz Age of 1920s London was that of Fred Dixon and Girlie. Dixon and ‘his girl-friend’ danced at the New Princess Frivolities cabaret show in 1926 and thereafter on the stage in two touring shows.
Harry Cahill was a multi-talented American dancer, female impersonator, singer and composer who became a popular and well-known figure in Paris during the 1920s and because of his achievements was once described as ‘a type of product of the Jazz Age.’
Fay Harcourt was a British dancer who made it big dancing in Paris in the Jazz Age of the 1920s as part of three dancing teams – the first with the American Harry Cahill, the second with a Russian called Nicholas and the third wit hthe Argentinian Peppy de Albreu. But, after a glittering career from 1922-1928 she simply vanished.
Admired for being stunningly handsome, the Norwegian Rocky Twins were dancers who had a ten-year career in Europe and America appearing on stage and in film between 1927-1937. Their beauty, their androgynous look and their outrageous antics made them legendary
Continue reading The Rocky Twins: Norway’s Outrageous Jazz Age Beauties
