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.
