Schönberg, Bessie

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Born in Hanover, Germany, Dec. 27, 1906, Bessie Schönberg was the daughter of American born Rose MacGrew and the German engineering student Alexander Schönberg. The family moved often as MacGrew pursued a career in opera but the effort was abandoned apparently due to illness and MacGrew left the family to return to the United States. When Bessie's father was called into active service in World War I, she and her sisters were left in the care of Gertrude Bierschenk, a young woman who had been originally hired as her mother's companion. At age nineteen, encouraged by her father and at the invitation of her mother, Bessie moved to Eugene, Oregon to pursue university studies. It was there she was able to pursue the study of dance, an activity of which her father had disapproved. Initially dissatisfied with the teachers, her attitude changed when Martha Hill joined the University of Oregon faculty in 1927. In 1929, Schönberg followed Hill to New York City to pursue her studies. Hill arranged for her to meet Martha Graham and soon Schönberg joined the Graham company, performing in the original casts of Primitive mysteries and Heretic. Schönberg's performing career was cut short by a knee injury. During this same period she met her future husband, Dimitry Varley and they married in Jan. 1934. Martha Hill invited Schönberg to be her assistant at Bennington College's School of the Dance, teaching there from 1933-1941. In 1941, she was appointed chairperson of the Sarah Lawrence College Dance Department, a position she held until 1975. She developed long-term relationships with many key institutions in the field of modern dance including the American Dance Festival, Jacob's Pillow, and Dance Theater Workshop. In honor of her contributions to the field, the New York Dance and Performance awards given annually by Dance Theater Workshop were dubbed the "Bessies". She remained an advisor, friend, and teacher until her death in 1997.

From the description of Bessie Schönberg Papers, 1932-1997 and undated. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 163571421

Dancer, choreographer.

From the description of Reminiscences of Bessie Schoenberg : oral history, 1979. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 122419129

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Schönberg, Bessie. [Programs] New York Public Libraries for the Performing Arts, Dance Collection
creatorOf Schönberg, Bessie. Bessie Schönberg Papers, 1932-1997 and undated. New York Public Library System, NYPL
creatorOf Schönberg, Bessie. Reminiscences of Bessie Schoenberg : oral history, 1979. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association, New York. Dance Theatre. [Programs] New York Public Libraries for the Performing Arts, Dance Collection
creatorOf Schönberg, Bessie,. Interview with Bessie Schoenberg. New York Public Libraries for the Performing Arts, Dance Collection
creatorOf Schönberg, Bessie. Miscellaneous manuscripts. New York Public Libraries for the Performing Arts, Dance Collection
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith American Dance Festival. corporateBody
associatedWith Bennington College. corporateBody
associatedWith Bennington College (Bennington, Vt.). School of the Dance, 1934-1942. corporateBody
associatedWith Bennington College (Bennington, Vt.). School of the Dance, 1934-1942. corporateBody
associatedWith Bowers, Theresa, person
associatedWith Connecticut College. School of Dance. corporateBody
associatedWith Dance Theater Workshop. corporateBody
associatedWith Dance Theatre of Harlem. corporateBody
associatedWith Dancing in the Streets/USA. corporateBody
associatedWith Graham, Martha, 1894-1991. person
associatedWith Hill, Martha. person
associatedWith Horst, Louis, 1884-1964. person
associatedWith Jacob's Pillow School of the Dance. corporateBody
associatedWith Lloyd, Norman, 1909-1980. person
associatedWith Lloyd, Ruth. person
associatedWith Martha Graham Dance Company. corporateBody
associatedWith Monk, Meredith. person
associatedWith New York (City). Neighborhood Playhouse. corporateBody
associatedWith Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, N Y. corporateBody
associatedWith Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, N Y. corporateBody
associatedWith Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, N Y. Dance Group. corporateBody
associatedWith Shaw, Lloyd, 1890-1958. person
associatedWith Shearer, Sybil. person
associatedWith Thom, Rose Anne, person
associatedWith Varley, Dimitry. person
associatedWith Yard (Chilmark, Mass.) corporateBody
associatedWith Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association, New York. Dance Theatre. corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
New York (State)--New York
New York (State)
United States
Subject
Choreographers
Dancers
Dance teachers
Modern dance
Modern dance
Occupation
Dance teachers
Activity

Person

Birth 1906-12-27

Death 1997-05-14

Americans

English,

German

Information

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