Harald Kreutzberg

Harald Kreutzberg (born December 11, 1902, Reichenberg, Bohemia—died April 24, 1968, Gümligen, near Bern, Switzerland) was a German modern dancer and choreographer best known for solos that combined dance with mime.

Trained at the Dresden Ballet School, Kreutzberg also studied modern dance with Mary Wigman and Rudolf Laban. Beginning in 1927, he appeared in plays directed by Max Reinhardt, and in 1929 he went with Reinhardt to New York City. Kreutzberg then toured the U.S., Canada, and Europe with the dancer Yvonne Georgi, and in 1932 he joined Ruth Page for tours of the U.S. and the Far East.

For the remainder of his concert career, he performed primarily as a soloist; his inventive choreographic style combined free dance movements with such elements of the theatre as mime and pictorial costuming. His works range from the tragic allegory of Der Engel Luzifer (“The Angel Lucifer”) to the comic grotesque of Der Hochzeitsstrauss (“The Wedding Bouquet”). After retiring from the stage in 1959, he choreographed for others and taught at his own school, established in 1955 in Bern, Switzerland.