Berk, Lotte (1913–2003)
Berk, Lotte (1913–2003)
German-born dancer and entrepreneur. Born Liselotte Heymansohn, Jan 17, 1913, in Cologne, Germany; died Nov 4, 2003, in Hungerford, Berkshire, England; dau. of a Russian father and German mother (both Jews); studied modern dance with Mary Wigman in Cologne; m. Ernest Berk (British dancer), 1933 (div. c. 1963); m. once more (for about 3 weeks); children: Esther Berk Fairfax.
With husband, danced at Cologne's National Theatre to great acclaim; fled the Reich (1938), settling in Britain where she worked with Marie Rambert, among others; opened her own exercise center in a basement in the West End; came to prominence with her set of exercises to help slim waists and trim thighs, called the Lotte Berk method, which became a phenomenon in London, NY, and California (1960s), shaping the abdomens of the likes of Joan Collins, Brit Ekland and Shirley Conran.