Lotte Berk

Lotte Berk (January 13, 1913 - November 4, 2003) was a dancer and teacher.

She was born Liselotte Heymansohn in Cologne, Germany, to a German mother and Russian-born father, both of whom were Jewish. Her father owned a chain of quality menswear shops. Lotte as a child was chauffeured around a six seated Mercedes and would wear a Russian cape. She became a modern ballet dancer which was regarded in the 1920’s and 30’s as a profession almost like prostitution. In the 30’s she fled Germany because of the Nazis with her dancer husband and daughter. Her husband Ernst had an English passport so they were able to live in England. She started in England working as a model at Heatherley’s School of Fine Art, danced at Covent Garden for Marie Rambert. Her style of dancing did not appeal to the British and she knew she would have to change careers to make a living. In the 50’s with the help of an osteopath, she developed a series of exercises that were based on her experience with dancing. Similar to pilates and yoga, the Lotte Berk method concentrates on targeting specific areas for strength and flexibility training. Working from the "core" provides an intensive workout and promotes the growth of muscle tissue, which burns calories at a faster rate than fatty tissue.

When she was 46, she opened the Manchester Street studio for exercise, which only women could attend. Some of the names she used for her exercises were unusual such as “the Prostitute”, the Peeing Dog” and the “French Lavatory”.

Lotte’s personal life was also unusual, she would flirt with men. She moved in with a painter with her husband’s permission. Ernst told her that she could move in with the painter for two years and then he would take Lotte back. When Lotte was 50, her marriage came to an end after 30 years. She married again which last three weeks.

Lotte continued to teach her method of exercise well into her 80’s. She had some famous people at her studio, Joan Collins, Britt Ekland, Barbra Streisand, Sian Phillips, Edna O'Brien and Yasmin Le Bon.

She died at the age of 90. She is survived by her daughter, Esther Fairfax, who continues to teach her mother's method from a studio at Hungerford, in Berkshire.

External Resources

* Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,3604,1080532,00.html|Guardian Unlimited Obituaries]
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2003%2F11%2F07%2Fdb0702.xml|Telegraph]