Sonja Bragowa
Sonja Bragowa (born August 3, 1903 in Stuttgart , † March 16, 1998 in Zurich ), actually Gertrud Elsa Knieser , was a German expressive , revue and solo dancer.
origin
Her father Oskar, doctor of theology and philosophy, was the rector of the town high school, her mother Berthe Julie, nee Bräuchle, was a housewife. Gertrud attended the conservatory in Stuttgart, which she left to devote herself to her passion, dance. At the age of 16 she left home. How she got by in the following years is not certain. However, she initially danced at the Württemberg State Theater .
Career
As luck would have it, one of the main representatives of modern dance, Mary Wigman , who had her school in Dresden, was looking for a dancer for her dance group in 1923. After two intensive years with the Wigman dance group, Gertrud was able to perform solo as Sonja Bragowa on international stages. She later decided on a different genre: the big revue that caused a sensation at the time - a musical festival with extravagant costumes. She performed in the winter garden in the Teddy Stauffers program , which was on the program in the famous Berlin theater for a whole year. She went on a long tour of Italy with Teddy Stauffer, where she also had the opportunity to work with Wanda Osiris , the most popular Italian actress and soubrette of the time. So it came about that the name Sonja Bragowa, former student of Mary Wigman, appeared on the repertoire of international theaters and in the newspaper reviews of the time. Sonja Bragowa had actually planned to return to Germany and open a dance school with a colleague. After she met the Swiss entrepreneur Pierino Ambrosoli , whom she married in 1932, during a guest performance in Locarno (Ticino) , she gave up her career in favor of marriage and family. She then became known as Sonja Ambrosoli. The couple settled in Ascona , where their daughter Daniela Ambrosoli was born. In 1990 she founded the Pierino Ambrosoli Foundation in Zurich in memory of her parents .
literature
- Ursina Fasani, Veronica Provenzale, Michela Zucconi-Poncini: Il cimitero comunale di Ascona: storia e arte di uno spazio identitario. Museo Comunale d'Arte Moderna, Ascona 2015, pp. 84–86.
- Cristina Owens-Foglia, Ursula De Laurentis: The Pierino Ambrosoli Foundation ,. Locarno 1992.
Web links
- Elizabeth Camozzi, Sonja Bragowa - Tra Ascona e Locarno (RSI, July 17, 2016)
Individual evidence
- ↑ z. B. Stuttgarter Neues Tagblatt , May 7, 1924; Stuttgarter Neues Tagblatt , April 2, 1927; Leipzig Latest News , January 28, 1928
- ↑ estate Sonja Bragowa: photos, theater notices, newspaper reviews 1925-1929.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bragowa, Sonja |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Knieser, Gertrud Elsa (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German expressive, revue and solo dancer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 3, 1903 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Stuttgart |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 16, 1998 |
| Place of death | Zurich |