The work of some movement visionaries, like Joseph Pilates, BKS Iyengar, and Moshe Feldenkrais, is well-known. Martha Graham permanently left her stamp on the dance world, Ida Rolf shaped an entire category of bodywork, and Bikram Choudhury turned his take on yoga into a household name. Yet Lotte Berk, whose work has had far-reaching influence, is only recently achieving the recognition she deserves.
Lotte Berk's History
Lotte Berk (1913–2003) was a modern dancer of Russian extraction. She taught her exercise techniques from a studio in London. Berk was renowned for her vibrant personality and flamboyant love life, and some of her exercises alluded to her fondness for the shocking, with risque names and suggestive positioning. Her work was far from superficial, however. With the advice of orthopedic specialists and the benefit of dance training, Berk devised a system of deep, almost isometric muscle isolations and yoga-like stretches.
Benefits of Lotte Berk Exercise
Typical results of a consistent Lotte Berk practice include a rapid improvement in body shape and muscular definition, strong and flexible quadriceps, a lifted seat (as Lotte Berk-style teachers tend to refer to the gluteal muscles), strong abdominals, and sculpted shoulders and triceps.
Exercises
Workouts are normally an hour long, although a shorter practice can be very effective. Typically, Lotte Berk classes warm up the body with vigorous marching in place and full-body movements. They may use push-ups, reverse push-ups and hand weights to work the arms and shoulders. Pliés provide excellent work for the quads, inner thighs, and buttocks, and a series of C-curve exercises work the abdominals.
Some of the most distinctive Lotte Berk moves are among the most effective – Knee Dancing, the seat-sculpting Pretzel, and the hypnotic, relaxing, yet challenging Back Dancing exercise for the buttocks and inner thighs.
Stretching is a key component of Lotte Berk's work. Practitioners may work up to full splits, expansive spinal twists, deep hip stretches, and shoulder openings.
Other Teachers
Lotte Berk's work has been carried on and modified by several key teachers. Callan Pinckney used Berk's principles and exercises extensively in her Callanetics technique, which was wildly popular in the 1980s and beyond. Lydia Bach documented the method in her 1982 book, Awake! Aware! Alive!: Exercises for a Vital Body and founded studios in New York City and the Hamptons; her Lotte Berk Method work is available on a series of DVDs.
Related techniques include Burr Leonard's Bar Method, the Dailey Method, Tracy Effinger's Squeeze workouts, and New Callanetics.
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