Ruth Elly Abramovitsch Sorel (18 June 1907 - 1 April 1974) was a German

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

and teacher. She spent the first half of her career working mainly in Europe (particularly Warsaw) and then was predominantly active in Canada after moving to that nation in 1944. In Canada she worked under the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

"Ruth Sorel", but in Europe she was known under her maiden name, Abramovitsch (sometimes spelled Abramowitz). ''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

'' states that Abramovitsch Sorel was, "A well-known, expressive performer, who was praised by local and international critics for her intensely theatrical German dance style, her literary inspiration and the emotion, musicality and precision of her execution... Working in Canada prior to the existence of grants for innovation, Sorel was a pioneer of European expressionism in Québec." As a choreographer she was at the forefront of

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

and

contemporary ballet Contemporary ballet is a genre of dance that incorporates elements of classical ballet and modern dance. It employs classical ballet technique and in many cases classical pointe technique as well, but allows greater range of movement of the u ...

, combining two contrasting elements: German expressionist dance and

classical ballet Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as pointe work, turnout of the legs, and high extensions), its ...

. For many years she operated and directed her own dance company in Montreal, Les Ballets Ruth Sorel (also known as the Ruth Sorel Modern Dance Group).

Early life and career

Born to Polish-Jewish parents in

Halle, Saxony-Anhalt Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anh ...

, Abramovitsch Sorel studied Dalcroze

eurhythmics Dalcroze eurhythmics, also known as the Dalcroze method or simply eurhythmics, is one of several developmental approaches including the Kodály method, Orff Schulwerk and Suzuki Method used to teach music to students. Eurhythmics was developed ...

before becoming a dancer in

Mary Wigman Mary Wigman (born Karoline Sophie Marie Wiegmann; 13 November 1886 – 18 September 1973) was a German dancer and choreographer, notable as the pioneer of expressionist dance, dance therapy, and movement training without pointe shoes. She is co ...

's company in Dresden in 1923 where she remained for six seasons. From 1927-1933 she was a principal dancer with the

Berlin State Opera The (), also known as the Berlin State Opera (german: Staatsoper Berlin), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of Prussian king Frederick the Great from ...

where she was much admired as the lead soloist in the ballet ''Legend of Joseph''. Abramovitsch Sorel was forced to leave the Berlin State Opera by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

due to her Jewish heritage and Communist leanings. She left Germany for Poland in 1933 where she soon won first prize at the international solo dance competition in Warsaw for her performance of Salomé's dance of the seven veils. From 1933-1939 she taught dance and directed student productions at Warsaw's advanced dance school. She also actively performed in Poland during those years, often appearing with dancer George Groke with whom she gave performance tours to Palestine and the United States during the 1930s. At the outbreak of World War II she emigrated from Poland to Brazil. She attempted to start a dance academy in that nation but was unsuccessful.

Career in Canada and later years in Poland

In 1944 Abramovitsch Sorel emigrated to Canada with her husband, the author Michał Choromański. The couple settled in Montréal and Sorel soon opened a number of dance studios in the area, including studios in Westmount, Shawinigan, and Trois-Rivières. At the latter studio she frequently presented her most gifted students in recital, often dancing herself. Abramovitsch Sorel quickly established herself as an important choreographer and dancer in the Québec region, now using the stage name "Ruth Sorel". She formed the Les Ballets Ruth Sorel which had a triumphant success representing Québec at the first Canadian Ballet Festival (CBF) in 1948 in Winnipeg. Later the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

's documentary of the CBF included sequences from her celebrated ''Mea Culpa Mea Culpa'', a medieval mystery. Sorel's dance company performed her choreography on tours in Canada and in the United States, notably giving performances at dance festivals in New York City and at Montréal's Chalet du Mont-Royal. In 1949 she had a major success in Montreal with ''La Gaspésienne'', the first choreography with Québécois content, which used music by

Pierre Brabant Pierre Brabant (26 August 1925 – 28 August 2014) was a Canadian composer and pianist. He appeared in concerts and recitals throughout Canada and performed numerous times on Canadian television and radio. He wrote music for a number of program ...

. The ballet was given performances in Toronto, New York City, and at the

Great Theatre, Warsaw The Grand Theatre in Warsaw ( pl, Teatr Wielki w Warszawie), known in full as the Grand Theatre–National Opera, is a theatre and opera complex situated on the historic Theatre Square in central Warsaw, Poland. The Warsaw Grand Theatre is home ...

in 1950. In 1955 Abramovitsch Sorel and her husband left Canada suddenly for Poland. She lived in Warsaw for the remainder of her life. She died there in 1974 at the age of 66.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abramovitsch Sorel, Ruth 1907 births 1974 deaths German choreographers German female dancers