My Improper Mother and Me

by Esther Fairfax

Lotte Berk was one of the most extraordinary women of our times. She became world famous as the devisor of the Lotte Berk Technique, a revolutionary fitness programme that led her to great fame and wealth during the 1960s and 1970s. Among her students were a swathe of movers and shakers – Britt Ekland, Maureen Lipman, Geraldine McEwan, Zoe Wanamaker, Shirley Conran, Edna O’Brien, Prue Leith and Sian Phillips. This is a compelling portrait of the outrageous German émigré by her daughter, Esther Fairfax. It reveals the inner workings of a Bohemian life lived to the extreme. Cajoled to dance naked in Paris at the age of 16, Fairfax’s remarkable story embraces drug addiction, sexual liberation, poverty, isolation, fame and, finally, hope.

Genres: Nonfiction

270 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 29, 2010

Reviews

[Bettina · Rating 3 out of 5]

An irresistible and chatty little book about a fascinating dancer named Lotte Berk. Lotte trained and performed in the same dance technique as I (Mary Wigman) and I had done some of her namesake exercises. By the time I knew of her, however, the exercises seemed definitely the sort of passé thing old burdened ladies on the Upper East Side did. This is unfortunate because the techniques are excellent.

Lotte’s daughter Esther wrote the book and while she isn’t much of a writer the book is interesting and arresting, full of anecdotes about Lotte and, more than often, Lotte’s sex life (dating men, women, transvestites, etc. – all while living with her husband, who never stopped loving her even after they divorced). I wished for more information on Lotte and her thoughts and development as a teacher vs dancer.

The book both grazes the life of Lotte - a Holocaust survivor and true bohemian - as well as delves into what life is like for those who live in the shadow and wake of someone so charismatic and influential. Throughout the book Lotte’s manipulations and vitriol are cut by hilarity, insouciance, and spirit.

[Gaye Sweeney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borrowed from the library. a story of Lotte Berk, who developed a revolutionary fitness movement that all the well heeled ladies of the day followed. She is an amazing character, and I really enjoyed reading about her.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a super disappointment. I ordered this to read about how Lotte Berk started barre but this was really just a memoir of the daughter with extremely simple language.