| Description |
1 online resource (1 volume) |
| Contents |
List of illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- PART I. Learning how to copy, 1883-1906. 1. A ballet girl in San Francisco -- 2. Teaming up with Max Hoffmann -- 3. A woman stage manager -- PART II. Solo imitations, 1906-1909. 4. Imitative caricatures -- 5. Women's rivalry and copyright -- 6. A vision of Salome -- PART III. Producing revues, 1910-1914. 7. Gertrude Hoffmann's reviews -- 8. Pirating the Ballets Russes -- 9. Mainstream modernism -- 10. All-American artist -- PART IV. New directions, 1914-1923. 11. Grecian dance, pantomime, and silent film -- 12. Snake acts and other wartime spectacles -- 13. Just drifting -- 14. From advanced vaudeville to cabaret -- PART V. Offstage, 1923-1966. 15. The Gertrude Hoffmann Girls, at home and abroad -- 16. Modern dance and floor shows -- 17. Remembering -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Selected bibliography -- Index |
| Summary |
"Imitation Artist: Gertrude Hoffmann's Life in Vaudeville and Dance is the first book-length study of Gertrude Hoffmann's long and influential career as a performer and producer. Hoffmann made her name in the early twentieth century as an imitator, copying highbrow performances from Europe and popularizing them for a broader American audience. Born in San Francisco, Hoffmann started working as a ballet girl in pantomime spectacles during the Gay Nineties. She performed through the heyday of vaudeville, then taught dancers and choreographed for nightclub revues. After her career ended, she reflected on how vaudeville's history was represented in film and television. Drawn from extensive archival research, Imitation Artist shows how Hoffmann's life intersected with that of central figures in twentieth-century popular culture and dance including Florenz Ziegfeld, George M. Cohan, Isadora Duncan, and Ruth St. Denis. Hoffmann navigated the complexities of performing gender, race, and national identity at the dawn of contemporary celebrity culture. Imitation Artist is essential reading for those interested in the history of theater and dance, modernism, women's history, and copyright"-- Provided by publisher |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Print version record |
| Subject |
Hoffmann, Gertrude
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| SUBJECT |
Hoffmann, Gertrude
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Hoffmann, Gertrude fast |
| Subject |
Gertrude Hoffmann Company -- History
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| SUBJECT |
Gertrude Hoffmann Company fast |
| Subject |
Vaudeville -- United States -- History
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Modern dance -- United States -- History
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Choreographers -- United States -- Biography
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Dancers -- United States -- Biography
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PERFORMING ARTS -- General.
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Choreographers
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Dancers
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Modern dance
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Vaudeville
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United States
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| Genre/Form |
Biographies
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History
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Biographies.
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Biographies.
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| Form |
Electronic book
|
| ISBN |
9780810141933 |
|
0810141930 |
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