Bessie Schönberg Biography

Bessie Schönberg

One of the country's most influential dance teachers, Schönberg nurtured scores of dancers, including Lucinda Childs, Meredith Monk and Elizabeth Keen. With a command of all dance forms, Schönberg taught at Sarah Lawrence College from 1938 to 1975 and continued to teach at New York University and several dance festivals until her death. In 1984, Dance Theater Workshop named its annual awards, the Bessies, in her honor.