Hellmut Gottschild is a seminal figure in Philadelphia dance, and was part of the first generation of Pew Fellows in 1992. He cofounded Group Motion in Berlin in 1962, a modern dance company evolving from the Mary Wigman School of Dance where he studied and served as Wigman’s assistant for ten years. In 1968, Gottschild relocated to Philadelphia, where he continued to work with Group Motion and received critical recognition by performing works such as Countdown for Orpheus at Judson Church in New York in 1968, performing at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in 1969, and joining the National Endowment for the Arts touring program in the 1970s. In 1972, Gottschild left Group Motion and founded Zero Moving Dance Company (later ZeroMoving), a leading modern dance company that performed throughout the Philadelphia region and toured in Europe. From 1968–96 he served on the dance faculty at Temple University. After separating from ZeroMoving in 1993, Gottschild continued his career, collaborating with his wife Brenda Dixon Gottschild (a 2017 Pew Fellow) and performing around the US. In 2017, he performed in BalletX’s presentation of Nicolo Fonte’s Beautiful Decay.
>>See archival footage of Gottschild in motion in this Pew Fellowships Anniversary video.
