Berke, Dorothea (c. 1900–)
Berke, Dorothea (c. 1900–)
American theatrical and choreographer. Name variations: Dorothea Schlesinger. Born Dorothea Schlesinger, c. 1900, near Chicago, Illinois.
Performed vaudeville dance acts in her teens and worked in Prologs; helped introduce ballet style as a theatrical technique through her early work at The Capitol Theater (1920s); served as dance director for Balaban and Katz Theater chains in Chicago (as of 1925); began working with performers on tour once theaters were absorbed into Paramount-Publix conglomerate, for which she staged acts suitable for a range of theaters, including the Capitol, Palace, Roxy and Paramount; collaborated with soprano Grace Moore for many years for whom she staged operetta revivals including the widely acclaimed production of The Dubarry on Broadway (1932); retired (late 1930s).