Bridging Gesture, Gesticulation, and Early Modern Dance: Rilke’s Veitstänzer in The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge

Walking through the streets of Paris, the protagonist Malte notices a man making jerky and unpredictable movements, most likely resulting from the neurological disease Veitstanz. This scene from Rainer Maria Rilke’s prose work The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge focuses on the man’s range of bodily movements. I argue that this scene can be read as a literary dance highlighting a battle between gesture and gesticulation. The Veitstanz symbolizes the beginnings of modern dance seeking expression through the body. I develop the transition from gesticulation to dance by comparing the Veitstanz to performances that Rilke witnessed from 1902 to 1910 and to his modern aesthetic, developed through close interaction with Rodin’s work. By watching the man’s performance, Malte is forced to learn and write about the abrupt and angular aesthetics of early modern dance.