Great to see this still being viewed almost 30 years later. Lotte's daughter, Esther Fairfax. is still going strong. I am about to train with her. She has just published a memoir called 'My Improper Mother and Me'. A fascinating insight into their relationship and the early days of the classes. Highly recommended!
Tomorrow I'm going to try to track down "Lose Inches With Lotte" so I can alternate it with Callenetic. Or if that fails I'll order "Denise Welch - You Can Do It!". Her daughter's studio id only 30 mins from me so I might pop over and have a look. Thank you once again for taking the time to educate me about the LBM's history and all the other interesting tidbits. You're a star!:D
Lotte Berks daughter still teaches the technique today. Back in 2004 she helped produce a DVD that stayed pretty true to Lotte's original technique. It was called "Denise Welch - You Can Do It!". You can find it on Amazon .co.uk
Wow!Thank you so much for the info about Lotte and clearing up my misconception. I always get annoyed if I think someone has been taking advantage of in any way.LOL I'm an ex-dancer (15 years of classical & modern ballet) so I know a lot about Martha Graham's dance techniques. I agree that Lotte "borrowed" a lot from her training as a dancer. I am also a Callanetics fan (my Mom has used her vids since the 80s) but I had no idea that it was #1 exercise vid of all time!
Apparently Lotte Berk was never interested in watching a Callanetics class. Many people told her about Callan Pinckney and she didn't care until she started being harassed by reporters for comments.
Nothing has ever come close in terms of sales. Jane Fonda is the closest competition. It's often wrongly reported that she is the number 1 seller in fitness videos. It's true that the Jane Fonda series of videos has sold more than any other 'series', but for individual videos Callanetics is still number 1 worldwide.
Callanetics was significantly different to Lotte Berk and justified having it's own name. Callan Pinckney was such an adorable personality and the marketing behind her books and videos was pure genius. In fact the original Callanetics video is still the number 1 all-time selling fitness in the world.
Lotte Berk had no interest in marketing or exploiting her technique. That's one of the reasons why she let Lydia Bach buy the world-wide rights to her name in the 70s. So while Lydia went on to have relative success in the US, poor Lotte received no royalties.
The whole idea of Callanetics is quite different to that of Lotte Berk. Callan Pinckney borrowed the structure of the class in terms of having an order in which you perform the exercises. She also developed upon some of the positions. But the original Lotte Berk technique is really quite vigorous and absolutely nothing like Callanetics. If you run the two classes side-by-side they couldn't look more different.
OMG! This is actually the real Lotte Berk speaking from her Manchester Street studio in London. Lotte was the orignal creator of the Lotte Berk method. Her method was bastardized by ex-students Callen Pickney and Lydia Bach. Lydia bought her version to the US first in the early 1970s but I think Callenetics is much closer to the original method. She never made a penny and they both tried to take credit for her work::- ( Anyway, where in the world did you get this?!? I'd love a copy!:D
@joie30303 PART 1 (will be a long so I'll break it up in parts).
The video is called "Lose Inches With Lotte" and was released in the UK in 1982. You can occasionally spot VHS copies on eBay. It has an interview with Lotte herself at the beginning and she makes comments throughout the video. It's great!
Callan Pinckney certainly used elements of Lotte's work in her technique. But Lotte actually stole quite heavily from exercises that Martha Graham and other contemporary dancers used to teach.
Absolutely wonderful! I was looking for an original copy with Lotte Berk! The music & model and the original instruction of Lotte Berk is fantastic. Thanks for posting it & do let us know where to get this on DVD!
Great to see this still being viewed almost 30 years later. Lotte's daughter, Esther Fairfax. is still going strong. I am about to train with her. She has just published a memoir called 'My Improper Mother and Me'. A fascinating insight into their relationship and the early days of the classes. Highly recommended!
jeniferwren23 6 months ago
I can't find it anywhere :'(
candlecane 6 months ago
only schizophrenic can do that !
6labi4 1 year ago
Her stern voice frightens me...
lol
QueenSemiramis 1 year ago
Can this be uploaded onto Ares or something like that? I want a copy but I can't find one for sale.
marymargaretd 1 year ago
@marymargaretd There's a copy for sale on eBay UK right now. Just search "Lotte Berk".
planetbenjamin 1 year ago
@marymargaretd Did you finally find one? I am still searching for a copy and can't find it anywhere!
candlecane 6 months ago
Part 2:
Tomorrow I'm going to try to track down "Lose Inches With Lotte" so I can alternate it with Callenetic. Or if that fails I'll order "Denise Welch - You Can Do It!". Her daughter's studio id only 30 mins from me so I might pop over and have a look. Thank you once again for taking the time to educate me about the LBM's history and all the other interesting tidbits. You're a star!:D
joie30303 1 year ago
PART 7: (read parts 1-6 first!!)
Lotte Berks daughter still teaches the technique today. Back in 2004 she helped produce a DVD that stayed pretty true to Lotte's original technique. It was called "Denise Welch - You Can Do It!". You can find it on Amazon .co.uk
planetbenjamin 1 year ago 2
@planetbenjamin Part 1:
Wow!Thank you so much for the info about Lotte and clearing up my misconception. I always get annoyed if I think someone has been taking advantage of in any way.LOL I'm an ex-dancer (15 years of classical & modern ballet) so I know a lot about Martha Graham's dance techniques. I agree that Lotte "borrowed" a lot from her training as a dancer. I am also a Callanetics fan (my Mom has used her vids since the 80s) but I had no idea that it was #1 exercise vid of all time!
joie30303 1 year ago
PART 6:
Apparently Lotte Berk was never interested in watching a Callanetics class. Many people told her about Callan Pinckney and she didn't care until she started being harassed by reporters for comments.
planetbenjamin 1 year ago
PART 5:
Nothing has ever come close in terms of sales. Jane Fonda is the closest competition. It's often wrongly reported that she is the number 1 seller in fitness videos. It's true that the Jane Fonda series of videos has sold more than any other 'series', but for individual videos Callanetics is still number 1 worldwide.
planetbenjamin 1 year ago
PART 4:
Callanetics was significantly different to Lotte Berk and justified having it's own name. Callan Pinckney was such an adorable personality and the marketing behind her books and videos was pure genius. In fact the original Callanetics video is still the number 1 all-time selling fitness in the world.
planetbenjamin 1 year ago
PART 3:
Lotte Berk had no interest in marketing or exploiting her technique. That's one of the reasons why she let Lydia Bach buy the world-wide rights to her name in the 70s. So while Lydia went on to have relative success in the US, poor Lotte received no royalties.
planetbenjamin 1 year ago
PART 2:
I guess there is nothing new under the sun.
The whole idea of Callanetics is quite different to that of Lotte Berk. Callan Pinckney borrowed the structure of the class in terms of having an order in which you perform the exercises. She also developed upon some of the positions. But the original Lotte Berk technique is really quite vigorous and absolutely nothing like Callanetics. If you run the two classes side-by-side they couldn't look more different.
planetbenjamin 1 year ago 2
OMG! This is actually the real Lotte Berk speaking from her Manchester Street studio in London. Lotte was the orignal creator of the Lotte Berk method. Her method was bastardized by ex-students Callen Pickney and Lydia Bach. Lydia bought her version to the US first in the early 1970s but I think Callenetics is much closer to the original method. She never made a penny and they both tried to take credit for her work::- ( Anyway, where in the world did you get this?!? I'd love a copy!:D
joie30303 1 year ago
@joie30303 PART 1 (will be a long so I'll break it up in parts).
The video is called "Lose Inches With Lotte" and was released in the UK in 1982. You can occasionally spot VHS copies on eBay. It has an interview with Lotte herself at the beginning and she makes comments throughout the video. It's great!
Callan Pinckney certainly used elements of Lotte's work in her technique. But Lotte actually stole quite heavily from exercises that Martha Graham and other contemporary dancers used to teach.
planetbenjamin 1 year ago
is that her?
smurfieboo 1 year ago
hello
itshardfindingausern 1 year ago
Absolutely wonderful! I was looking for an original copy with Lotte Berk! The music & model and the original instruction of Lotte Berk is fantastic. Thanks for posting it & do let us know where to get this on DVD!
KarinaPhi10 3 years ago 5
Thanks for posting this. I recently started doing Lotte Berk method myself. Hope to see more! ^_^
SilverClaudia 3 years ago
Love Lotte Berk Method! Where did you find this?
marymargaretd 3 years ago 2
love this class please post more!
cmirams 3 years ago 2