Mary Wigman (1886-1973), born Karoline Sophie Marie Wiegmann, was a German dancer, choreographer, and instructor of dance. Credited for innovation of expressionist dance, and pioneer of modern dance in Germany

Karoline Sophie Marie Wiegmann was born on November 13, 1886 in Hannover, Germany. In 1910, she enrolled in School of Rhythmic Gymnastics at Hellerau (outside of Dresden).

At the age of 27 (in 1913), Mary began studying dance at Monte Verità under Rudolf Laban, an important innovator in contemporary dance at the time. Also studied with Émile Jaques-Dalcroze.

Wigman started a school in Dresden in 1920, which became known as a center for modern dance innovation. Her students and collaborators there included Yvonne Georgi, Hanya Holm, Harald Kreutzberg, Gret Palucca, Max Terpis, Margarethe Wallmann, and Inge Weiss.

Mary Wigman toured the United States in 1930 with her company of dancers; a school was founded by her disciples in New York City in 1931.

Her schools in Germany were closed during World War II, but she began teaching again in Leipzig in 1948; from 1950 (until her death in 1973), Mary Wigman taught at a studio in West Berlin.

Mary Wigman's choreographies often employed non-Western instrumentation: fifes, bells, gongs, and drums from India, Thailand, Africa, and China. However, the primary musical accompaniment for her most well known dances was percussion, which contrasted greatly with her use of silence. Mary would often employ masks in her pieces, influenced again by non-western/tribal motifs, as well as ecstatic spinning.

Mary Wigman died on September 18, 1973 in Berlin.