bˈɜːɡaʊs wʌz bˈɔːɹn ɪn dɹˈɛzdən ænd stˈʌdid ɛkspɹˈɛʃənˌɪst dˈæns ænd dˈæns dᵻɹˈɛkʃən wɪð ɡɹˈɛt pˈælʌkə ðɛɹ ænd wʌz ɐn ɐdvˈænst stˈuːdənt æt ðə dʒˈɜːmən ɐkˈædəmi ʌv ˈɑːɹts ɪn bɜːlˈɪn, æt lˈiːst pˈɑːɹt ʌvðə tˈaɪm ˌʌndɚ wˈɔltɚ fˈɛlsənstˌaɪn ɐsˈoʊsɪˌeɪɾᵻd wɪððə kˈɑːmɪʃ ˈɑːpɚɹ ˈiːst bɜːlˈɪn hiː fˈaʊndᵻd ɐlˈɔŋ wɪð hɪz tˈuː ˈʌðɚ fˈɜːst lˈiːdɪŋ pɹətˈeɪɡˈeɪz, ɡˈɜːts fɹˈiːdɹɪtʃ ænd dʒˈoʊəkˌɪm hˈɜːz nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd twˈɛnti fˈoːɹ tˈuː θˈaʊzənd tˈɛn.
Berghaus was born in Dresden and studied Expressionist dance and Dance direction with Gret Palucca there and was an advanced student at the German Academy of Arts in Berlin, at least part of the time under Walter Felsenstein – associated with the Komische Oper East Berlin he founded – along with his two other first leading protégés, Götz Friedrich and Joachim Herz (1924–2010).