Jooss, Kurt (EN)

Jooss Kurt, *12 January 1901 Wasseralfingen, †22 May 1979 Heilbronn, German dancer, choreographer, and teacher. In 1920–21, he studied at the conservatory in Stuttgart, where he met R. v. Laban, with whom he worked in Mannheim and Hamburg in 1922–23. In 1924–25, he was a ballet master in Münster, where he created the so-called Neue Tanzbühne (New Dance Stage) in collaboration with Estonian dancer (his future wife) Aino Siimola, dancer S. Leeder, composer F. Cohen and set designer H. Heckroth. This ensemble produced his first ballets, including: Ein persisches Märchen (music by E. Wellesz, 1924), Der Dämon (music by P. Hindemith, 1925), Die Brautfahrt (music by J.Ph. Rameau and F. Couperin, 1925), Tragödie (music by F. Cohen, 1926), Kaschemme (music by F. Cohen, 1926). After additional studies in classical dance in Vienna and Paris, from 1927 he headed the dance department at the Folkwangschule in Essen, from which the Folkwang Tanztheater, established in 1928 by Jooss, originated. In 1930–33, he was ballet master at the theatre in Essen, where his company worked under the name Folkwang Tanzbühne; it was there, that he created his most outstanding ballet choreography, for Der grüne Tisch (The Green Table, music by F. Cohen); in 1932, this work with a clearly political, anti-war message, that same year received the gold medal at the Choreography Competition in Paris. In 1933, he emigrated to England with his company, which operated there until 1947 under the name Ballets Jooss (based in Dartington and, during the war, in Cambridge), touring extensively in Europe (1934 and 1937 in Poland), North and South America. In 1948, he worked as a choreographer in Santiago de Chile. Between 1949 and 1968, he again directed the dance department in Essen, where he also resumed the activities of his company, Folkwang Tanztheater; he also collaborated with other German and foreign companies. Towards the end of his life, he only performed his old ballets on stages around the world, with the help of his daughter and assistant Anna Markard-Jooss. As an outstanding representative of ballet pantomime, he was also invited to choreograph Baroque operas and oratorios: The Fairy Queen (music by H. Purcell, Essen 1959), Castor e Pollux (music by J.Ph. Rameau, Essen 1962), Dido and Aeneas (music by H. Purcell, Essen 1966), Rappresentazione di anima e di corpo (music by E. de’Cavalieri, Salzburg 1966), Belshazzar (music by G.F. Händel, Geneva 1972), Acis and Galatea (music by G.F. Händel, Salzburg 1972). 

Jooss was a pioneer of contemporary dance theatre. He was the first to aim for a synthesis of modern dance, classical dance, and pantomime in highly theatrical, expressive choreographic forms. He attached great importance to the expressiveness of dance, characterisation, and the acting skills of dancers. He drew on contemporary social and political themes, which had previously been overlooked by choreographers. His ballets were characterised by great expressiveness; they were usually presented against a black backdrop and in very conventional sets, but with intense lighting. He was the most prominent representative of expressionism in dance, and his work had a major influence on the development of contemporary choreography.

Literature: A.V. Coton The New Ballet. Kurt Jooss and his Work, London 1946; A. i H. Markard Jooss. Dokumentation, Köln 1985; P. Stöckemann Etwas ganz Neues muß nun entstehen. Kurt Jooss und das Tanztheater, München 2001.