Kurt Jooss
Es sei das Beste, was die ballettgewohnten Engländer seit den berauschenden Balletts-Russes-Vorstellungen gesehen hätten. Sie sind hingerissen vom Zusammengehen von modernem und klassischem Tanz, der erreichten Synthese von Musik, Tanz und Licht, den dramatischen und zeitbezogenen Inhalten und der Qualität der Gruppe.
[This was the best thing the ballet-going English had seen since the heady performances of the Ballet Russes. They were entranced by the merging of modern and classical dance, which achieved a synthesis between music, dance and light, the dramatic and time-related content and the quality of the group. (ed. trans.)]
Patricia Stöckemann talking about the reaction of the public and the press to the ballet performances by Kurt Jooss in British exile, 2001
| Born | on 12 January 1901 in Wasseralfingen, Germany |
|---|---|
| Died | on 22 May 1979 in Heilbronn, Federal Republic of Germany |
| Exile | Great Britain (United Kingdom) |
| Remigration | Federal Republic of Germany |
| Profession | Dancer, Choreograf |
Parallel to studying music in Stuttgart, Kurt Jooss discovered his enthusiasm for the art of dance through his acquaintance with the Hungarian choreographer Rudolf von Laban. In 1927 he founded the Folkwang experimental dance theatre studio in Essen. He became internationally known for the expressionist choreography of the piece Der grüne Tisch (The Green Table) (1932). When Adolf Hitler became Chancellor, Jooss faced increasing hostility from the conformist press. Unwilling to dismiss his Jewish employees, he emigrated with his entire ensemble to Maastricht on the Dutch border. In January 1934 he wrote to the Mayor of the city of Essen: "It is with a bleeding heart that I leave, according to your wish, a field of work that I have for seven years pursued with all my strength and with absolute devotion." (ed. trans.)
He found a new workplace at the Dartington Hall School in South Devon in England where he worked as a dance teacher. While his “Ballets Jooss” celebrated great successes on several international tours even after the war began, he was temporarily interned as an "enemy alien" in a camp on the Isle of Man in 1940. After a brief stint in Santiago de Chile, Kurt Jooss returned to the Folkwang Theatre in 1949, where he served as its artistic director until 1968. At the end of his life he worked a great deal in Stockholm.
Selected works:
Pavane auf den Tod einer Infantin (Ballett, 1929)
Der verlorene Sohn (Ballett, 1931)
Der grüne Tisch (Ballett, 1932)
Chronica (Ballett, 1939)
Pandora (Ballett, 1944)
Further reading:
Markard, Anna / Markard, Hermann: Jooss. Dokumentation hrsg. zur Ausstellung „Kurt Jooss – Leben und Werk“ im Museum Folkwang Essen anlässlich des Festivals „Folkwang ’85“. Köln: Ballett-Bühnen-Verlag 1985
Stöckemann, Patricia: Etwas ganz Neues muss nun entstehen. Kurt Jooss und das Tanztheater. München: K. Kieser 2001
Züllig, Hans: Das Jooss-Ballett im englischen Exil. In: Allende-Blin, Juan (Hg.): Musiktradition im Exil. Zurück aus dem Vergessen. Köln: Bund 1993, S. 205-219
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