Kurt Joose Background

Kurt Jooss was a very famous ballet dancer and choreographer mixing classical ballet with theater; he is also widely regarded as the founder of dance theater. Jooss is noted for establishing several dance companies. (We have watched videos which is choreographed by him, the most impressed one is green table) 

(Starting)
From a young age he was interested in singing, drama and visual arts, he also played the piano and was a keen photographer. He began his career from 1920 to 1924 studied under and danced lead roles in the choreography of Rudolf Laban (who was a trained visual artist and developer of dance theory).
Jooss used narratives and modern theater styles to make performable works of Dance Theater, further developing the work of Laban and his system of notation.
(The image on the left is Jooss were studying from Laban.)






(Developing)
In 1933 Jooss was forced to flee Germany when the Nazis asked him to dismiss the Jews from his company and he refused. Then Joose took refuge in the Netherlands before resettling in England.

In 1934, whilst in England Jooss added new works to his repertoire, including Pandora (1944), contained disturbing images of human disaster and tragedy, which was later interpreted by some as foretelling the dropping of the atom bombs on Japan a year later.

(Teaching)

Jooss left England in 1949 to return to Essen, Germany. Jooss continued to teach and choreograph for 19 years.

(Ending)

He retired in 1968 and died 11 years later in 1979 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.

                                            A video about Kurt Jooss, please begin with 2m10s