Kurt Jooss

Kurt Jooss (12 January 1901 to 22 May 1979) was a German ballet dancer and choreographer who mixed classical ballet with theatre and is widely regarded as the founder of Tanztheater. Born in Wasseralfingen, he studied under and danced lead roles for Rudolf von Laban from 1920 to 1924, then founded his own company, Die Neue Tanzbuhne, and with Sigurd Leeder opened the school that became the Folkwang Schule in Essen. He preferred themes addressing moral issues to plotless dance. His most important work, The Green Table (1932), an anti-war statement, won first prize at an international choreography competition in Paris. He fled Germany in 1933 after refusing to dismiss Jewish members of his company, resettled in England, ran a school at Dartington Hall, and toured widely with the Jooss Ballet until it disbanded in 1947.