Jooss, Kurt

(born Jan. 12, 1901, Wasseralfingen, Ger.—died May 22, 1979, Heilbronn, W.Ger.) German dancer, teacher, and choreographer. After studying dance with Rudolf Laban (1920–24), he established a school and company. He became ballet master at the Essen Opera House in 1930, where he choreographed his signature ballet, (1932). He moved his school and company to England in 1934, and his renamed Ballets Jooss toured worldwide until disbanding in 1947. He returned in 1949 to Essen, where he continued to choreograph works that combined ballet and modern dance in an Expressionist style.

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