Jooss, Kurt [key], 1901–79, German dancer, producer, and choreographer. Jooss was a student of Rudolf von Laban and was influenced by Émile Jacques-Dalcroze. The Green Table (1932), his most famous ballet, was an expressionistic view of the origins of war. Leaving Germany after the rise of Hitler, he worked in England with his Ballets Jooss and toured in many European and American cities, returning to Germany after the war. His group was disbanded in 1962; Jooss continued to perform with other Western European companies. His ballets, including Chronica, The Big City, A Spring Tale, and Pandora, have influenced the development of psychological themes in ballet.
See A. V. Coton, The New Ballet: Kurt Jooss and His Work (1946).
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