Dance of Death: Kurt Jooss and the Weimar Years

The German choreographer Kurt Jooss (1901-1979) developed, with Sigurd Leeder, a style and technique of dance based on Laban’s principles of Space Harmony. Jooss’ contribution made a major impact on modern dance history and yet only four of his ballets survive intact today: Pavanne on the Death of an Infanta , Big City , A Ball in Old Vienna and the anti-war ballet The Green Table . This work describes and analyzes these four ballets, placing the birth of modern dance and the development of Jooss’ social and humanitarian concerns within the cultural and political context of the Weimar Republic.