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Schoop (Trudi) (Collection on)
MS.P.071  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Acquisition Information
  • Processing History
  • Biography
  • Biographical/Historical note
  • Collection Scope and Content Summary
  • Collection Arrangement
  • Separation Note
  • Bibliography

  • Contributing Institution: Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
    Title: Collection on Trudi Schoop
    Identifier/Call Number: MS.P.071
    Physical Description: 1.7 Linear Feet (3 boxes and 3 oversized folders)
    Date (inclusive): circa 1905-1940, bulk circa 1931-1939
    Date (bulk): 1931-1939
    Abstract: The collection documents the life and career of comic dancer Trudi Schoop and contains photographs, programs, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and other ephemera. The majority of materials represent the activities of the Trudi Schoop Comic Ballet from 1931 to 1939. The collection also contains correspondence and photographs of Schoop's manager, Alfred Fischer, and other artists he managed. There is no information within the collection regarding Schoop's later career as a dance therapist.
    Language of Material: German .

    Access

    The collection is open for research.

    Publication Rights

    Property rights reside with the University of California. Intellectual property rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.

    Preferred Citation

    Collection on Trudi Schoop. MS-P071. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.
    For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

    Acquisition Information

    Acquired, 2007.

    Processing History

    Processed by Audrey Pearson, 2008.

    Biography

    Trudi Schoop (1903-1999) was a Swiss-born dancer and dance troupe leader who specialized in comic stage productions and was often likened to Charlie Chaplin. Later in life, Schoop was a pioneer in using dance therapy to treat mental illness.
    When Schoop was 17 she decided to embark on a career as a dancer. With no formal training, she convinced her father to rent a dance hall and hire a pianist for her show. Overall, the performance was a success despite the fact that the audience often laughed unexpectedly at serious points during the show. After her first performance, Schoop's father sent her to study classical ballet in Vienna and modern dance in Zürich. In 1926 she opened a dance school in Zürich and in 1931 she organized the Trudi Schoop Comic Ballet. Schoop's brother, Paul Schoop, composed the music for many of the company's acts. The troupe toured widely throughout Europe and the United States until the outbreak of World War II, during which Schoop performed in Switzerland for anti-Fascist cabarets. Touring resumed following the end of the war.
    Schoop ended her career as a performer in 1947 when she moved to Los Angeles. There she began to work with patients suffering from schizophrenia and was a pioneer in developing the field of dance therapy. Schoop died in 1999.

    Biographical/Historical note

    Chronology

    1903 October 9 Trudi Schoop born in Zürich.
    1920 December 14 Performs first dance recital at the Zürich Pfauentheater.
    1926 Opens school in Zürich.
    1931 Forms the Trudi Schoop Comic Ballet.
    1932 Trudi Schoop Comic Ballet awarded second place at a choreography competition in Paris.
    1937-1939 Tours Europe and the United States.
    1939 Disbands company.
    1946 Reassembles company.
    1947 Tours United States and Canada.
    1947 Settles in Los Angeles, California.
    1999 July 14 Dies in Van Nuys, California.

    Collection Scope and Content Summary

    This collection comprises photographs, programs, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and other ephemera documenting the life and career of comic dancer Trudi Schoop. The collection also contains correspondence and photographs of Schoop's manager, Alfred Fischer, and other artists he managed. The majority of materials represent the activities of the Trudi Schoop Comic Ballet from 1931 to 1939. There is no information within the collection regarding Schoop's later career as a dance therapist.

    Collection Arrangement

    This collection is arranged in four series.
    • Series 1. Photographs, circa 1905 - circa 1939. 0.7 linear feet
    • Series 2. Trudi Schoop biographical information, circa 1931 - circa 1939, 2006-2007. 0.05 linear feet
    • Series 3. Trudi Schoop Comic Ballet records, 1931-1940, 1999. 0.45 linear feet
    • Series 4. Programs, 1934-1939. 0.5 linear feet

    Separation Note

    Duplicate programs were removed and added to the following collection:
    • Dance Program and Ephemera Collection. MS-P26. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
    Chujoy, Anatole, and P. W. Manchester, ed. The Dance Encyclopedia. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. Clarke, Mary, and David Vaughan, ed. The Encyclopedia of Dance & Ballet. New York: Putnam, 1977. Merz, Richard. "Schoop, Trudi." In The International Encyclopedia of Dance, edited by Selma Jean Cohen. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. http://www.oxford- dance.com/entry?entry=t171.e1562. (accessed 31 January 2008).

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Women humorists
    Dancers -- Photographs.
    Dance -- Archives
    Dance cards
    Broadsides -- 20th century.
    Photographic prints -- 20th century.
    Women comedians.
    Choreographers.
    Souvenir programs -- 20th century.
    Schoop, Trudi -- Archives