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