Guide to the Collection on Trudi Schoop MS.P.071
Processed by Audrey Pearson; machine-readable finding aid created by Audrey
Pearson
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine
Libraries
© 2008
The UCI Libraries
P.O. Box 19557
University of California, Irvine
Irvine 92623-9557
spcoll@uci.edu
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
Photographs Series 1.
circa 1905 - circa 1939, bulk 1931- 1939
Physical Description: 0.7 Linear
Feet
General Physical Description note: no content
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series comprises photographic prints and photographic negatives of Trudi Schoop,
her company, her family, and other artists managed by Alfred Fischer. Prints of some
negatives are not available.
Arrangement
Alphabetical by subject
Restrictions
Photographic negatives are restricted.
box 1, folder 1
Artists managed by Alfred Fischer
undated
General Physical Description note: 23 black-and-white photographic
prints
Scope and Contents note
Includes photographs of actors Lisa Czobel, Sylvia von Rodenberg, Ernst Deutsch,
Albert Bassermann, Else Bassermann, Tilla Durieux, and Alexander Moissi.
box 1, folder 2
Schoop family
circa 1905- circa1920
General Physical Description note: 54 black-and-white photographic prints, 26
photographic negatives
Conditions Governing Access note
Photographic negatives are restricted.
Scope and Contents note
Includes photographs of Schoop as a child with her parents and brother, and a
photograph of Schoop acting as Gretchen in "Faust."
box 1, folder 3-5
Trudi Schoop: commercial portraits by Mannell London and others
circa 1930-circa 1939
General Physical Description note: 76 black-and-white photographic prints, 2
photographic negatives
Conditions Governing Access note
Photographic negatives are restricted.
Trudi Schoop Comic Ballet
box 1, folder 6
Candid photographs
circa 1920-circa 1939
General Physical Description note: 28 black-and-white photographic
prints
Scope and Contents note
Includes photographs of Trudi Schoop with Alfred Fischer in St. Moritz,
Switzerland; Trudi Schoop dancers in casual attire; and Trudi Schoop with brother
Paul Schoop.
box 1, folder 7-10
Portraits by Margot Meyer, Vandamm Studio, Kurt Kahle, and Anna
Riwkin
circa 1931-circa 1939
General Physical Description note: 139 black-and-white photographic
prints
Scope and Contents note
Includes portraits of dancers Elisabeth Lesse, Helga Weigert, Max Fickel, Meta
Krahn, Niels Björn Larsen, Werner Herrmann, Didi Lederer, Jeanette Dublow, Hanna
Berger, Gitta Wallerstein, Ellen Liy, and Otto Ulbricht, and musical director and
composer Lothan Perl.
box 2, folder 1-2
Alles aus Liebe [
All
for Love
]
circa 1931- circa1939
General Physical Description note: 64 black-and-white photographic
prints
Scope and Contents note
Photographed by Kurt Kahle.
box 2, folder 3-4
Die Blonde Marie [
Blond Marie]
circa 1931-circa 1939
General Physical Description note: 49 black-and-white photographic
prints
Scope and Contents note
Photographed by Anna Riwkin, Kurt Kahle, and Heinz Guggenbühl. Includes three
photographs of the cast with Shirley Temple.
box 2, folder 5
Fridolin Unterwegs [
Fridolin on the Road]
circa 1931-circa 1939
General Physical Description note: 12 black-and-white photographs
box 2, folder 6-8
Unidentified productions
circa 1931-circa 1939
General Physical Description note: 56 black-and-white photographic prints and
3 contact sheets
Scope and Contents note
Photographed by Dora Horovitz, Anna Riwkin, Kurt Kahle.
box 2, folder 9
Miscellaneous unidentified photographs
Trudi Schoop biographical information Series 2.
circa 1931 - circa 1939, 2006-2007
Physical Description: 0.05 Linear
Feet
General Physical Description note: no content
Arrangement
Alphabetical by format
box 2, folder 10
Biographical information
2006-2007, undated
box 2, folder 11
Offprint: "Warum denn tanzen,"
Schweizer
Spiegel
circa 1931-circa 1939
Trudi Schoop Comic Ballet records Series 3.
1931-1940, 1999, bulk 1933-1940
Physical Description: 0.45 Linear
Feet
General Physical Description note: no content
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series comprises clippings, correspondence, contracts, and other company records
of the Trudi Schoop Comic Ballet and manager Alfred Fischer, including some files on
other artists Fischer managed.
Arrangement
Alphabetical by format
Restrictions
Access to fragile original clippings is restricted. Researchers must use
photocopies.
box 2, folder 12, box 3, folder 1-2
Clippings
1931-1938, 1999, undated
Conditions Governing Access note
Fragile original clippings are restricted.
Scope and Contents note
Clippings were gathered by a variety of press clipping services.
box 3, folder 3, box FB-030, folder 7
Contracts, touring lists, and other materials
1935-1940, undated
box 3, folder 4
Personal
1933-1940, undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes letters from actresses Lucie Mannheim and Luise Rainer.
box 3, folder 5-6
Trudi Schoop Comic Ballet
1933-1939, undated
box 3, folder 7
Other artists managed
1933-1940, undated
box 3, folder 8
Miscellaneous correspondence and financial documentation
box 3, folder 10
Miscellaneous correspondence and ephemera
1936, undated
Programs and broadsides Series 4.
1934-1939
Physical Description: 0.5 Linear
Feet
General Physical Description note: no content
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series comprises broadsides, announcements, and event and souvenir programs for
Trudi Schoop Comic Ballet performances.
Arrangement
Alphabetical by format
box 3, folder 12, folder XOS 01, box FB-030, folder 8
Broadsides and announcements
1938, undated
box 3, folder 13
Event programs
1934-1939, undated
box 3, folder 14
Souvenir programs
circa 1935-1939