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.
 

People

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.
 

Productions

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

 

Correspondence

 

Alfred Fischer

box 3, folder 4

Personal 1933-1940, undated

Scope and Contents note

Includes letters from actresses Lucie Mannheim and Luise Rainer.
 

Professional 1934-1940

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 9

Trudi Schoop 1934-1940

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 11

Artwork undated

box 3, folder 12, folder XOS 01, box FB-030, folder 8

Broadsides and announcements 1938, undated

 

Programs

box 3, folder 13

Event programs 1934-1939, undated

box 3, folder 14

Souvenir programs circa 1935-1939