Ernst Uthoff

Uthoff, Ernst (b Duisburg, 28 Dec. 1904, d Santiago de Chile, 19 Feb. 1993). German-Chilean dancer, choreographer, teacher, and company director. He studied with Laban, Jooss, and Leeder and joined the Folkwang Ballet in 1927. He created the role of Standard Bearer in Jooss's landmark The Green Table (1932) and the Libertine in his Big City. Along with the other members of the Jooss company, he left Germany in the mid-1930s (when the Nazis took over) and settled in England. However, following the Ballets Jooss tour to South America in 1940, he decided to settle in Santiago with his wife Lola Botka a year later. Together they opened a dance school at the University of Chile, out of which was born the Chilean National Ballet (Ballet Nacional Chileno). He choreographed many dance theatre works for the company and retired in 1965 after 24 years as director. A list of Uthoff's ballets includes Drosselbart, Don Juan, Petrushka, The Prodigal Son, Alotria, and Carmina Burana, his greatest success. His son Michael, a dancer, choreographer, and ballet director, worked in America. Among the companies he directed were the Hartford Ballet and Ballet Arizona.