Mime, Dancer, Movement Therapist
She is recognized as one of the pioneers in the field of dance and movement therapy by the American Dance Therapy Association. Known as "the female Charlie Chaplin," she was born Gertrude Schoop to a prominent family in Zurich, Switzerland. Her father was editor of the Neue Zurcher Zeitung and president of Dolder Hotels. She married Hans Wickihalder in 1929 and soon after formed a troupe, Trudi Schoop and Her Comic Ballet. They traveled throughout Europe, until she was discovered by impresario, Sol Hurok. She successfully toured the United States from 1937 to 1939. Some of her better-known pieces in mime were Fridolin, Want Ads, The Blonde Marie, and Hurray for Love. New York Times critic, Thomas Mann, wrote of her, "This woman is a phenomenon in her talent for humorously affective expression," and the dance critic John Martin hailed The Blonde Marie for its "great gusto and good humor." She remained in Switzerland throughout World War II, often performing in anti-Fascist cabaret shows. She resumed touring when the war ended offering a New York season in 1947. Following the death of her husband in 1951, she settled in the Los Angeles area and began a second career as a therapist. She worked for many years in psychiatric hospitals, including Camarillo State Hospital, during which time she developed the ''body-ego technique,'' a dance therapy, which used movement to help lead patients out of isolation so that they could respond to, rather than shrink from, human contact. She taught many who wished to become dance therapists through classes and workshops in the United States and Europe, and in 1974 co-wrote a seminal book, "Won't You Join the Dance?" describing her work and her beliefs that has been translated into several languages.