Jochen Schmidt

Jochen Schmidt (22 September 1936 – 10 October 2010) was a German journalist and book author, especially as a dance theatre expert. He became known through more than 30 years as a critic in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, reviewing also non-fiction books on dance and crime novels, and working for other papers and broadcasters. He closely watched Pina Bausch's Tanztheater Wuppertal, and published a biography of her. He wrote a book about the history of dance in the 20th century, observing mainly European, but also international innovations.

Life and work Schmidt was born in Borken. After studying economics (Nationalökonomie) at the University of Münster, the University of Cologne, and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, he began work as a journalist with the Düsseldorf .

From 1968 to 2003, Schmidt wrote dance theatre reviews as a critic for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). Schmidt promoted choreographers Hans van Manen and Martin Schläpfer as well as Henrietta Horn and Daniel Goldin. He shared her view that art and life should be closely connected. In 1998, he published a biography of her, entitled Tanzen gegen die Angst (Dancing against angst) as a summary of his knowledge and observations of her life and work. His dance-related estate is preserved in the Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln.

Publications As author Tanzgeschichte des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts in einem Band. Mit 101 Choreographenporträts. Henschel, Berlin 2002. Tanzen gegen die Angst. Pina Bausch. Biography. Econ and List, Munich 1998. 4th edition 2002. Isadora Duncan: Ich sehe Amerika tanzen List, Munich 2000. Tanztheater in Deutschland , Frankfurt,1992. Gangster, Opfer, Detektive. Eine Typengeschichte des Kriminalromans. Ullstein, Frankfurt 1989.

As editor with Hans-Dieter Dyroff: Tanzkultur in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland: zu Überlieferung und aktueller Situation. Dt. Unesco-Kommission, Bonn 1990.