From a performance by the Bavarian Junior BalletWatch the Brilliant Ballet that Brought Dance to the Bauhaus MovementMarch 3, 2025Grace EbertGiven the emphasis on functionality and design for industrial production, the Bauhaus movement is rarely associated with disciplines like dance. But for Oskar Schlemmer (1888-1943), translating its principles into movement and performance was as compelling as a well-conceived chair or building.In the last century, the Bauhaus has indelibly shaped our modern built environments and the ways we think of the relationship between form and function (it even inspired conceptual cookbooks). German architectWalter Gropiusfounded the school in 1919 in Weimar, Germany, with the intention of uniting architecture, fine arts, and crafts. The school focused on minimalism and creating for the social good and involved artists and designers like Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Lszl Moholy-Nagy, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, and Anni and Josef Albers.Costume designs for the Triadic Ballet. Courtesy of Harvard Art MuseumsThe Master of Form at the Bauhaus theatre workshop, Schlemmer was a painter, sculptor, and choreographer responsible for the under-known Triadic Ballet, a striking, playful dance structured around groups of three. Debuted in 1922, the avant-garde production comprises three colorsyellow, pink or white, and blackand three costume shapesthe square, circle, and triangle.Building on multiples of three, says an explanation from MoMA, transcended the egotism of the individual and dualism of the couple, emphasizing the collective.In true Bauhaus form, the idea was to eliminate the decorative frills associated with ballet, including tutus that allow bodies to bend, twist, and explore a full range of mobility. Instead, Schlemmers costumes restrict movement and add a modern quality as dancers appear stifled and almost mechanical, a nod to the movements focus on accessibility through mass production and turning art into industry.Several of Schlemmers illustrations for the ballet are available online, including his bizarre sculptural costume designs with wide, bubbly skirts and vibrantly striped sleeves. MoMAs collections contain a print titled Figures in Space, which reveals one of the performances foremost preoccupations: how bodies move and interact in space.As seen in a fully colorized film of the dance from the 1970s, the dancers are incredibly deliberate as they navigate sparse sets with clean lines. Open Culture notes that they appear almost like pantomimes or puppets with figures in awkward costumes tracing various shapes around the stage and each other.A few years back, Great Big Story created a video visiting the Bavarian Junior Ballet as it prepared for a performance. The costumes are faithful to Schlemmers vision and retain the rigid geometries and bright palettes. As noted by director Ivan Lika, the strange attire combined with the jilted, robotic choreography often leaves the audience laughing. Its very successful because the audience cant believe this is 100 years old, he says. There you see the visionary power of Oskar Schlemmer.Triadic Ballet is rarely reproduced, but Bavarian Junior Ballet will bring the work back to the stage this June to celebrate its 15th anniversary. And if youre in New York, you can see one of Schlemmers studies in Living in the Age of the Machine at MoMA. Its also worth exploring The Oskar Schlemmer Theatre Estate and Archives, which boasts a trove of archival imagery and drawings on its website.From a performance by the Bavarian Junior BalletSome of the original costumesNext article