Sam Chior (1906)

Sam Chior (real name Shmuel Wolf Borisovich Fridlander) (06.01.1906, Libau [Liepāja] — ?) — dancer, choreographer, teacher, and director.

In 1914, Chior’s family was evacuated to St. Petersburg. He studied at the 4th elementary school in St. Petersburg, then at Budkov Gymnasium in Libau. In 1923–1924, he studied at the Mary Wigman School of Choreography in Dresden, and in 1924–1927 at the Institute of Arts and Dance School in Berlin.

In 1927, his first performance took place in Riga, where he also founded his own studio-theatre (school of plastic dance). The foundation of his choreographic work was rhythm, dynamics, and space. He staged numerous character dances. Among his notable productions was “Orpheus and Eurydice” (1932). At the same time, he worked as a choreographer for productions at the Latvian Workers’ Theatre.

He toured in Moscow (autumn 1934) and in Poland (1936–1939). In 1939, he returned to Riga, where he continued staging productions and directing his dance studio.

On 27 June 1941, he managed to leave occupied Riga on foot. He lived in Dagestan, where he directed a children’s song and dance ensemble. In 1945, at the invitation of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Latvian SSR, he returned to Riga. He worked as a ballet master at the Latvian State Philharmonic, and from 1946 — as a ballet master at the Theatre for Young Spectators (TYuZ). In 1948–1949, he taught at the Riga Theatre Institute.

Lit.: Segodnya vecherom (1930, no. 193; 1932, no. 280; 1933, no. 98; 1934, no. 29; 1938, no. 167; 1939, no. 190; 1940, no. 30).