Background
Jaap Flier was born in Scheveningen, Netherlands, and studied with Sonia Gaskell.
Jaap Flier was born in Scheveningen, Netherlands, and studied with Sonia Gaskell.
He made his debut as a dancer in 1950 with Ballet Recital and then took a dance position with Netherlands Ballet. He made his debut as choreographer with The Trial in 1955. He also appeared as a dancer in the film Karneval in 1961.
He served as director of the Australian Dance Theatre from 1973-1975 and director of the Dance Company (NSW) in Sydney from 1975-1976.
He then returned to the Netherlands where he worked teaching dance. In 1968, he was honored as Knight of the Order of Orange, Nassau.
Jaap was a founding member of Netherlands Dance Theatre in 1959 and worked as one of its principal dancers.