Lineage and Influences of Isadora Duncan

“According to Isadora the development of her dance was natural phenomenon.” (1) She believed that in her movement she rediscovered natural beauty, tendency, and form. In her younger years she spent most of her time outdoors playing. She did not like school because she believed it impeded her experiencing nature. Isadora’s Mother played the piano and had an affinity for the music of Beethoven, Schumann, Mozart and Chopin. Her mother also exposed Duncan to the work of Shakespeare, Shelley, Keats and Burns at a young age. These things made her well versed in the Romantic Era of time. Isadora also gained her mother’s sense of rebelliousness against the Puritanical and Victorian strictures regarding the role of women, marriage and childbearing, fashion and education. Isadora also studied Rosseau, Nietzche, Darwin, and Haeckel. She visited countless museums to study all forms of art so that she was well versed in all forms.

Later in life, when she lived in Germany, Duncan was introduced to the philosophy of Frederick Nietzsche, and soon after that she began to formulate her own philosophy of dance. In 1903 she delivered a speech in Berlin called "The Dance of the Future." In it she argued that the dance of the future would be similar to the dance of the ancient Greeks, natural and free. “Duncan accused the ballet of "deforming the beautiful woman's body" and called for its abolition. She ended her speech by stating that "the dance of the future will have to become again a high religious art as it was with the Greeks. For art which is not religious is not art, is mere merchandise." It was during this period that Duncan began clarifying her theory of natural dance, identifying the source of the body's natural movement in the solar plexus.” (2) This speech showed her support for the women’s movement, as well as showed her supported for dance as a necessary part of children’s education and a means of living a healthy life.

Isadora collaborated with many artist of her time, she was influenced by their artwork and used literature, philosophy, and music to choreographer her dances. “Water Study” is one of Isadora’s choreographed works to Romantic era composer, Franz Schubert. Within the dance, the dancer is representing water and becoming water. In all of Isadora's dances, there are multiple layers of symbolism and expression. In response to Walt Whitman's famous poem “I See America Singing,” (Whitman was one of the many writers Isadora read and was inspired by) Isadora wrote an article entitled “I See America Dancing.” “She was also a muse of her time, inspiring many artists in their poems, sculptures, photos and paintings. Emile-Antoine Bourdelle used Isadora as his inspiration for the famous bas relief on the Champs Elysees in Paris. And Isadora almost single-handedly inspired the formation of the Ballet Russes in Russia after her 1905 visit… it manifested many of Isadora's ideas about dance, music and staging to work together to express more meaningful themes.” (3)

Isadora's dances allowed for exploration of the human condition, as an artist, rather than of simple storytelling. Many of her works expressed loneliness, sacrifice, ecstasy, pilgrimage, and self-discovery. It was rare for this time that movement represented feeling instead of a story; this is why Duncan was such a revolutionist. She showed how movement could be used for expression of the self not just a representation. Isadora was a modern artist of her time. She was grounded in Romantic ideals and influenced an entire generation. Though her life was more than 100 years ago her influence on the world of movement is still seen today.

Works Cited:

1. "About Isadora Duncan." About Isadora Duncan. Isadora Duncan Foundation, 2012. Web. 02 Mar. 2014. <http://www.isadoraduncan.org/the- foundation/about-isadora-duncan>.

2. "Chapter 2: The Solo Dancers." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2014. <http://www.pitt.edu/~gillis/dance/isadora.html>.

3. Durham, Valerie. "Isadora Duncan: Child of the Romantic, Rebel of the Victorian, Consummate Artist of the Modern." Duncandancers. Annapolis Maryland, 2007. Web. 02 Mar. 2014. <http://www.duncandancers.com/romanticism.html>.