By 1903 the Duncans could resist the lure of Greece no longer. And although Isadora took to twirling around Europe in Loie Fuller‘s troupe, she was born to lead, not to follow (and would soon acquire her own Little Monsters, the “Isadorables”). It was Raymond’s encounter in Paris with one such lifestyle reformer, Gusto Gräser, which proved decisive. At the time they were hardly alone in regarding earlier, simpler ways as the key to the future. They were possessed by the idea of reviving antiquity, Isadora in her art, Raymond in his life. Soon the two were in thrall to a world older still, spellbound by the ancient Greek artefacts in the British Museum and the Louvre. On the eve of the 20th century, dancer Isadora Duncan set sail for the Old World with her brother Raymond.

In the cafés, we needn’t even tax our (very) rudimentary Greek to discern the day’s other main topic of conversation: Lady Gaga, just arrived in the city to perform.īut we are here in a south-eastern stretch of the seemingly limitless Athenian sprawl to stalk the sandalled footsteps of her earlier compatriots. In the Athens of the South (or, “Athens”), Greeks – with their customary fearlessness in the face of controversy – want to engage the Partner and self in conversation about the Scottish referendum as soon as they hear us speaking English. Finally, Duncan's contribution to the founding and development of modern dance as an alternative theatre dance genre to ballet is characterised and her overall contribution to the evolution of Western theatre dance stated.In the Athens of the North, the answer this Friday morning is “no”. Her allegiance to a classical Greek-derived set and costume, preference for the music of the Romantic classical composers as accompaniment, commitment to an eclectic range of subject matter (with particular emphasis on socially relevant themes) and her pursuit of a harmonious, lyrical style are identified and discussed as crucial elements in Duncan's overall vision of dance as expression. Her reverence of the body and all 'natural' phenomena, her confident relocation of the body 'centre' along with her willing acceptance and exploitation of gravitational forces are seen to be fundamental factors in her work. Duncan is found to have made several important innovations. Fourthly, the results of the analysis are studied in conjunction with Duncan's own writings. Thirdly, a choreographic analysis is carried out on Duncan's oeuvre. These first two stages provide the documentary basis for the study, generate the descriptive source materials from which it is possible to gain access to Duncan's choreography and promote the discussion of the contexts of her life and the influences upon her work. Secondly, a chronology and two choreochronicles are presented. Firstly, a comprehensive collection of written, visual and aural materials is collated. A specifically devised methodology is employed which, in its successive stages, compensates for the lack of extant Duncan dances and allows the discussion of her work to be undertaken.

On the basis of a working hypothesis, that Duncan had a consistent set of values which underpinned her work and were manifest in her choreography, Duncan's life and work is examined and her particular innovations identified. Isadora Duncan (b.1877 d.1927) is acknowledged as one of the main founders of the modern dance theatre genre yet her choreography per se is both unresearched and generally dismissed.

Isadora duncan dance water study