Quotes by Isadora Duncan
"Imagine
then a dancer who, after long study, prayer and inspiration, has attained such
a degree of understanding that his body is simply the luminous manifestation
of his soul; whose body dances in accordance with a music heard inwardly, in
an expression of something out of another, profounder world. This is the truly
creative dancer; natural but not imitative, speaking in movement out of
himself and out of something greater than all selves."
Isadora Duncan
The Philosopher's Stone of Dancing, 1920
"I spent long days and nights in the studio, seeking that
dance which might be the divine expression of the human spirit through the
medium of the body's movement. For hours I would stand quite still, my two
hands folded between my breast, covering the solar plexus… I was seeking
and finally discovered the central spring of all movement, the crater of motor
power, the unity from which all diversions of movement are born, the mirror of
vision for the creation of dance."
Isadora Duncan
My Life, 1928
"Standing with one foot poised on the highest point of the
Rockies, her two hands stretched out from the Atlantic to the Pacific, her
fine head tossed to the sky, her forehead shining with a crown of a million
stars."
Isadora Duncan
The Art of Dance
Biography of Isadora Duncan
Born
in 1878 in San Francisco, Isadora Duncan grew up in a childhood filled with
imagination and art. Her mother introduced her four children (Isadora was
youngest) to classical music, as well as Shakespeare, poetry, literature and
art. Isadora spent many hours playing and dancing upon the beach, and even
taught dance classes to younger children as a way to earn a little extra money
for the struggling family. In her teenage years, Isadora traveled to Chicago
and New York with some of her family members, working and performing in
various productions such as Mme. Pygmalion, Midsummer's Night Dream
or vaudeville shows with limited success. It was not until she reached London,
however, that Isadora began to find acceptance for her dancing. She performed
in private "salons" for ladies of social standing and their guests in London
and Paris. Gradually her popularity grew, and she began performing on great
stages throughout Europe. It was not until she reached London, however, that
Isadora began to find acceptance for her dancing. She performed in private
"salons" for ladies of social standing and their guests in London and Paris.
Gradually her popularity grew, and she began performing on great stages
throughout Europe. The financial drain of her schools (schools were also
established in Russia and Paris at various points in her life) forced Isadora
to tour and perform considerably, leaving her sister Elizabeth in charge of
the schools and pupils. Though not a believer in what she saw as the chains of
marriage, Isadora did have two children, Deidre and Patrick, with two of her
lovers, Gordon Craig and Paris Singer. Tragically the two children drowned
with their governess in the Seine river in 1913. The following years were
difficult for Isadora, and she stopped dancing for a time. Finally, however,
she found a renewed artistic energy when she returned to her schools and her
"foster" children, the school pupils. She even adopted six of those children,
the "Isadorables" as they were billed by the press later when they began to
perform with Isadora. Tragically, Isadora's life was cut short in 1927 in a
car accident along the Riveria. However, Isadora's spirit lives on through the
tremendous influence she had, not only in dance, but on all art forms, in
society and on cultural norms.-The Isadora Duncan Foundation