When I was eleven years old, I was brought to the studio of a Russian dance master. I recall well the musty smells of his small, dark studio, the constant ticking of an antiquated clock, and the many old photographs of dancers from an earlier era - including some of him. His classes had no prescribed techniques. He taught his pupils to move from their own center, to free up their individual creative energies. So we simply danced freely to whatever music he played.
In this way I became part of a small group of children who danced periodically in our town park. We danced barefoot in white flowing Grecian-like tunics and flower wreaths in our hair, and flowing scarves.
That small group represented perhaps one of the last scattered remnants of what was known as the Duncan School of dance. And this curious man was my indirect link to the famous dancer, Isadora Duncan.
She was my first mentor and inspiration. I wanted to emulate - not only her art - but her life as well. I admired her free spirit, her enormous courage. Here was a beautiful, creative woman who dared to do and to be what she wanted. Even the tragedies of her life seemed dramatic and exciting to me.
It was not until years later that I understood the tremendous impact she had on the theatrical world, and particularly her great influence on the development of modern American dance.
Isadora Duncan was born in San Francisco in 1878. It was a comparatively quiet world then - those closing years of the Victorian era. Women had their prescribed place. The conventional was beautiful. Novelty was accepted as long as it didn't venture too deep. It was all right as a little diversion.
Popular theatrical dance reflected this attitude. It was either pretty or spectacular; but it was not seriously considered an art. Traditional classic ballet, which at that time had been mainly preserved in Russia, displayed lavish and elaborate productions, designed to entertain the elite who had their favorite ballerinas.
No fine, self-respecting family would ever consider dance as a possible career for their daughters. But there were rumblings and stirrings, and a growing sense of discontent; women were restless for equality; radical individuals had dreams of a better world - perhaps not as "safe" as the Victorian one - but possibly better.
Onto this scene appeared Isadora. She swept across the stages of Europe, causing a sensation. Some proclaimed her a great and inspiring artist; others were outraged and shocked at her behavior and revolutionary ideas.
Imagine these are the closing years of the 19th century and you are sitting in a variety theater, anticipating some spectacular event with masses of dancers and vivid scenic effects. Suddenly there emerges a lone young girl in bare feet, leaping exuberantly across the stage. There is no scenery, only a piano to accompany the daring and free-flowing movements of the dancer. She is clothed in a translucent gown, her only prop the flowing drapery she carries. Her hair is bobbed, and she wears no confining corset. This is unthinkable and you are spellbound! Perhaps you will leave the theater with cries of disapproval - shocked by her behavior and unconventional use of music. But maybe you will stay and be caught up in the excitement of her new dance.
Isadora had come with a new vision of dance. Dance was a communicative art - expressing stirrings of the heart, the soul, and the mind. It was said she did not dance to music. She danced what music did to her, and she used whatever music inspired her. The main thing was that she had to feel it.
By the time I had joined that little group of barefoot dancers, I had already begun the rigorous training of classical ballet. There were many moments of frustration when I struggled to master the techniques she so rejected. I thought of her and knew that in order for dance to truly be an art it must transcend the confines of technique - without rejecting it.
Isadora Duncan was a serious, dedicated artist who passionately believed in her vision of the dancer of the future, and the free spirit of all women. She saw the need for change.
Though her techniques were never developed into a specific school of dance, her ideas and principles have been incorporated into many schools of dance the world over, including classical ballet. This is her legacy.
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