Isadora Duncan
Angela Isadora Duncan ( born May 27, 1877 in San Francisco, USA, † September 14, 1927 in Nice, France) was an American dancer and choreographer. Duncan was the pioneer of modern symphonic expressionist dance, developed a new body and movement sensation that was based on the Greek ideal of beauty, and sat as the first classical concert music to dance. As an opponent of classical ballet, she tried to revive the dance of the ancient world.
Life
Isadora Duncan was born the daughter of an immigrant from Ireland to the USA family in San Francisco ( California ) to the world. When the parents divorced, Isadora grew up with three siblings in their working as a music teacher mother in poverty, but in a musical atmosphere. In 1899 she returned with her mother and her siblings back to Europe.
Even as a twelve- year-old held Isadora Duncan marriage meaningless. In her memoirs she wrote later:
Even as a child leaning Isadora Duncan from classical ballet and developed his own style of dance. At age 16, she changed her name from in " Isadora ". In Chicago and New York, she appeared for the first time with little success publicly. After leaving the United States with 21 years of Isadora Duncan celebrated the first artistic successes in London. Their rise continued in Paris and sent them over Berlin and Moscow back to Paris. On tour, she traveled half of Europe and has performed in the major cities of South and North America.
Together with her sister Elizabeth Duncan (1871-1948) Isadora Duncan founded in 1904 in Berlin -Grunewald, a boarding - school dance in which children from an early age were trained for free in their favor. Body, soul and spirit of the students should develop equally. The school later moved to Darmstadt, then click the Klessheim near Salzburg. In 1936, the entire institution was transferred to the Kaulbachstraße in Munich. The management of the school had with the support of Max Merz and Gertrud push since 1910 Elizabeth Duncan.
In Berlin, fell in love with Isadora Duncan in the British actor, director and stage designer Edward Gordon Craig ( 1872-1966 ). He was her partner, she paid his old debts and new bills and brought in 1906 the daughter Deirdre to the world. After a year of liaison they had to be said of him: "It can not last forever ."
During their performances Isadora Duncan pulled her audience from the first moment in its spell. She appeared in front of a big blue stage curtain, long remained motionless, approached border in the first few bars of music more than a dance of the ramp, arms held as the crown on his head and waited until she had the audience in their power. She danced korsettlos and barefoot and in Greco-Roman vestments, in chiton and tunic, which is largely free gave the view of the bare arms and legs.
After Gordon Craig of sewing machine heir Paris Singer (1867-1932) was from 1910 to 1913 the life companion of Isadora Duncan. During the first year of their association brought Duncan 1910 their son Patrick was born.
1913 two children died in a car accident in Paris. Your chauffeur had forgotten to put the handbrake when he got to repair the faltering curve in a Motor. The car crashed into the Seine and the children and the nanny drowned. After the death of their children Isadora Duncan began to drink, was plump and lost their outer stimuli. She joked with resignation: "I love potatoes and young men ." Her subsequent third child (a son ) died shortly after birth.
Duncan married in 1922 in Moscow, the 26 -year-old Russian poet Sergei Yesenin ( 1895-1925 ).
Death
Duncan died at age 50. When they wanted to go for a ride in Nice with a companion in an open Amilcar, her long red silk scarf she had wrapped around her neck caught, before leaving in the spokes of the sports car, so that the sharp jerk when driving the car you broke his neck. She died at the scene. Later legends about the person Isadora Duncan and the fact that Bugatti is still today an established luxury car brand that repeatedly lead to the false assumption that the accident had happened in a Bugatti.
Others
Her life story was made into a film in 1968 under the title " Isadora " with Vanessa Redgrave in the lead role.
Since 2007, the Munich-based contemporary dance Iwanson Sixt Foundation awards annually named after Duncan " Isadora Award" for contributions to contemporary dance.