Ah, modern dance!

 Isadora Duncan, 1877-1927

Isadora Duncan in a Greek-inspired pose and wearing her signature Greek tunic. She took inspiration from the classical Greek arts and combined them with an American athleticism to form a new philosophy of dance, in opposition to the rigidity of traditional ballet.

With her two children (who died in a car accident while young.)

Duncan wrote of American dancing: "let them come forth with great strides, leaps and bounds, with lifted forehead and far-spread arms, to dance."^[38] Her focus on natural movement emphasized steps, such as skipping, outside of codified ballet technique.

Duncan also cited the sea as an early inspiration for her movement.^[39] Also, she believed movement originated from the solar plexus, which she thought was the source of all movement.^[35] It is this philosophy and new dance technique that garnered Duncan the title of the creator of modern dance.

 Duncan disliked the commercial aspects of public performance, such as touring and contracts, because she felt they distracted her from her real mission: the creation of beauty and the education of the young.

To achieve her mission, she opened schools to teach young women her philosophy of dance. The first was established in 1904 in Berlin-Grunewald, Germany. This institution was the birthplace of the "Isadorables" (Anna, Maria-Theresa, Irma, Liesel, Gretel, and Erika^[19]), Duncan's protégées who would continue her legacy.^[20] Duncan legally adopted all six girls in 1919, and they took her last name.^[21] After about a decade in Berlin, Duncan established a school in Paris that was shortly closed because of the outbreak of World War I.^[22]

In both professional and private life, Duncan flouted traditional mores and morality. She was bisexual^[40] and an atheist,^[41] and alluded to her communism during her last United States tour, in 1922–23: she waved a red scarf and bared her breast on stage in Boston, proclaiming, "This is red! So am I!"^[42]

Anna, Lisa,^[67] Theresa and Irma, pupils of Isadora Duncan's first school, carried on the aesthetic and pedagogical principles of Isadora's work in New York and Paris. Choreographer and dancer Julia Levien was also instrumental in furthering Duncan's work through the formation of the Duncan Dance Guild in the 1950s and the establishment of the Duncan Centenary Company in 1977.^[68]

 The 1968 film Isadora, nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes, stars Vanessa Redgrave as Duncan. The film was based in part of Duncan's autobiography. Redgrave was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Duncan.^[76][77]

Thanks to Wikepedia HERE, for a very detailed and somewhat confusing article about her.

ISADORA DUNCAN, DRAGGED BY SCARF FROM AUTO, KILLED; Dancer Is Thrown to Road While Riding at Nice and Her Neck Is Broken.    (headline Sept. 15, 1926, New York Times.)

 I probably didn't learn her name until I'd taken part in many Physical Education classes of Modern Dance in the 50s.  Yes, we wore leotards, and no scarves.  No we didn't wear the lovely costumes or head gear of the maidens posed in the photo below.

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I do appreciate the mobility of my body, which modern dance stresses, rather than the rote practicing of routines in ballet.  And when I see a good modern dance performance with groups of people, or even just a couple...I remember how it was to run, jump, turn, bend, sit, lie, and stretch based on what the mood was saying.

Today's Quote:

Numbing yourself prevents you from confronting your issues and keeps you from ever finding resolution or peace.