DNCE 345 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, Firewalking
15 Mar 2016
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Duncan was inspired by greek dance but did not recreate the dances of ancient greece we are not greeks therefore we cannot dance greek dances . Dance was a religious and spiritual experience art which is not religious, is not art, it is merely merchandise . Dance was a form of worship: dance as a prayer. Dance in ancient greece was a sacred art. Duncan wanted to create dance that expressed sacred ideals: movements of nature. The ancient greeks evolved their dance from nature. Duncan created movement that was inspired by nature and was natural for the body: hellenism. Hellenism refers to the art and culture of ancient greece. Hellenist movement was very popular at the turn of the 20th century, particularly in california. Hellenists were cultured, intellectuals, who held anything greek in the highest esteem. In the 1880"s, a new craze developed in america: delsartism. Francois delsarte, 1811 1871, frenchman, linked posture, gesture and vocal expression to the emotions.
