Loie Fuller

A pioneer of Modern Dance1862-1928

• Marie Louise Fuller was born near Chicago in 1862

• In her teens she choreographed and performed in burlesque, vaudeville, circus, and mime acts

Exploring the Unknown

• Fuller had no formal training, but was interested in the concept of “free dance”

• Rebelling against the strict movement and stiff costuming of ballet, Fuller moved with a new kind of grace, wearing flowing silks.

Multi-talented Miss

• From interest she gained as a teen stage actress, Fuller developed and patented many special effects including lighting techniques, phosphorescent gels, and costumes

New Territory

• The U.S. wasn’t ready for what had hit them, so Mary Louise moved to Paris, gained the name Loie, and began her career as the first American modern dancer to perform in Europe

• Here she paved the way for another American, Isadora Duncan. Loie organized European tours for the both of them.

Danse Serpentine• Loie’s first successful choreographed piece awed Paris in 1891

• In a popular piece entitled “La Danse du Feu” (Fire Dance) Fuller stood atop a piece of glass over a trap door from which red and orange light shone, creating the illusion of engulfing flames

• People had never seen anything like Loie. The way she tossed her silks, letting them catch colored light, mimicked beautiful shapes like flowers and butterflies

• One reviewer described her show, “unique, ethereal, delicious…she emerges from darkness…her airy evolutions now tinted blue and purple and crimson, the audience again insists upon seeing her pretty piquant face before they believe that the lovely apparition is really a woman.”

International Success

• Fuller stayed in Paris for much of her life, performing at Folies Berger, a famous cabaret music hall

• She occasionally returned to the U.S. to stage performances by her “Fullerets”

Fin• Her final performance took place in London in 1927• She died a year later in Paris, at the age of 65

• 160 years after her birth, Fuller’s work is experiencing a resurgence in popularity. Her choreography inspires many contemporary artists.

References

• artsalive.ca• biography-center.com• ancestry.com• pitt.edu• bing.com/images• bing.com/videos