A Study of the Work of American Dancer Loie Fuller

FAIN: FB-51758-05

Ann Cooper Albright
Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH 44074-1057)

Loie Fuller is one of the most interesting figures in early modern dance. In the 1890's, Fuller created an extraordinary sensation in Paris with her manipulations of hundreds of yards of silk, swirling high above her and lit dramatically from below. Because her work intersects with so many other cultural and aesthetic discourses, and because it highlights critical issues in dance such as the technological body versus the natural body, the emergence of a modern movement sensibility, as well as popular entertainment versus aesthetic dancing, Fuller is a crucial figure through which to study the changing representations of women dancers in the early twentieth century.

Associated Products

Traces of Light: Absence and Presence in the Work of Loïe Fuller (Book)
Title: Traces of Light: Absence and Presence in the Work of Loïe Fuller
Author: Ann Cooper Albright
Abstract: One of the most famous dancers of the early 1900s, Loïe Fuller created an extraordinary sensation in Paris with her manipulations of hundreds of yards of silk, swirling high above her and lit dramatically from below. Her work inspired artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Auguste Rodin, and Stéphane Mallarmé, and she embodied many of the decorative themes of Art Nouveau. Because her work highlights important issues in dance such as the role of technology in defining a dancing signature, the emergence of a modern movement sensibility, and the role of popular entertainment in early modern dance, Fuller is a critical figure through whom to study the changing representations of women dancers in the early twentieth century. Author Ann Cooper Albright places Fuller in the context of fin-de-siècle culture and offers a compelling analysis of Fuller's innovations in lighting and movement that includes full-color reproductions of original posters, archival photos, and magazine and newspaper clippings. Traces of Light adds significantly to the literature on twentieth-century dance, illuminating a pioneer who helped to shape modern performance and stagecraft.
Year: 2007
Primary URL: http://www.upne.com/0819568422.html
Publisher: Wesleyan University Press
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 978-0819568434

Loie Fuller (Web Resource)
Title: Loie Fuller
Author: Ann Cooper Albright
Abstract: A web site with research and materials on Loie Fuller.
Year: 2007
Primary URL: http://www.wesleyan.edu/wespress/tracesoflight/online/

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