The Art of the Muses
The dances of ancient Greece are as beautiful and powerful as the great literature and antiquity associated with Greek culture. Each dance has a profound meaning and purpose that express the passions of humanity in all its forms. Greek society believed dance was a gift from the gods and thus the highly skilled were treated with the utmost respect. Aristotle and Plato believed dance was as important an art form as that of music and poetry. As such, both philosophers wrote detailed theories on this subject.
Few cultures today practice traditional dance as widely as modern day Greeks. Greek communities throughout the world incorporate Greek folk dance into their celebrations of life events and encourage younger generations to learn these ancient folk dances to preserve their cultural heritage.
Inspired by ancient Greek art, dancer/innovator Isadora Duncan revolutionized the dance world during the 1900’s with the creation of modern dance. Her vision was to revive the ancient Greek dances of Athenian maidens by introducing a free form style of dance she would call her own.
Modern Greeks have praised Duncan for her passion in creating a new form of dance based on their heritage. Dance works by Duncan were authentic in appearance as she performed in flowing Grecian tunics with loose hair and bare feet. Her movements were equally as authentic, pure, graceful and dramatic, as one would imagine if one of the three Muses of dance appeared before them. Duncan performed for many years before achieving her dream of teaching her art to younger generations. Over time, she opened multiple dance schools in various parts of the world including Moscow, Paris and Grunwald, Germany. After opening her first school in Grunwald, she adopted six of her students, whom she called the Isadorables. Three of her six daughters, Irma, Anna and Maria-Theresa Duncan, continued to dance and carry on their mother’s legacy, years after Duncan’s passing in 1927.
In 1977, the last dancing Isadorable, Maria-Theresa Duncan, co-founded the Isadora Duncan International Institute, Inc. (IDII) with Kay Bardsley. Their vision was to educate students on the principles of Duncan dance and teach her body of work. Jeanne Bresciani, PhD, is the current artistic director and artist-in-residence at the IDII. For sixteen years, she has lead the IDII Certificate Program based on Duncan technique, choreography, performance and philosophy.
Jeanne Bresciani, “Ode to Aphrodite,” Isadora Duncan International Institute. Photo by Lois Greenfield.
Bresciani has an extensive arts education and dance performance resume which includes study under Patricia Rowe at New York University and performance experience with the Duncan disciples, Anna and Irma Duncan, Hortense Kooluris and Julia Levien. Bresciani has also studied privately with Maria-Theresa Duncan as her protégé. “In the seventies,” Bresciani says, “I was one of very few fledgling professional dancers in NY who had had Duncan training as a child.” As Maria-Theresa Duncan’s student, Bresciani and she became very close.
Bresciani describes her mentor: “She had a completely different worldview and sense of self than Anna and Irma – she was less about the movement of her own soul and more about the movement of the world soul, coming not from personal ego but a divine ego. Thus, in the ensuing fifty years, there was adequate time to reconstruct the monumental works that required greater maturity and extraordinary vision akin only to that of Isadora herself. I dedicated my own life to this work when I heard Maria-Theresa speak these words onstage after performing the Liebestod of Wagner at Smith College in 1977. ‘Through the joy of Duncan dancing, I have found the secret of life and will continue with the dance until the exaltation takes me straight away.’ And she did, for when in her last year I would visit her at the nursing home, she would waken from her wheelchair slumber, and [find] me at her feet. She would hum the works I had not yet manifested and she would show the movements with her solar plexus, her arms, with her fingertips, never ceasing to impart the work, never speaking a mundane word of conversation, staying ever within that exaltation to the very end. And still then she emanated her motto that the dancer must always have at all times ‘one foot on the ground and one eye on the stars.’”
Maria-Theresa Duncan is recognized for her significant achievement in reconstructing her mother’s late dance works. These dances remain exclusive to the IDII and are only performed by the IDII company dancers. Into her late eighties, Maria-Theresa Duncan continued to perform. Even at the age of ninety, she danced in the studio five hours a day.
Today, the IDII performs both original Isadora Duncan dance works as well as new works based on Duncan technique. Ideas for new dances are inspired by art and performed to classical music, as were the works by Duncan. Though most dance forms today have evolved, the IDII remains true to the Duncan vision by not incorporating other dance styles into their new works. The IDII has however ventured into new territory by producing works with male dancers. Bresciani was the first to execute this effort and shares, “Maria-Theresa did so as well with ‘The Marche Slav’ piece, danced at its best by Clive Thompson formerly of the Martha Graham Company.” The IDII has also created new choreographic works to some contemporary music artists. Greek folk music has not yet been explored in Duncan dance, but there are future possibilities. “Working with live musicians in Greece, especially the ‘Greek god of music’, Dimitri Vassilakis is like a visit to Parnassus and the dancing grounds of Apollo and the Muses,” shares Bresciani. No matter what the IDII presents as new, audience praise for their creative work efforts have been just as well received as the original works by Duncan. If Duncan were here today to observe the modern dances, Bresciani says, “In her radiant consciousness I am certain that she would still be its great advocate and would still continue her search for the highest intelligence in the freest body...."
Over the years, the IDII company dancers have been invited to perform in Greece many times. Bresciani shares, “After a performance for the Mayor of Delphi, he said, ‘I have waited 2,500 years for the Muse to return, as she has come.’” Bresciani continues, “Later at a gracious feast in our honor, he asked if the IDII would help him bring to life once more the ancient ideal of The Delphic Games – the Pan-Hellenic games second in importance to the ancient Olympic Games that combined also art, music, dance, poetry, drama and song. We accepted this challenge and secured great support from Greek-American media and the generous sponsorship from the Onassis Foundation.”
From September 7 -14, 2008, the IDII will embark on a journey to Tuscany, Italy. The expedition will, “…allow the dancers to trace the deepest influences that acted upon Isadora in the creation of her art…which are still so alive and tangible in Europe, to the modern and the contemporary - all in order to capture the eternal in art which is the essence of Duncan dance,” explains Bresciani.
With the continued dedication of educators like Bresciani, the aesthetic teachings of Isadora Duncan will remain a desirable path to follow for many future generations. Greek folk dance has also reached a self-sustaining level of appreciation that will inevitably endure in the centuries to come. As far-reaching as ancient Greek dance has become, there is always room to expand the teachings to more regions so that more people can enjoy the art form. If instruction in both forms, Duncan and Greek folk became more accessible for students in more cities and more states, schools would benefit by bringing something new and exciting to the dance community while also contributing to the preservation of an ancient dance form. What joy that would bring the mother of modern dance and to all.
Jasmine Rios is a freelance writer and consultant for the arts. Email comments to minacommunications@gmail.com or visit www.minacommunications.com.