Loie Fuller
A pioneer of Modern Dance
1862-1928
• 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 • Here she paved the
for what had hit them,
way for another
so Mary Louise
American, Isadora
moved to Paris,
Duncan. Loie
gained the name
organized European
Loie, and began her
tours for the both of
career as the first
them.
American modern
dancer to perform in
Europe
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