Duncan Isadora: biography. Isadora Duncan and Yesenin

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

A woman who was never afraid to go against public opinion… Her first fiancé was 29 years older, and her only husband was 18 years younger. She is still known to everyone as a dancer, but her innovative dance style died with her, although she tried to establish her own schools in different countries to perpetuate her own vision of plasticity and choreography. This was Isadora Duncan, whose biography will be discussed in this article. Her scandalous and unusual life was interrupted by an equally extravagant death. But the trace that she left in history has not yet caught a cold.

The birth of a future star

The first step of the future famous dancer was set up by life even before her birth. By the time the baby was supposed to be born, the family already had three children. Yes, but the family itself was not there. The father, who pulled off a major banking scam, fled, leaving his pregnant wife and children to their fate. He took all the money with him and never showed up in his youngest daughter's life.

It was 1877. Or maybe 1878… It was January outside the window. And possibly May… The fact is that the exact date of birth of little Dora Angela Duncan is unknown. She was born in a noisy SanFrancisco to the angry cries of the depositors deceived by her father, who raged under the windows of the house.

Early childhood

These trials, although they came as a complete surprise to her mother, did not break the determined woman. She promised herself that, no matter what, she would raise her children and provide them with everything they needed. By profession, Dora Angela's mother was a musician, and in order to support her family, she had to work hard giving lessons.

She really managed to put all her children on their feet, and even give them a very good education. But she could not physically pay enough personal attention to the children. In order not to leave her little daughter at home alone for a long time, the mother sent the girl to school early, hiding her real age.

However, the evenings of the selfless mother belonged undividedly to the children. She played for them the favorite works of Chopin, Mozart, Beethoven and other great composers. From early childhood, Duncan Isadora listened to the poetry of William Shakespeare and the poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley.

First crush

Dora Angela began to be interested in men at a very young age. When she was only eleven years old, Dora Angela took a liking to a young man named Vernon who worked in a pharmacy warehouse. She was so persistent in her desire that the guy, in the end, was forced to come up with a non-existent engagement. It wasn't until he assured her that he would be getting married soon that she backed off.

However, do not jump to the conclusion that Dora Angela was a promiscuous nymphet. This would be a clear misrepresentation.facts. Vernon's pursuit, though persistent, was childishly innocent. And yet, this episode from her life already tells a lot about the character of this eccentric person, whom she will remain until her last breath. Isadora Duncan, whose biography will write more than one male name on her pages, will fully reveal herself as a woman much later.

Defining a Dream

Dora Angela opened her first dance school at the age of six. Neighborhood children acted as students there. Of course, it was just child's play. But by the age of 10, she and her sister were already earning something by teaching dance. Dora Angela talked about a new system of dance, which, of course, simply did not exist at that time. The girl simply taught the children beautiful movements, which she spontaneously came up with. Be that as it may, this was already the first steps towards creating a new author's dance style.

Choosing a Life Path

It cannot be said that studying at a comprehensive school was given to Dora Angela with difficulty. On the contrary, she was simply frankly bored. She often ran away from school hours and wandered along the seashore for hours, listening to the unhurried rumble of the elements and watching the waves rolling ashore.

At the age of thirteen, a young student decided that it was enough to waste time on the student's bench, and left school. She decided to dedicate her life to music and dance. A great success for a teenage girl without money and patronage was the consent of the dancer Marie Louis Fuller to take her as a student.

Bchasing fame

After studying for several years, the talented but impatient Dora Angela sets off to conquer Chicago, taking her mother and brother with her. At this time, she takes the stage name Duncan Isadora. But Chicago was in no hurry to fall at the feet of the newfangled dancer, although her performances had some success. But a very specific lover of fine arts in the person of 45-year-old Ivan Mirotsky, an unemployed immigrant from Poland, completely submitted to her.

If you remember that Isadora was not even 17 years old at that time, it is easy to imagine how strange and not quite natural look this couple had. Her relatives were not enthusiastic about such a party, but they did not repair malicious obstacles either. And Isadora frankly did not care about the opinion of society.

Fiancé cheating

The affair between Isadora and Mirotsky lasted a year and a half. It was a period of real courtship in the spirit of that era. The maximum that a couple in love allowed themselves was kisses during joint walks.

Finally, the wedding day was set and preparations began for the celebration. Perhaps a completely different Isadora Duncan would have appeared in history - a wife and a respectable mother of the family. But this did not happen, because Mirotsky kept a terrible secret - he was already married, and his legal wife lived in London. Shortly before the wedding, her brother finds out about this, and the engagement is terminated.

Daring decisions

Isadora did not suffer from a failed marriage, but went to perform in New York. Here she reachedsome success. Her impromptu dances were admired with pleasure in high-society salons. But Duncan knew she needed to move forward.

And then she bypassed the wives of the local rich and, under various pretexts, begged them for a total of several hundred dollars. This money was enough to buy a place for himself, his mother, brother and sister to travel to London. True, I had to go in a hold intended for transporting livestock, but neither Isadora herself nor her family were spoiled by excesses in life, and therefore they endured this trip quite tolerably.

After arriving in London, she goes straight to one of the most expensive hotels, pushes the night porter aside and tells him that they have just left the train and will soon bring their luggage. She orders a room and breakfast, and in the morning they sneak out of the hotel with the whole family, since all the funds were spent on the move.

Life is getting better

This wasn't the last gamble the acclaimed dancer pulled off. The life of Isadora Duncan is full of witty and extravagant decisions. She shamelessly used the people around her to her advantage. This was especially true for men. Isadora systematically honed her art of seduction and, when the opportunity arose, applied it to enthusiastic admirers.

But first and foremost, Duncan was still an artist. She strove for recognition of her talent and understood that she could not do without help. And this help came in the person of the then popular actress Campbell, who believed in the promise of a freshstyle and gave Isadora a high-profile debut as an "exotic dancer" at one of the social receptions.

Isadora Duncan and Yesenin

In 1921, Duncan received an official invitation to open a dance school in Moscow. She gladly accepted him and with faith in a happy future - hers and this great country, striving for change, went to Russia.

Once, Sergei Yesenin came to a reception that was held at Duncan's house. So two bright and extraordinary personalities met, who immediately rushed to each other with all the ardor and spontaneity of their characters.

Marriage Ties

Isadora Duncan and Yesenin quickly became the subject of gossip in the capital and even beyond. They were very different, did not know each other's language, but nevertheless continued to meet. Neither a significant age difference, nor the inability to just chat without an interpreter stopped them.

For the first time in many years, freedom-loving Isadora Duncan decided to tie the knot in an official marriage. Yesenin, intoxicated by the glory of the chosen one, considered this step quite natural.

Marriage difficulties

The idyll of two representatives of bohemia did not last long. There is an opinion that Sergei was jealous of his wife's popularity. He was ambitious and wanted to be the center of attention himself.

When the first passion passed, he began to notice more and more on the appearance of his wife the prints left by the livedfor years. Yesenin behaved very rudely with his wife. Isadora Duncan heard a lot of unfair and groundless abuse addressed to her. Whose wife endured so many reproaches? Perhaps, to some extent, she was protected by the fact that she simply did not understand Russian speech. But Yesenin began to allow himself to beat his wife. And it was simply impossible not to understand this appeal.

The divorce was only a matter of time. But even after that, Duncan Isadora, true to herself, retained warm feelings for Yesenin. She never allowed herself to say something bad or disrespectful to the poet.

Fateful trip

In 1927, Duncan Isadora was in Nice. She was very fond of fast driving and often went for walks in an open car. And on this sunny autumn day, she decided to ride, as usual. Having tied a beautiful scarf around her neck and effectively throwing it behind her back, she got into the car, said goodbye to her friends and ordered the driver to drive off. They didn't get far. The end of the scarf caught in the spokes of the wheel, got tangled in them and broke the woman's neck. So she was overtaken by an inexorable death. Isadora Duncan lived fast and ended her life with a deafening chord, loudly declaring herself for the last time.