Done into Dance: Isadora Duncan in America [Paperback]

Ann Daly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 29, 2002

This cultural study of modern dance icon Isadora Duncan is the first to place her within the thought, politics and art of her time. Duncan's dancing earned her international fame and influenced generations of American girls and women, yet the romantic myth that surrounds her has left some questions unanswered: What did her audiences see on stage, and how did they respond? What dreams and fears of theirs did she play out? Why, in short, was Duncan's dancing so compelling? First published in 1995 and now back in print, Done into Dance reveals Duncan enmeshed in social and cultural currents of her time -- the moralism of the Progressive Era, the artistic radicalism of prewar Greenwich Village, the xenophobia of the 1920s, her association with feminism and her racial notion of "Americanness."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Richly informative and beautifully written, her book will be of interest to all students of American culture."--Rena Sanderson, Weber Studies

"A remarkable milestone in dance scholarship...The author's synthesis of exhaustive research and the extraordinary scope of the scholarship--rendered in crisp, lively prose accessible to a broad readership--make this work unique among books about Duncan...[Done Into Dance] will be of interest to scholars of dance, American studies, women's studies, and the arts in general..."--C.W. Sherman, Choice

From the Publisher

6 x 9 1/4 trim. 60 illus.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Wesleyan; Wesleyan ed edition (November 29, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0819565601
• ISBN-13: 978-0819565600
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,074,782 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Examining Isadora's international fame, December 7, 2002

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Done into Dance: Isadora Duncan in America (Paperback)

Done Into Dance: Isadora Duncan In America by Ann Daly (Associate Professor of Dance History and Criticism, The University of Texas, Austin) is the exciting story of that legendary American dance icon, Isadora Duncan. Examining Isadora's international fame, as well as her profound and pervasive influence on a rising generation of American women, Done Into Dance links Isadora with the social and historical currents of her era, including her own personal association with feminism, and her racial notion of "Americanness", while striving to answer just what it was about her dancing that captivated so many people. Numerous excerpted sources and black-and-white photographs round out this telling and highly recommended biographical portrait.