ISADORA DANCES

by Rachel Isadorn ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1998

Objecting to standing on her toes as a child at dance lessons, and organizing a ""school of dance"" with paying pupils before she was ten, Isadora Duncan (1877-1927) will enchant readers even before they learn how she changed dance forever. Finding the strictures of ballet technique and pointe shoes ugly, lsadora invented her own style, hoping to ""express the feelings and emotions of humanity."" The author of Young Mozart(1997) describes not only the effects the ""exotic dancer"" had on her audiences--some responded with shock, others with adulation--but how some of her innovations became, over time, a part of dance convention. The flowing line and watercolor illustrations suit the subject well; Isadora and her troupe, the ""Isadorables,"" swirl across the pages in their signature tunics, while a warm portrait of her with her children gains poignance next to text about their drowning. A succinct, compelling glimpse of a dancer and dreamer who substantially altered the prevailing restrictions of her time, simply by following her heart.

Pub Date: March 1, 1998

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998

Categories: CHILDREN'S