Liberating the Natural Movement: Dress Reform and Historical References in the Self-Expression of Isadora Duncan

By laying the foundation for a new dance that would release the inner spiritual impulse through unrestricted movement, Isadora Duncan sought to return to the understanding of the body as a medium for harmonious expression of natural rhythms. Such kinetic celebrations of female vitality required the adoption of garments that challenged the dominant conventions of women's dress and represented a route to alternative practices that encouraged physical and personal freedom. This study builds a comprehensive view of Duncan's progressive identity by considering the ways in which the dancer aligned herself with late-nineteenth-century dress reform movements and adopted references from classical antiquity in order to develop a distinctive style within the context of both everyday sartorial presentation and performative culture