The 19th Century Women’s Movement and the Advent of Expressive Dance in America

The early expressive and interpretive dancers were audacious and revolutionary women who boldly claimed the right to move freely and expressively against prevailing social norms. Learn how Genevieve Stebbins, Isadora Duncan, and Ruth St. Denis among others garnered the support of wealthy female patrons and brought radical new ideas about the female body in motion into their art igniting new dance forms that transformed the American stage. Participants will: learn about the influence of dress reform and Delsarte on the birth of expressive dance, discover the bold work of Genevieve Stebbins and her influence on early dance pioneers, uncover Isadora Duncan’s bold new form of movement that empowered women to see their natural bodies as beautiful and spiritual and investigate Ruth St. Denis’ unapologetic infusion of exoticism and sexuality to expressive dance.