Loie Fuller
The spectacular displays of a dance pioneer
Alex Q. Arbuckle
1896-1905
Marie Louise Fuller was born in a suburb of Chicago in 1862, and quickly began a career as a child actress. With no formal training, she developed an interest in dance and choreography. Rather than attempt classical ballet or other traditional dances, she came up with her own form of free dance. Her pieces used flowing silk costumes as canvases for dynamic multicolored lighting. Performing under the name Loie, Fuller took her performances on the road, and settled in France. There, she mesmerized audiences with her unique dances and gained the friendship of artists and intellectuals, including Auguste Rodin and Marie Curie. Her liquid movements and costumes also made her a popular subject for Art Nouveau painters and sculptors.
Her innovations were not limited to dance — she patented several chemical methods for creating colored lighting gels.In 1908, as her dance career came to an end, she started a school and company to pass on her improvisational techniques and natural movement philosophy to a new generation of dancers.
