Christina Fessenden (1948-2022)

Christina Bergren Fessenden began her Duncan training with Mignon Garland in 1974, taking classes and performing with Mignon's San Francisco Duncan Dancers. Chris performed in the 1977 Centennial of Isadora's birth, directed by Mignon Garland at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco.

In late 1977 Christina co-founded the Dionysian Duncan Dancers (DDD) with three other former student dancers of Mignon Garland (Annah McCluskey, Deborah Vaernes and Maria Rosario Villasana). From 1978 through 1994, the company, with additional members, performed 44 times in a wide variety of settings including schools, universities, museums, parks, and concert halls. The DDD toured widely through California as part of the CA Arts Council Touring Program from 1984 through 1986. Roles and responsibilities rotated among the DDD dancers as needed in the early years. Later in the 1990's Christina was Co-Artistic Director with Deborah Vaughn and also Rehearsal Director. Members of the Dionysian Duncan Dancers taught Duncan dance classes in San Francisco, Marin, and the greater SF Bay Area.

The DDD were invited to perform in Russia by Maestro Constantine Orbelian of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra in 1992 and again in 1997. Before a performance in Moscow at the Kremlin, company members were coached by Elena Terentevia, one of the original Moscow Duncan Dancers.

In 2000, Christina began teaching weekly Duncan dance classes in Oakland. A very dedicated teacher, she continued teaching through the early months of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, commenting on zoom classes, until her health began to decline. Christina loved the simple lines of the choreography, and the classical music Isadora Duncan used for the choreographies. Christina’s musicality and intuition of expression were superb, and she is sorely missed by her students and fellow dancers.

Like Isadora, Christina was a lover of Italian art and culture, particularly the work of Botticelli and others of the Renaissance. Christina’s dancing and teaching were also inspired by work of the Pre-Raphaelite painters, especially Burne-Jones. Christina used these artistic works to inform her gestural movements and the quality of her dance. Christina felt that Isadora’s dance brought the Pre-Raphaelite ideals to life. Christina was a Renaissance angel who could have easily stepped out of Botticelli’s Primavera “Three Graces” or any of the works of Burne-Jones.

Photo by Jack Foss, 1984
Chris, on right, dancing Chopin Opus 70 #3, S.F.
Chris, on right, at Pacific Ocean with Melinda McGee

Affiliations

Dionysian Duncan Dancers — Co-Founder, Co-Artistic Director, Rehearsal Director, Dancer (1977—1997)

Links

The Collection of Christina Fessenden

Videos

Collection Title Date
Dionysian Duncan Dancers DDD Performance at Mountain View, CA 1994-03-25
Dionysian Duncan Dancers Dionysian Duncan Dancers Julia Morgan 1993-09
Dionysian Duncan Dancers DDD at Golden Gate Bandshell 1983
Dionysian Duncan Dancers Dionysian Duncan Dancers, Margaret Jenkins Performance Space 1982-01

Related items in the Archives

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Photos > DDD at S.F. Palace of the Legion of Honor — Dionysian Duncan Dancers

The Collection of Annah G McCluskey > Photos > 1994 Travel to Moscow

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > Centennial Dance Recital — San Francisco Duncan Dancers — May 27, 1977

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > Studio Opening Benefit — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — Mar 18, 1978

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > DDDs with Lori Belilove — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — Mar 24, 1978

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > DDD at Bolinas — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — Jun 24, 1978

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > Studio Benefit Performance — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — Jan 30, 1979

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > Isadora's 102nd Birthday Celebration — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — Jun 03, 1979

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > Santa Cruz 1979 Performance — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — Dec 09, 1979

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > CA Historical Society Performances — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — Jun 20, 1980

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > Lone Mountain Theatre — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — Jun 05, 1981

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > Margaret Jenkins Performance Space — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — Jan 1982

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > DDD at Internationalist Arts Gallery — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — May 09, 1982

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > DDD in Geyserville — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — Sep 04, 1982

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > 4th Annual Festival of the Performing Arts — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — Sep 30, 1982

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > DDD at Army Street Studio — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — Jun 05, 1983

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > Peace — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — Jun 17, 1983

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > DDD at New Performance Gallery — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — Aug 10, 1984

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > In Honor of Chopin's 175th Birthday — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — Feb 22, 1985

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > Internationalist Art Festival — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — May 09, 1989

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > Isadora Duncan Dance Center Inauguration Performance — Jun 10, 1989

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > Temple of the Wings Performance — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — May 24, 1992

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > Collaborative Performance — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — Apr 25, 1993

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > Julia Morgan Theatre Performance — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — Sep 1993

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > Mountain View Performance — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — Mar 25, 1994

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Programs > Performance by Ann Cogley and Chris Fessenden — Jul 18, 1999

The Collection of Mignon Garland > Programs > S.F. Duncan Dancers, Human Rights Day — — 1975

The Collection of Mignon Garland > Programs > S.F. Duncan Dancers, Bi-Centennial Event — 1976

The Collection of Mignon Garland > Programs > S.F. Duncan Dancers Centennial — 1977

The Collection of Annah G McCluskey > Programs > 6th Annual Tribute to Isadora Duncan — May 21, 1989

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Articles > Isadora's 100th Birthday Celebration — May 25, 1977

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Other > Promotion for Jan. 1982 Margaret Jenkins Performance — Dionysian Duncan Dancers — Jan 1982

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Other > Isadora Duncan Project Performance 2003 — May 16, 2003

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Other > DDD Russia Trips, 1992 and 1997 — Dionysian Duncan Dancers

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Other > Chris Teaching in Danspace, Oakland

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Other > Descriptions of DDD Class Offerings — Dionysian Duncan Dancers

The Collection of Christina Fessenden > Other > ID International Institute of Classical Dance