Chopin — Waltz in C sharp minor, Op. 64, No. 2 (Narcissus)
- Music:
Chopin — Waltz in C sharp minor, Op. 64, No. 2
- Original choreography by: Isadora Duncan (1904)
- Categories: lyrical dances
Isadora choreographed her version of the Narcissus story as early as 1904 when she gave her first all-Chopin program. It is one of the dances that influenced the formation of the Ballet Russes, and Fokine's creation of Les Sylphides. Isadora's dance addresses the myth of Narcissus and Echo, including a lovely interlude with Narcissus looking at himself in the pool of water. One of Isadora's pure interpretations of Greek mythology.
Notes
Valerie Durham
Isadora Duncan's portrayal as a woman onstage of the male Narcissus was bold and expressive. Her use of Greek mythology as a basis for the universal emotions of humanity, the archetypal qualities of personality and character, allowed her to call upon broadly known classical traditions, presented in a fresh way, embodied by the modern woman onstage, to concert classical music.
As a dance, Narcissus is lush and robust. The opening gestures of sweeping sways and open side to side leg gestures bespeak of an individual in a world unto self. Then the dancer presents that self by coming forward and back in a series of rushes forward and waltzes back. A bubbling run from corner to corner, with the slightest indication that Narcissus hears the calling Echo, resolves in the dancer's reclined exploration and indulgence of her own reflection in a pool of water. The mesmerizing reflection carries the dancer into a spinning turn that bursts back into the opening self-celebratory phrase. The dance climaxes in another series of rushing runs and twirls as Narcissus loses self in the dance, in self love and adoration. The dance can end both with an exalted exit off stage or a return to the laying down position by the pool of water.
Andrea Mantell Seidel
The dance traverses a multiplicity of emotional moods ranging from Narcissus' self-absorption, to a wistful joy in the illusion of a love that might be, to the pain and loss of Echo's unrequited love. The dancer is the myth embodied; she is the beloved and the lover, alternately Echo and Narcissus, and the song that all lovers sing. In the allegro sections, the dancer spins rapidly in place as if lost in a reverie of blissful memories of a love that once was or a fantasy of a love that might be, only to emerge out of her reverie into an empty aloneness. She darts, turns, and runs in waltz rhythms in pursuit of her beloved, a Narcissus who appears, vanishes and reappears in her mind's eye. In the middle adagio section, the dancer becomes wistful, almost melancholy, as she reflects on the impossibility of love as she slowly descends to the floor. As she reclines backwards luxuriously, her arm draped across her head and the soft folds of her tunic caressing her body, the dancer transforms into a Greek god or goddess for a still moment. She rises and turns to gaze into an imaginary pool of water, self-absorbed in her own reflection.
Videos
| Title | Date | Dancers | Full Dance? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harp and Narcissus | 2022-05-28 | Christy Cornell-Pape | Yes | |
| Soiree Duncan Dance - Meg Brooker performs Narcissus | 2014 | Meg Brooker | Yes | |
| Narcissus at Jordan Hall | 2013-05-26 | Kelli Edwards | Yes | |
| Dances by Isadora: Narcissus | 1995 | Loretta Thomas | Yes | |
| Isadora Duncan's 110th Birthday Celebration | 1987 | Jeanne Bresciani | Yes | |
| Summer Flight | 1983-07-22 | Janaea Rose Lyn (McAlee) | Yes | |
| DDD at Golden Gate Bandshell | 1983 | Maria Rosario Villasana | Yes | |
| DFI Cunningham | 1980 | Jeanne Bresciani | Yes | |
| Excerpts from Movement from the Soul | Lori Belilove | No |
Related items in the Archives
The Collection of Barbara Kane > Programs > Isadora Duncan — 1908
The Collection of Barbara Kane > Programs > Isadora Duncan Dancers — Nov 15, 1929
The Collection of Barbara Kane > Programs > Homage to Isadora — Madeleine Lytton — 1984
The Collection of Barbara Kane > Programs > Linda Elkin — Isadora Duncan Dancers — Nov 05, 1987
The Collection of Barbara Kane > Programs > Retrospective Isadora Duncan — 1993
The Collection of Janaea Rose Lyn (McAlee) > Programs > Summer Flight Program — Jul 22, 1983
The Isadora Duncan Archive Collection > Programs > Isadora Duncan in the 21st Century — Jan 20, 2017