Scriabin — Etude, Op. 8, No. 12 (Revolutionary)

Music: Scriabin — Etude, Op. 8, No. 12
Original choreography by: Isadora Duncan (1921)
Premiered: c. 1923
Categories: dramatic dances

“Revolutionary” is part of a trilogy of dances that Duncan created around 1923 to the Etudes of Scriabin.

Notes

Nadia Chilkovsky Nahumck

Reference: Nahumck, Nadia Chilkovsky. Isadora Duncan: The Dances. Washington DC: The National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1994.

It is truly amazing that in one, brief dance, a single human body can portray the terrible logic of directed anger as an antidote to curdling pain—an explosive finale to restrained endurance.

From the first rebellious outcry through trembling emotional intensity to the ultimate defiant thrust of a clenched fist, we are reminded that tyranny begets violence. Evocative power in this dance resonates with the truth found in America's Declaration of Independence—that when a governing body becomes oppressive "it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it."

First presented in 1921, four years after the Russian Revolution, this choreographic gem conveyed the emotional power of tradition-shattering conflict—an unmistakable call to action. This is a difficult dance to perform, since, to retain its compelling force, each interpreter must penetrate the union of theme and emotional vitality. Anything less would result in the reduction of the original masterpiece to a parade of diminishing likenesses reminiscent of a set of matrioshka dolls.

Catherine Gallant

This work contains an explosive power originally created as a depiction of the struggles of the Russian people as they moved towards communist ideology. The pounding fists and silent screams, the repetitive actions of forced labor and the final call to action retains the power to translate to any voice seeking to be heard and recognized.

Videos

Title	Date	Dancers	Full Dance?	Notes
Lori coaching The Revolutionary	2010	Lori Belilove	No	In rehearsal, coached by Lori Belilove
isadoraNOW excerpts	2009-08-23		No
Catherine Gallant performs three Scriabin Etudes	2009	Catherine Gallant	Yes
Isadora and the American Jewish Intelligentsia	2000	Adrienne Ramm	Yes
Dances by Isadora: Mother and Revolutionary	1997	Patricia Adams	Yes
Duncan Dance Continuum	1995		Yes
DDD Performance at Mountain View, CA	1994-03-25	Karin Strecker	Yes
Dionysian Duncan Dancers Julia Morgan	1993-09	KC Chapek	Yes
S.F. Duncan Dancers, 6/23/91, Hotel Nikko Ballroom	1991-06-23	Mary Sano	Yes
Isadora Duncan's 110th Birthday Celebration	1987	Lori Belilove	Yes
DDD at Golden Gate Bandshell	1983	Melinda McGee	Yes
One Foot on the Earth, One Eye on a Star	1978-9-14	Hortense Kooluris	Yes
Excerpts from Lori Belilove & The Isadora Duncan Dancers		Lori Belilove	No
Isadora Duncan Repertory Dance Company performs Revolutionary			Yes
Lori performs Revolutionary Etude		Lori Belilove	Yes