Chopin — Nocturne in E flat major, Op. 9, No. 2 (Angel and Spirit Rising / Nocturne)

There are two versions of this dance: one reconstructed by Julia Levien, and one reconstructed by Hortense Kooluris and Maria-Theresa Duncan.

Notes

Valerie Durham

A singular dance of hope, redemption and even resurrection. As a duet, this dance is perhaps at its most beautiful. A figure reclines on the floor, defeated. An angel enters up stage left, pointing to the heavens, barely touching the earth. The angel descends to the earth, alighting behind the poor soul, in fervent attempts to awake it, to revive its broken spirit, to bring it home. The reclining figure awakes but falters. It rises again, assisted by the angel in a beautiful connected diagonal gesture toward the celestial climbs. The fallen figure stumbles to its feet, grows in consciousness, and in a final spiraling circle with the angel, is called home and follows the angel there.

Videos

Title Date Dancers Full Dance? Notes
Common Shade July 2015 Catherine Gallant, Francesca Todesco Yes
Street Salvation/ Nocturne 2017-04 Valerie Durham, Jennifer Sprowl Yes
Hortense Kooluris Memorial Tribute 2007-08-01 No
Isadora Duncan's 110th Birthday Celebration 1987 Hortense Kooluris, Julia Levien Yes
DFI Cunningham 1980 Jeanne Bresciani, Judith Ann Landon Yes
Hortense Kooluris Collection 1978 Hortense Kooluris, Julia Levien Yes

Related items in the Archives

The Collection of Mignon Garland > Photos > Mignon and Ann Cogley

The San Francisco Museum of Performance and Design > Programs > Isadorables — Dec 28, 1919

The Collection of Lynn Armentrout > Programs > An Evening with Isadora — The Isadora Duncan Youth Ensemble

The Collection of Christy Cornell-Pape > Programs > Irma Duncan — Isadora Duncan Dancers — Mar 13, 1932

The Collection of Pamela De Fina > Programs > United Nations Staff Day Performance — Isadora Duncan Dance Group — 1979

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

The Collection of Mignon Garland > Programs > The Isadora Duncan Dance Memorial, 1952 — Dec 14, 1952

The Collection of Barbara Kane > Programs > The Dance of Isadora Duncan — Isadora Duncan Centenary Dance Company — Jun 10, 1978

The Collection of Barbara Kane > Programs > Isadora Duncan Centenary Dance Company — Jun 24, 1978

The Collection of Barbara Kane > Programs > Riverside Dance Festival — Isadora Duncan Commemorative Dance Company — Jan 24, 1979

The Collection of Barbara Kane > Programs > Isadora Duncan Commemorative Dance Company — Nov 16, 1979

The Collection of Barbara Kane > Programs > Retrospective Isadora Duncan — 1993

The Collection of Barbara Kane > Programs > Anita Zahn Memorial Celebration — Nov 05, 1995

The Collection of Janaea Rose Lyn (McAlee) > Programs > Isadorables

The Collection of Janaea Rose Lyn (McAlee) > Programs > Isadora Duncan Dance Memorial — Ruth Fletcher, Mary Garland, Hortense Kooluris, Sima Leake, Julia Levien — Dec 14, 1952

The Isadora Duncan Archive Collection > Programs > Maria Theresa Program — Isadora Duncan International Institute — Nov 17, 1981

The Isadora Duncan Archive Collection > Programs > Isadora Duncan in the 21st Century — Jan 20, 2017

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