Oct 11 2012
There’s Some Cool Stuff Out There…
When I first heard that a dancer was coming to speak to our IDC class, I assumed she would speak about the art of dance in general, or perhaps about specific dances she had choreographed. Instead, I was introduced to whole genre of dance that I had been totally unaware of. That alone was a shock. How could there be an artist as important as Loie Fuller, who had shaped the world of modern dance, and I’d never even heard of her name? It’s saddening to think that if not for Jody Sperling, I never would have learned about the incredible dance style that had such a widespread impact. I think it’s amazing that Ms. Sperling decided to devote her entire lecture to educating us on someone who is important to her. Only at the end did she speak about her own dance company for a bit. I’m really grateful that I got to hear about such an incredible woman, from such an incredible woman. I think that this is a great example of why we need more funding for the arts. If someone like Loie Fuller, whose whole style of dance depended on her props, hadn’t been able to afford her shows, who knows what modern dancing would be like today.
Wasn’t it interesting how its easier to get funding everywhere else but here? I would have preferred a little bit less on Fuller and a little more on Sperling. The presentation was much more captivating once she showed us videos of her performances.
But don’t you agree that it would have been 1000x better if she had actually performed?
It is so important to help fund organizations like Sperling’s. Without our hard earned tax dollars, this practice of examining old forms of dance wont be able to happen on such a large scale. We wont be able to analyze antiquated skirts being flounced about. I cannot imagine the horor!
Not knowing about the existence of such a dance makes me wonder how many other things I’m unaware of in the world of the arts…For some reason your post also made me wonder how people of the time reacted to this new form of dance. We all know that people are unreceptive to change and she briefly mentioned Loie being rejected multiple times early on in her career but it makes me wonder how long it took people to appreciate this kind of art. It was definitely new and definitely different from anything that existed at the time.
I feel the same exact way about Jody Sperling. I thank and commend her for coming in and sharing with us her passion and a new insight into the world of dance. I really am impressed by how she funds her company, and it shows that she really cares about this and wants people to share her love of this unique dancing style as well. I also really like that you understand the importance of Loie Fuller’s work and the affect it had on modern dance of today.