Loie Fuller the "Serpentine" Dance Girl

Born Marie Louise Fuller in the Chicago suburb of Fullersburg, now Hinsdale, Illinois, Fuller began her theatrical career as a professional child actress and later choreographed and performed dances in burlesque (as a skirt dancer), vaudeville, and circus shows. An early free dance practitioner, Fuller developed her own natural movement and improvisation techniques. Fuller combined her choreography with silk costumes illuminated by multi-coloured lighting of her own design.

[@jamesdalessandro1120]

That is NOT Loie Fuller dancing, it is Papatina using Fuller's choreography, costumes, and lighting. Fuller refused to be filmed for fear of people stealing her work and claiming they were the creators. She was correct and later won a landmark suit for copyright violation, which protects all artists, including dancers.

[@janecook7550]

Loie and my grandfather were second cousins.

[@kevinmartinello4967]

Jane Cook well then we are distant relatives lol, she is my cousins great great aunt or something

[@kyeparadise3898]

How cool is THAT?!

[@yolandapaz620]

La mujer que baila en el minuto 1:12 no es Fuller, es Papinta The Flame Dancer, creadora de la danza serpentina y pionera de la danza moderna.

[@artvulture456]

Omg I can 100% how this inspired the animation for Melancholia

[@johnhastings462]

The second half of this video is not Loie Fuller dancing. It is Papinta dancing in the manner of Fuller. Papinta was the foremost dancer of the day. It is hard fathom why anyone would do this. It is a total deception.

[@lipvegas247]

The very same deception as Papinta stealing Fuller’s dance technique and style and presenting it as her own.

[@46foryounger]

Maybe she was just doing the dance that Loie made popular.

[@smoovegittar]

Beautiful. The Lovely Butterfly.

[@DEClarked]

Another amazing and intelligent woman! Her legacy lives on.

[@kingleronbahamas5932]

I love this dance

[@patod4]

Hypnotizing

[@46foryounger]

Damn why didn’t she want to filmed??😭. Maybe because silent film came into play towards the end of her career and she didn’t want to be filmed on her decline. Would have loved to see the person though. I understand the silk she used was double the size of the once’s seen in these films of serpentine dance

[@loiegibler]

She's who I'm named after

[@janishyland291]

Gorgeous.

[@richasa69]

This is a video of an impersonator performing in the style of Loie Fuller because Fuller refused to be filmed or photographed dancing.

[@46foryounger]

I believe there are photos of her but no video/films. I would think that maybe she was at the end of her career when silent film came into play and perhaps didn’t want to be filmed on her decline.

[@markbrandus]

Nice visuals of Loie, but her dress did not change colors. This was strictly color tinting applied after the movie was made. There was on color film stock in her time - if we could actually see the actual color stage light effect.

[@lisacorcoran7327]

The dress didn't change colors, but the electric lights did. According to the book "The Dance" by Daniel Mason, a French critic wrote: "We shall not easily forget the Serpentine Dance, undulating and luminous, full of weird grace and originality, a veritable revelation! By means of a novel contrivance, the gauzy iridescent draperies in which Loie Fuller swathes herself were waved about her, now to form huge wings, now to surge in great clouds of gold, blue, or crimson, under the colored rays of the electric light. And in the flood of this dazzling or pallid light the form of the dancer suddenly became incadescent, [sic] or moved slowly and spectrally in the diaphanous and ever-changing coloration cast upon it. The spectator never wearied of watching the transformations of these tissues of living light, which showed in successive visions the dreamy dancer, moving languidly in a chaos of figured draperies--in a rainbow of brilliant colors or a sea of vivid flames."

[@mariamunoz61]

Agree with Lisa Corcoran. Light projected on stage changed colours and therefore Loie´s dress changed as well :)

[@markbrandus]

Thanks. @@lisacorcoran7327

[@squareysquare3150]

@@lisacorcoran7327 the dance above seems more frenetic than "languid"

[@lisacorcoran7327]

@@squareysquare3150, just quoting Daniel Mason in his book "The Dance." (And the herky-jerky movement may just be an artifact of the film speed.)

[@alanm5939]

Interesting but the subtitles are far too intrusive and spoil the entire film

[@dulcebee]

Simply amazing 😍

[@a..indiangirl4106]

Beautiful

[@Rascaduanok]

Jacques Rancière got me into Loïe Fuller!

[@davidbrown2184]

Music: electric astronaut, is a bit vague.. doesn't obviously match.. is there more detail of it?

[@donh1393]

The lighting had rotating colored gels to get this effect, wonder how old the film is or if indeed it had to be colored in each frame? Doesn't look like it has, since it is so smooth i transition.

[@BobGeldofsFavouriteGroupie]

Yeah the film is Hand painted frame by frame. Technicolor was not even invented at the time. This is 100% more badass!

[@machante1]

Une Orchidé de Lumière et d'Etoffe

[@elianefontana6531]

Amazing

[@giovanniiurisci1775]

Sono un alunno

[@annalombardi9158]

Lindsay Kemp