In a remarkably short space of time, she became a cult figure.
By the time she died in a freak accident in 1927 (strangled by her scarf when it caught in the spokes of a car wheel), Isadora had become an international celebrity and her radical notion of a dance form that replaced academic strictures with intuitive inspiration was set to become a central theme of twentieth-century dance.ĭuncan had crossed the Atlantic on a cattle boat with her mother, sister and brother in tow – in search of an artistic climate which might prove more conducive to her aims than that of her native America. 16 March 1900: Isadora Duncan’s first European performance took place in London.
