Brahms — Waltz in A major, Op. 39, No. 15 (Rose Petals)
- Suite: The Many Faces of Love
- Music:
Brahms — Waltz in A major, Op. 39, No. 15
- Original choreography by: Isadora Duncan
Reconstructed by Hortense Kooluris and Julia Levien.
Notes
Julia Levien
Reference: Nahumck, Nadia Chilkovsky. Isadora Duncan: The Dances. Washington DC: The National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1994.
About the Brahms-it happens to be one of the first Duncan dances I learned as a child from my teacher, who danced it with Theresa and saw Isadora dance it. Then I did it with Anna, and then with Irma, each one just slightly different, especially in the middle section, and then from memory of Isadora's picture in 1898 doing the 'Rubáiyát' with petals strewn on the floor and the body turned, arching over the shoulder. I realized that Isadora never threw away inventions of her past (as in the Furies and Scriabin Revolutionary Etude, yes, and Margherita Duncan telling me that it was really an encore dance, done with just received roses which she stripped as she danced.
Nadia Chilkovsky Nahumck
Reference: Nahumck, Nadia Chilkovsky. Isadora Duncan: The Dances. Washington DC: The National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1994.
In the version danced by Hortense Kooluris, too, there is tender warmth in the rubato stepping, which underlies the waltz rhythm. Expressive arm and upper body movements dominate. The quality of the dance suggests quiet enjoyment in an agreeable environment.
Videos
| Title | Date | Dancers | Full Dance? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Janaea performs Brahms 4 and 15 | 2013-04-26 | Janaea Rose Lyn (McAlee) | Yes | |
| Hortense Kooluris Memorial | 2007-10-01 | Reiko Morita | Yes | |
| Hortense Kooluris Memorial Tribute | 2007-08-01 | No | ||
| Isadora and the American Jewish Intelligentsia | 2000 | Adrienne Ramm | Yes | Group |
| DDD Performance at Mountain View, CA | 1994-03-25 | Ensemble | Yes | |
| Dionysian Duncan Dancers Julia Morgan | 1993-09 | Ensemble | Yes | |
| Isadora Duncan's 110th Birthday Celebration | 1987 | Hortense Kooluris | Yes | |
| Summer Flight | 1983-07-22 | Janaea Rose Lyn (McAlee) | Yes | |
| DDD at Golden Gate Bandshell | 1983 | Linda Elkin, Christina Fessenden, Melinda McGee, Maria Rosario Villasana, Karen Strecker | Yes | |
| Dionysian Duncan Dancers, Margaret Jenkins Performance Space | 1982-01 | Ensemble | Yes | |
| One Foot on the Earth, One Eye on a Star | 1978-9-14 | Hortense Kooluris | Yes | |
| Hortense Kooluris performs Rose Petals | Hortense Kooluris | Yes |
Related items in the Archives
The San Francisco Museum of Performance and Design > Programs > Isadora Duncan — Nov 25, 1917
The Collection of Mignon Garland > Programs > The Isadora Duncan Dance Memorial, 1952 — Dec 14, 1952
The Collection of Barbara Kane > Programs > Linda Elkin — Isadora Duncan Dancers — Nov 05, 1987
The Collection of Barbara Kane > Programs > Starry Night — Barbara Kane — Dec 20, 1991
The Collection of Barbara Kane > Programs > Retrospective Isadora Duncan — 1993
The Collection of Janaea Rose Lyn (McAlee) > Programs > Summer Flight Program — Jul 22, 1983
The Isadora Duncan Archive Collection > Programs > Isadora Duncan in the 21st Century — Jan 20, 2017
The Collection of Janaea Rose Lyn (McAlee) > Artwork > Isadora at end of Rose Petals