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Maria-Theresa Duncan

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Maria-Theresa Duncan
Thérèse Duncan on the Acropolis, 1921
Born
Theresa Kruger

(1895-04-18)April 18, 1895
Dresden, Germany
DiedDecember 14, 1987(1987-12-14) (aged 92)
New York, New York
Occupation(s)Dancer, educator

Maria-Theresa Duncan (1895–1987) was a concert dancer. She is best known as a member of the Isadorables and as a subject for Edward Steichen.

Biography

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Duncan was born on April 18, 1895, in Dresden, Germany.[1][2] In 1904 Maria-Theresa Duncan was discovered by Isadora Duncan. Her parents were persuaded to let their daughter move to Grünewald where she lived at a boarding school and studied dance with Isadora Duncan.[2] Maria-Theresa became part of the dance troupe Les Isadorables. Although it is commonly believed that they were adopted by Isadora Duncan, attempts to legally change their last name to Duncan failed.[3] Maria-Theresa Duncan studied danced under the direction of Isadora from 1905 though 1921.[2]

In the early 1920s Duncan married an art dealer, Stefan Bourgeois, with whom she had two children.[1] Bourgeois died in 1962.[2]

After separating from Isadora Duncan, in 1922 Maria Theresa became a soloist, and discontinued performing Isadora Duncan’s choreography and using the surname Duncan as a stage name. She performed her own choreography from the 1920s until the 1960s using only her first name “Maria Theresa” as a stage name.[4][5]

Duncan continued dancing through the 1920s and 1930s. She performed at Carnegie Hall, as well as a command performance at the White House for the Roosevelts (Franklin and Eleanor. She founded a dance company named the Heliconiades and opened a dance academy.[1]

Edward Steichen used Maria-Theresa Duncan as a subject of photographs, notably The Arms of Maria Theresa Against the Background of the Erectheum[6] and Wind Fire.[7]

Duncan taught and danced throughout the 1950s when she performed the Festival Cycle. In the 1960s she performed Farewell to the Dance.[2]

Duncan died on December 14, 1987, in New York City.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Dunning, Jennifer (16 December 1987). "Maria-Theresa Duncan, a Dancer And Last of the 'Isadorables,' Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e Bardsley, Kay (2000). "Duncan, Maria-Theresa". American National Biography Online. doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1800340. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  3. ^ Kurth, Peter (2001). Isadora: a sensational life, p. 392. Boston: Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0-316-05713-4.
  4. ^ Anna Kisselgoff (11 September 1988). "DANCE VIEW; The Isadorables: Cherishing the Duncan Legacy". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  5. ^ De Fina, Pamela (2002). Maria Theresa: Divine Being, Guided by a Higher Power (1st ed.). Dorrance Pub Co. pp. 25, 27. ISBN 0805949607.
  6. ^ "Therese Duncan-Reaching Arms-The Parthenon 1921, Edward Steichen". Flickr. 3 June 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  7. ^ McDonagh, Don (9 October 1977). "Isadora Duncan At the Neuberger". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Maria-Theresa Duncan". New York Public Library. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
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