Isadora Duncan

Born in San Francisco in 1877, Angela Isadora Duncan grew up to become the "mother of modern dance". Raised by her musician mother, she grew up in a household which was poor in money, but rich in art and culture. Isadora's rebellious nature showed at an early age. Witnessing the divorce her mother and father went through, Isadora swore she would never marry. She also rejected the rigidity of classic ballet, instead basing her movements on natural rhythms and flows of the body. By the age of fourteen she was living in Oakland and making money teaching dance to local children. In her free time she would visit the public library, often reading about the far-away places she dreamed of one day visiting.

By the time she was nineteen years old Isadora had left the Bay Area to pursue her dancing career. First in the United States then in Europe. She helped change the way people looked at dance. Her performances would include improvisation and interpretation, a stark contrast to the rigidity of ballet. Her dress was flowing and loose and her feet were usually bare. The largest influence on her form of dance came from the dances of ancient Greece. This was all radically different than the common dances performances of the time. She also performed to music of greats such as Beethoven, Mozart, and Brahms which shocked music critics, most of whom considered these composers too great to be interpreted by dance. Shocking as she was, Isadora became one of the most famous dancers of her time.

Her personal life was no less rebellious than her art. She advocated feminism, free-love, darwinism and communism. She had multiple lovers, and her children were born out of wedlock. She attempted to open a school in the USSR after the bolshevik revolution, but was forced to close soon after the bolshevik government halted the school's funding. Eventually she did marry one of her lovers, Russian poet Sergei Esenin. This marriage took place so Sergei could accompany Isadora on a tour of the United States. This tour was full of controversy as the couple would openly advocate communism and criticize American policy. Eventually the US government revoked Isadora's citizenship, but at that point she was living in Europe and had no plans to return to the country of her birth. She died in 1927 in a car accident in France.

There is a plaque at 501 Taylor Street on Lower Nob Hill, in San Francisco which commemorates Isadora Duncan's place of birth.