Isadora Duncan’s masterly writings on the dance reveal the depth of her
determination to create a lyric form of the art which was free of
characterization, storytelling, and the theatrical exhibition of skills. She
wished to discard the traditional methods and established vocabularies of such
dance forms as ballet and to explore the internal sources of human
expressiveness. She shunned bodily ornamentation and strove to use only the
natural movements of her body, undistorted by acrobatic exaggeration and
stimulated only by internal compulsion. In her recitals Duncan danced to the
music of Beethoven, Wagner, and Gluck, among others, but, contrary to popular
belief, she made no attempt to visualize or to interpret the music;
rather, she simply relied on it to provide the inspiration for expressing
inner feelings through movement. She did not regard this use of music as
ideal, however, believing that she would someday dispense with music entirely.
That day never came. The author implies that Duncan relied on
music in her recitals in order to
A. interpret musical works solely by means of natural body movements.
B. foster the illusion that music serves as an inspiration for the
dance.
C. inspire the expression of inner feeling when she danced.
D. validate the public belief that music inspires the expression of feeling
through movement.
E. counter the public belief that she made no attempt to visualize
music.