The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-01-08
By KARL REEVE.
editor Labor Defender.)


at felt like being home in the
Soviet Union," Irma Duncan, head
of the Isadora Duncan school of
dancing in Moscow, said of the Won
derful reception accorded by the
throngs of workers who visited the
performance of Irma and her troupe
of Russian pupils at the Daily
Worker fifth anniversary celebra-
ton in the Manhattan Opera House
Saturday night. "This is the first
time we have really appeared be-
fore the American masses"
Miss Duncan talked for nearly an
hour in her room in the Hotel Ala
mac in an interview arranged espe-
cially for the Daily Worker.
On Saturday night at the per-
Torrance for the Daily Worker,
Irma and her Russian pupils had
danced before their first working
class audience in this country, the
first audience which really appre-
ciated and responded with unbound
ed enthusiasm to the revolutionary
dances depicting the course of the
October Revolution, and she said
after the performance, "This is the
most important night of our lives"
Teaching s Years in USSR.
"For the past eight years." said
Miss Duncan yesterday, Il have
been teaching 200 pupils at the
school founded BY Isadora in the
Soviet Union. l have toured the
country, including the Caucasus
Siberia, the Crimea, etc. l remem-
Der particularly our performances
in Kusbas, in the Kustnetzky Basin,
Siberia, where there has been an
American colony. Some misguided
advisers had warned US that the
Siberian workers and peasants might
not understand our dances, might
grow restless, and not appreciate
our work. We knew, however, that
our dancing is for all.
"Our performance was observed
with intense interest and enthusiast
tically received, and afterwards
some old peasants came up to us.
We asked them what they thought
of our dancing and they answered,
we would be perfectly happy if
only our children could dance like
that
"But all children can and should
be able to dance just as my pupils
Dance" Miss Duncan continued.
"And that is why Isadora estab-
lished her school in the Soviet Union.
She felt that nowhere else in the
world was there such an opportunity
to teach large numbers of children
to express themselves in the dance.
All children should learn to express
themselves in dancing, to be grace
full. Their bodies should be trained
as instruments of expression just
as they are taught to speak correct
ly. But this must be done when the
children are at an early age. I
began to study under Isadora when
| was six years old"
Acclaimed in Soviet Union.
Miss Duncan then told of the diff
ficulties encountered in the school
during the past eight years, and OF
the successes achieved in the Soviet
Union. Her dancers have been &C.
claimed thruout the Soviet Union
at all of the hundreds of perform
ances given before workers clubs
theatres, and workers and peas.
ants organizations.
| The Soviet press has without ex-
ception highly praised the work Of
the Duncan dancers. Miss Duncan
told of the enthusiasm of Lunachar.
sky, Peoples Commissar of Educa-
ton, for the work of her school, and
then outlined her plans for the fu-
ture.
1--WE intend to return to the Soviet
Union as soon as our tour is COM
pleted," she stated. "The ballet
dancing. which still hangs on in the
Soviet Union in modified form.
can never be the expression of the
masses. 1t is artificial and is not
a natural expression of the emotions
or of life. The time will come in
the Soviet Union when the dancing
art taught by Isadora Duncan will
be taught in every school in the
Soviet Union as necessary part
of the course, when the biggest
theatres will be devoted to her art"
International Art.
The art of Isadora Duncan was
international, said Irma Duncan, and
can be understood by the masses
turnout the world. She explained
that in her school the pupils did not
receive one-sided education, but
studied, in addition to dancing, the
regular course taught in all the
Soviet schools. including tia alemen-