February 11, 2006

Interview with Jody Sperling about Loie Fuller

Yesterday afternoon I interviewed Jody Sperling, the artistic director of Time Lapse Dance. Jody is a dancer, choreographer, dance critic and scholar based in New York City. She is an expert on Loie Fuller and an interpreter of Fuller's style of dancing. You can listen to Jody discuss the dances of Loie Fuller and her recreations of the works of this modern dance pioneer.

Click here to listen to audio interview (MP3 format - 8.55 MB - 18:14 Minutes)

You can watch a video clip of Jody Sperling performing the Butterfly Dance in 1997 at the Library of Congress.

Also, Jody sent me links to original video clips of Loie Fuller imitators. These video clips are grainy and without sound, but they let you see exactly what the original dances were like. The first video is performed by Crissie Sheridan in 1987 and the second video is performed by Ameta in 1903.

Jody Sperling Background

Jody Sperling (Artistic Director) is a dancer, choreographer, dance critic and scholar based in New York City. Sperling has gained an international reputation as an expert on Loie Fuller and as an interpreter of Fuller's style of dancing. Sperling has lectured and/or performed at colleges, universities, festivals, and conferences in the US, Canada, Ireland, Italy, and Russia. Sperling's interest in this historic figure began in 1997 with The Butterfly Dance, a collaboration with film choreographer and dance historian Elizabeth Aldrich commissioned by the Library of Congress. Since then, Sperling has created five Fuller-inspired solos, including The Serpentine Dance (after the 1891 original), The Magic-Lantern Dance, a collaboration with Terry Borton, the director of the American Magic Lantern Theater, Dance of the Elements, La Nuit, and, most recently, Debussy Soirée.

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