Isadora Duncan:A Graphic Biography
Written and Illustrated by
Sabrina Jones
Hill and Wang
New York
2008
ISBN: 9780809094974
Plot Summary:
From a very young age, Isadora Duncan was filled with a sense of purpose, and a desire to dance her dreams in front of all who cared to watch. Dance halls were not to her liking, however, and what Isadora really wanted was to change the way people looked at movement in dance, and the perceptions of the female body as something to be contained and deformed. Isadora Duncan: a Graphic Biography, follows Isadora from her teenage years as a budding artistic dancer to her untimely death at the still-young age of 50.
Critical Evaluation:
Sabrina Jones' drawing style is vividly expressed through a style that utilizes strong lines, willowy movements, and expressive features. The graphite severity of the outer edges of her figures allows for a feeling of passionate investment in each drawing; while the humor that often accompanies a scenario provides a lightness to the boldness of the lines. Jones' love for her subject is never in doubt, and her love is contagious simply through viewing.
Reader's Annotation:
Isadora Duncan loved to dance, but she found ballet to be rigid and deformative. Her discovery of the arts of ancient Greece and European sculptures of the nude human figure inspired her to invent a totally new form of dance that celebrated the female body and expressed an organic, joyous movement. Duncan's discoveries and her schools of dance changed the world of dance forever.
Genre:
Graphic Novel/Biography
Author Info:
Sabrina Jones was a founder and editor of the Girl Talk and World War 3 Illustrated series. She has written several other full-length graphic novels, mostly concerned with labor and working-class political issues and histories. She rocks!
Reader Level/Interest Age:
Teens and up.
Booktalking Ideas:
*The Duncan family is artistically very evolved. How did they become this way?
*How does Isadora's strong self-confidence help shape her dance career?
*Where does Isadora's resolute autonomy come from?
*Is she a feminist?
Challenge Issues:
None foreseeable, although Duncan was very risque in her time.
Why Include?:
I have loved the art of Sabrina Jones for 15 years now, so when I discovered she had crafted a novel on the life of Isadora Duncan I couldn't believe my luck!
