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By Christine Jowers
Copyright 2004 Christine Jowers

(Editor's Note: Tomorrow through Sunday at New York's Cunningham Studio, Christine Jowers and Moving Arts Projects present "Awakening Dancing Goddesses, Real and Imagined," an evening of solos by Jowers and guest artists, including Isadora Duncan, Ann Carlson, Kun Yang Lin, Larry Keigwin, Catlin Cobb, Rachel Cohen, and Janis Brenner. The evening's premiere part includes Jowers's "Revealing Isadora." We asked Jowers to comment on her intentions.)

I am particularly moved by the stories of our dance ancestors: the intelligent, passionate creators of modern dance who transformed the artistic world with the power of their individual voices. Because I am a modern dancer and a woman and a solo performer, I focus my work on the strong feminine voice of modern dance -- Isadora, Ruth St. Denis, Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Eleanor King... to name a few.

Isadora Duncan had a huge vision for dance in America. She inspired people to dance. She shocked audiences with her bold vision of dancing and living. She wrote about dance, and about the dancer of the future. Being a truly liberated being in a liberated body, she spoke of dance as being equal to the other arts (which it still isn't). She spoke of dance being a necessary part of education (which is something that is just now being addressed by the Department of Education in NYC) Wow.... What a modern rebel.

I created the project "Revealing Isadora" in 2001 because I wanted to ask artists whose work I admired if they felt at all connected to Isadora Duncan. There are many wonderful people out there who recreate Isadora's work, but what about the rest of the dance world? How did they feel? Did they even know anything about Isadora or her life...? (My frustration is that many dancers just don't know anything about their history.)

All my projects start out as questions. I could ask the "How are you connected to Isadora Duncan?" question forever.... I couldn't even put in a whole show all the interesting responses I got. This weekend the audience will experience three modern takes on Isadora as well as a modern version of her 1923 work "Revolutionary."

My show is about awakening dancing goddesses and one of them is Isadora Duncan. But I don't want to wake her up so that we can idolize the woman; I would like to really awaken the spirit in all of us that impels us to dance no matter what...the spirit that impels us to take creative action and express our truths through art....

For showtimes and ticket information for "Awakening Dancing Goddesses, Real and Imagined," please call 212-924-0077.

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