Happy Birthday to Isadora Duncan, a groundbreaking dancer who performed at the Fine Arts Building in 1899, early in both her career and the building’s history. Born in 1877, Isadora became known as the “mother of modern dance” after revolutionizing the dance form at the turn of the century. Starkly contrasting the rigidity of ballet, Isadora introduced an innovative, free-spirited form of dance. Inspired by ancient Greeks, she performed natural, impulsive movements with bare feet, loose hair, and free-flowing tunics, directly opposing the corsets and strict steps of ballet. In doing so, she renounced the traditional female roles in dance, and while scandalizing and shocking audiences, her style spread across Europe and America. She performed a recital in the Studebaker in 1899, doing dance interpretations of classic poems and music after gaining praise and notoriety in New York City. #chicagohistory #studebakertheater #fineartsbuildingchicago #dancehistory