Isadora Duncan was a member of the Cult of Ecstasy.
Overview[]
This barefooted revolutionary did more than just stand dance conventions on their ear; she advocated, through her teachings and example, the ecstatic experience in art. To this day, Cultists wonder if her odd death in 1927 was an accident - or an assassination.
Isadora was always drawn to the dance - not the rigidity of ballet, but the improvisational ferocity of the ancient Greeks. She felt dance should be fluid and elemental, not stiff or polite, and danced half-naked and alone, drawing the music into her movements. American audiences were not exactly enthralled; the self-Awakened mage had much to learn. When Isadora moved to Europe, she encountered Jean Garoche, a Nephandi-hunting Cultist; the two became lovers, friends and comrades in arms. With his help, Isadora excelled at magick and became the talk of Europe.
Duncan's charisma and stamina were legendary, as were her grace and libido. Lovers flocked to her bed, and students filled her dance schools. Her sense of the Lakashim was strong; she advocated a return to nature, and many fans listened.
Then fell Garoche; Jean turned barabbi. When Isadora found out, she killed him and fled to Russia, where she met the fae-blooded dancer Nijinski, his mentor Sergey Diaghilev (another Ecstatic), and Rasputin. There, she thought she'd found peace. She was mistaken. Friends of Garoche took revenge. One "accident" drowned Duncan's two children and their nanny. Another "coincidence" killed her newborn son. Her success in post-war Russia branded her a traitor back home, the schools failed, and Isadora took to drink. As a focus, it made a great vice; her powers declined, as did her success. When Duncan's husband committed suicide, she almost joined him.
Despite her "luck," Duncan's ecstatic teachings caught on, changing the face of modern dance. Her star was on the rise again when a mysterious "accident" ended her career forever: Isadora's trademark, a flowing scarf, tangled around a car wheel and snapped her neck. Was it chance - or a final Nephandic strike? To this day, many Ecstatic dancers wear scarves in Isadora's honor - and in defiance of her fate.
References[]
- MTAs: Cult of Ecstasy Tradition Book, p. 55-56