3-083-722 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Folies-Bergere La Loïe Fuller, c1893. Loïe Fuller was an American dancer, born in Chicago, who made her debut at the Folies-Bergère in October 1892. Additional Info: The Folies had been founded in 1869 as the Café du Sommier Elastique for vaudevilles and concerts. In 1889, the Folies went bankrupt and was bought by the Allemand family, who placed Edouard Marchand in charge. It was he who was responsible for transforming it into one of the most chic night-clubs in the capital and he continually sought out new performers. Fuller’s performance exploited the newly installed electric lights and the fashion for Art Nouveau. In this poster she is wearing voluminous drapery which she activates in intricate rhythms about her person by means of sticks held in her hands. For the Fire Dance or the Butterfly Dance, changing coloured lights were projected across the surface of the fabric, as Cheret has attempted to suggest in this poster.