Labyrinthine depictions and tempting colors: The synaesthetic dances of Loie Fuller as symbolist choreograph

This study explores Loie Fuller's use of synaesthesia to bring together various sensations so as to create a dreamlike effect in her choreography, while at the same time presenting a visual representation of symbolist ideals. On the music-hall stage she created popular ideas that had otherwise been restricted to small experimental theaters. In the visual arts, she became a constant public image of poster art as well as paintings, sculptures, and prints. She also dramatically presented the visualization of avant-garde color theories, while simultaneously representing symbolist ideals of the literary world.;By tracing her explorations with the other arts in the context of various artistic, scientific, and movement theories, Fuller's work can serve as a model for interdisciplinary studies in the fine arts. In that regard, this dissertation considers an area of art practice, namely dance, that is commonly neglected by art historians as many are not fully aware of how integrated an art form it is.;The results of this study reveal that the choreography of Fuller is a visual representation of symbolist ideals through her use of synaesthesia. Fuller found contradictory and highly individualistic ways to communicate moods, emotions, and colors in her choreography, and she communicated personal messages of a spiritual, moral, or religious nature through a variety of senses. By tracing her explorations with the other arts in the context of various artistic, scientific, and movement theories, Fuller's work serves as a model for interdisciplinary studies in the fine arts. In that regard, this dissertation also considers how dance in itself incorporates movement, music, visual arts, and philosophical and aesthetic ideals.