Obsessed with Light

OBSESSED WITH LIGHT pulls back the curtain on Loïe Fuller (1862-1928), a wildly original performer and pioneer of modern dance. Creating a dialogue between the past and the present, the documentary delves into the astonishing influence Fuller's work has on contemporary culture including artists like Taylor Swift, Bill T. Jones, Shakira and William Kentridge, Red Hot Chili Peppers among many others. Fuller developed a completely new kind of spectacle which combined dance, fabric and movement. It's about a woman who became famous on her own terms – unapologetic about her body type and open about her sexuality.

The American creator of modern dance, Fuller (1862-1928) invented a completely new kind of spectacle which combined dance, fabric and movement. She also pioneered the ingenious use of electricity for the stage, even building a glass floor so that she could be lit from below. Anyone who has been to a rock concert has seen a modern version of her lighting designs. Fuller propelled herself into swirling abstractions that made audiences gasp and she immediately understood the importance of protecting her ownership of these innovations. Always struggling against a flood of imitators, Fuller was the first choreographer to attempt to copyright her dances and sued to protect her work as early as 1893.

Fuller shot to international stardom after performing at the Folies Bergère in Paris. Her rise to fame was intertwined with the very beginning of cinema and her Serpentine dance became an iconic subject for the earliest filmmakers like Georges Méliès and Alice Guy Blaché. It was also among the earliest footage ever to be hand-colored.