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Born in 1862 in Fullersburg, Illinois, Loie Fuller was an American dancer and choreographer known for innovative uses of theatrical lighting and costume. After an early career in the United States first as a child actress, then in vaudeville and as a burlesque dancer, Fuller moved to Paris. There she delved into improvisational avant-garde dance performance techniques, inventing the "Serpentine Dance" and experimenting with early color gels and chemical salts for luminescent garments and lighting. She had an influence on other dancers of the period and upon early filmmakers, such as the Lumière brothers, who filmed an unidentified dancer performing a "Serpentine Dance" in 1896. She remained productive in Paris until her death in 1928.
The research material pertains to Loie Fuller and to the history of the town of Hinsdale / Fullersburg, Illinois. Files include Mann's manuscripts and published articles about Loie Fuller; photocopied articles and clippings about Loie Fuller; photographs of the Fuller family, Fullersburg, and of the Ben Fuller House; illustrations of Loie Fuller's costume and lighting designs; a script and audio tapes of a presentation prepared by the museum about Loie Fuller; booklets and other promotional material about the Fuller House Museum and the Hinsdale Historical Society.