Maud Allan
(Beulah Maud Durrant)
* August 27th 1873 (or 1880?), Toronto (Canada)
† October 7th 1956, Los Angeles (USA)
Maud Allan was born in Toronto, Canada in 1873. At the age of 5, her family moved to San Francisco, California. She studied music in hopes of being a concert pianist. In 1895 she continued her music education in Berlin. Trying to stay in Germany she took on odd jobs and finally was discovered in dancing performances. Her performing debut was in Vienna 1903, and her best known solo performance, "The vision of Salome", in 1906, also at Vienna.
She is a woman to be admired for her perseverance and dedication to the dance she loved. She was accused of copying Isadora Duncan, although she was true to her own grace and modern style. At that time dance was not considered a respectable profession for women. She was slanderously condemned for her sexuality, and she was finally brought to shame by the past of her brother. He was accused of murder for two women and was executed. She continued to fight for her honour, and changed her name so as to not be associated with her brother.
Despite all that was against her she held her head high and was in many dance performances all over the world. In 1941 she moved to Los Angeles and died 15 years later.
References:
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Bibliography:
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James, Russell
The Maud Allan Affair
Remember When, Pen & Sword Books Ltd., Barnsley 2008
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Buonaventura, Wendy
Midnight Rose
Cinnabar Books 2009
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Bentley, Toni
Sisters of Salome
Yale University Press, 2002
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