About the book: 2014 / This book is about the culture of movement in Russia from the Silver Age to the mid-1930s, about free dance - traditions , founded by Isadora Duncan and which influenced not only the art of dance in the twentieth century, but also the attitude towards the body, clothing, and movement. The first part, "The Will to Dance", talks about the "Dionysian dance" and "ecstasy" as a utopia of the Silver Age, about dance studios of the 1910-1920s, about scientific studies of movement, "dancing machines" and biomechanics. In the second part, “Choosing the Path,” questions about the relationship of movement to music, about dance as an “abstract” art, about its role in emancipation and “liberation of the body,” and, finally, about the aesthetic and philosophical principles of free dance are explored using specific historical material. . The uniqueness of the book lies in the fact that it examines dance not only in art history and cultural studies, but also in a historical and scientific context. Based on both published and archival sources, the author reveals the connection between the artistic and scientific quests of an era that has not yet come to the attention of researchers.