20-year-old Irma Duncan in a dance pose, 1917. Agence Rol, National Library of France.

Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Estampes et photographie, EI-13 (868)

The pupils of Isadora Duncan's Moscow school during their tour.

 

During 1928-1930 the 11th of most talented students from Isadora's Moscow school with Irma was touring abroad. This tour was arranged by Soul Hurok by Isadora's last request.The series of American concerts had good reviews. Except dances, the girls also was singing while dancing. But after the tour, Irma refused to take the them back home. Instead, she proposed  to stay with her and promised them a splendid career. The students declined the proposition and decided to return to Russia.Having no money to buy tickets, they started  to perform in universities. Lily Dikovskaya,the one of these pupils, in her book "In Isadora's steps" explaining this situation, wrote that Irma stole their honorars from tour and expacted that her students would return to her on any terms.
That's why they had to collect money by dancing to students.