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Martha Graham

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Image:Martha Graham Bertram Ross 1961.jpgMartha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991), an American dancer and choreographer, is known as one of the foremost pioneers of modern dance.

She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania and moved to California when she was 14 years old. After seeing Ruth St. Denis perform in the 1910s, she took an interest in dance. Not until the age of 22 (1916) did she pursue her interest professionally by enrolling at Denishawn. In 1925, Graham became a dance instructor at the Eastman School of Music and Theater in Rochester, New York. She later set out on her own with the support of Louis Horst, an accompanist whom she had got to know while training at Denishawn and who grew to be her musical mentor and lover. Graham founded her own company, the Martha Graham Dance Company, in 1926. Her unique movement style -- widely recognised for its principle of contraction and release -- and imagery reflected the modern art of the times.

In the 1930s, Graham taught at Bennington College and New York University where Martha Hill directed the dance departments. In 1951, Graham was a founding member of the dance division of the Juilliard School, also directed by Martha Hill.

In 1936, Graham made her defining work, "Chronicle", which signalled the beginning of a new era in contemporary dance. The dance brought serious issues to the stage for the general public in a dramatic manner. Influenced by the Wall Street Crash, the Great Depression and the Spanish Civil War, it focused on depression and isolation, reflected in the dark nature of both the set and costumes.

Image:Martha Graham 1948.jpg

Graham's dancing life gradually came to a rest starting in the 1950s. In 1927, the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance was established. One of her students was heiress Bethsabée de Rothschild with whom she became close friends. When Rothschild moved to Israel and established the Batsheva Dance Company in 1965, Graham became the company's first director, groomed its first generation of dancers, and made works for it.

In 1948, Graham married Erick Hawkins(a principal dancer in her company). She didn't want to marry, but after eight years of living together, she decided they should.

Her largest-scale work, the evening-length Clytemnestra, was created in 1958 and features a score by the Egyptian-born composer Halim El-Dabh.

Her final dance performances came in the late 1960s, and from then on she focused on choreography. Some critics say that even though there is little physical record of her dancing, it is more memorable than her choreography. Graham continued working until her death from pneumonia in 1991 at the age of 96.

She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1976 by President Gerald Ford (the First Lady Betty Ford had danced with Graham in her youth).

In 1998, TIME magazine listed her as the "Dancer of the Century" and as one of the most important people of the 20th century.

Contents

[edit] Quotes

"There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. If you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will never have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable it is, nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than others."

[edit] Quotes from the Public

                          "Dancer of the Century"
                            1998,TIME Magazine 
                 Named in the Female "Icons of the Century"
                         1998, People Magazine
                       "Brilliant, young dancer"
                             1920, Unknown 
                           "A National Treasure"
                       1976, President Gerald R. Ford

[edit] Dances

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  • Graham, Martha (1991). Blood Memory: An autobiography. NYC: Doubleday. ISBN 0-38-526503-4.
  • Freedman, Russell (1998). Martha Graham: A Dancer's Life. NYC: Clarion Books. ISBN 0-39-574655-8.
  • Horosko, Marian (2002). Martha Graham: The Evolution of Her Dance Theory and Training. Gainesville, FL: Univ. Press of Florida. ISBN 0-81-302473-0.
  • Morgan, Barbara (1980). Martha Graham: Sixteen Dances in Photographs. Morgan & Morgan. ISBN 0-87-100176-4.
  • Tracy, Robert (1997). Goddess - Martha Graham's Dancers Remember. Pompton Plains, NJ: Limelight Editions. ISBN 0-87-910086-9.
  • Bird, Dorothy, Greenberg, Joyce (2002 reprint). Bird's Eye View: Dancing With Martha Graham and on Broadway. Pittsburgh, PA: Univ. of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0-82-295791-4.
  • Taylor, Paul (1987). Private Domain: An Autobiography. NYC: Knopf. ISBN 0-39-451683-4.
  • Soares, Janet Mansfield (1992). Louis Horst: Musician in a Dancer's World. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. ISBN 0-82-231226-3.
  • Hawkins, Erick (1992). The Body Is a Clear Place and Other Statements on Dance. Hightstown, NJ: Princeton Book Co. ISBN 0-87-127166-4.de:Martha Graham

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