Encyclopedia, Difference between revisions of "Martha Graham" - New World

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Martha Graham and Bertram Ross in Visionary Recital, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1961

Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 - April 1, 1991), an American dancer and choreographer, is known as one of the foremost pioneers of modern dance. Coming upon the foundation of turn-of-the-century dancer, Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham would take this art form to a new level with her introduction of dance techniques that at first horrified and then later won over the American public.

In terms of modernism she has been compared to Picasso, Stravinsky, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Like other modernists she broke with the formalism of 19th century Romanticism in order to create not only a uniquely contemporary style, but one that was quintessentially American. Her philosophy, which helped shape the American public's view towards dance, was that "dancing is an affirmation of life through movement." Her bold and transformative work cannot be limited only to dance, however, as she also exerted a marked influence over set design, costumes, and music.

President Gerald Ford called her a "A National Treasure" when awarding her the first Presidential Medal of Freedom ever given in 1976. In 1998, TIME Magazine listed her as the "Dancer of the Century" and as one of the most important people of the Twentieth Century.

Early Life and influences

She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. She was 14 years old when her family moved to Santa Barbara, California in search of a more favorable climate for her sister's asthma problems. The liberal cultural milieu of the West Coast had an impact on Graham's career choice. After seeing Ruth St. Denis perform in 1910, she proclaimed that her future profession was "chosen" for her. Her father, initially discouraging her, allowed her to attend Cumnock Junior College in Los Angeles, which had an emphasis on the arts. In 1916, at the age of 22 (a very late start for a dancer), Graham was finally able to pursue her interest professionally by enrolling at the school St. Denis founded, along with husband Ted Shawn, called the Denishawn Studio. She spent eight years there performing, teaching and embarking on a longtime collaboration with Louis Horst, who would become her musical director and adviser.

In 1923, seeking to branch out into a career of her own, Graham performed with the Greenwich Village Follies on Broadway for two years. Then in 1925 she took the position as dance instructor at the Eastman School of Music and Theater in Rochester, New York. She was given complete control of her classes and an opportunity to do experimental work. It is from this pool of students that she first drew upon to create a performing ensemble. Initially, her dance group was made up entirely of female dancers, but later0 she introduced male dancers and opened the way for more diversified performances. She would also be one of the first directors to employ Asian and Black American dancers.

A new era in dance

Photo by Yousuf Karsh, 1948

In 1926 Graham founded her own company, the Martha Graham Dance Company. (Now known as the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, it is the oldest modern dance troupe in the world.) Her unique style of movement, which incorporated spastic tremblings, floor work, and tumbling falls provided a unique counterpose to the flying leaps and highly structured balletic style that was the mainstay of dance in Europe. Graham, initially ridiculed by American audiences, became widely recognized for her expressive style that more intensely conveyed spiritual and emotional themes. The Chicago Tribune said of her art, "by creating dances that probed so deeply into the human psyche, Miss Graham established a new vocabulary for dance in America." ^[1]

Part of Graham's success can be attributed to the highly creative collaborations that she engaged in with other artists, such as sculptor Isamu Noguchi on sets. Both set and costume design were spare and minimalist in contrast with more traditional dance and theater productions. Graham sometimes commissioned musical scores for her pieces by notable composers such as Aaron Copland, who collaborated with her on Appalachian Spring, the story of a pioneer wedding. She drew inspiration - what she called a "certain stirring" - from American writers, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Emily Dickinson (Letter to the World) and from Native American rituals, Biblical stories, and historical figures.

Career Highlights

In the 1930s nearly half of her dances were solo; the most publicized one was performed at the White House in 1937 for President Franklin Roosevelt and First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. This short program drew attention to her newly emerging and important role in the establishment of modern dance in America. Graham would go on to dance for seven more presidencies.

A tour through the American Southwest provided her with the inspiration for Primitive Mysteries (1931), a work that reflects both her interest in Native American stories and the art and imagery of painter Georgia O'Keeffe. That same year she would be the first dancer to receive a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship.

In 1936 Graham refused to perform at the Olympics in Berlin due to Nazi Germany's persecution of fellow artists. Instead she immersed herself in the creation of one of her defining works, Chronicle, which became a statement against imperialism and signaled a new beginning in an era of contemporary dance. The dance brought serious issues to the forefront with renderings from American history that included the Wall Street Crash, the Great Depression and the Spanish Civil War.

In the 1930s Graham taught at Bennington College summer school, where future First Lady Betty Ford took classes from her, and at New York University where Martha Hill directed the dance departments. Graham was also a founding member of the dance division of the Julliard School.

The 1940s were highly prolific for Graham when she produced many inimitable works such as American Document, which featured principal dancer Erick Hawkins, who would later become her husband. (They married in 1948 and divorced in 1954.) This passionate dance recited passages from Solomon's "Song of Songs" and contrasted them with the rebuking words of Puritan preacher Cotton Mather.

What could be considered her magnum opus was the production of Seraphic Dialogue (1955), which told the story of Joan of Arc. The re-enactment of women's struggles and victories throughout history was to be a recurring theme in Graham's work. This work in particular was seen by critics as a telling reflection of Graham's own professional triumphs over disappointment and failure. Her largest-scale work, the lengthy and other-worldly Clytemnestra, which drew from the poetic works of Robinson Jeffers, was performed in 1958, and featured a score written by the Egyptian-born composer Halim El-Dabh.

Retirement

Graham's dancing life gradually came to a rest starting in the 1950s. Graham's own final performance was in 1968, at the age of 75, in A Time of Snow at the George Abbott Theater in New York City^[2] however, she would continue to choreograph, teach, and direct her company, for two more decades. In 1990, only a year before her death, her final piece was performed, Maple Leaf Rag which featured the music of Scott Joplin and costumes by Calvin Klein.

Although her creative powers waned in later years she was to receive many awards for her work. In 1965 she won the Aspen Award in the Humanities which proclaimed that her work, "reaffirmed the primacy of the human spirit in an age dominated by science and technology" ^[3] In 1979 she was a Kennedy Center Honors Award recipient. In 1984 she was invited to the Paris Opera by Rudolf Nureyev, where she received the French Legion of Honor Medal and in 1985 she received the National Medal of Arts. She died from pneumonia at the age of 96 in 1991.

Legacy

Martha Graham said that she wanted to be remembered primarily as a dancer, but her prodigious career of seven decades included much more— from choreography to teaching to costume design. She influenced a generation of dancers who have incorporated her revolutionary ideas about movement, which are based in part on her use of disciplined breathing techniques and the "contraction and release of energy," that so distinguishes her work. She had enormous influence over the way modern dancers approach and think about movement in both form and content, and her ideas have become part of a permanent dance lexicon throughout the world.

Footnotes

↑ "Martha Graham." Newsmakers 1991, Issue Cumulation. Gale Research. 1991. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.
↑ de Mille, Agnes (1991). Martha: The Life and Work of Martha Graham NYC: Random House, p. 264. ISBN 0-394-55643-7.
↑ Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2007. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.

Dances

1944 - Appalachian Spring. Music by Aaron Copland.
1947 - Night Journey. Music by William Schuman.
1948 - Diversion of Angels. Music by Norman Dello Joio.
1950 - Judith. Music by William Schuman.
1955 - Seraphic Dialogue. Music by Norman Dello Joio.
1958 - Clytemnestra. Music by Halim El-Dabh.
1960 - Acrobats of God. Music by Carlos Surinach.
1960 - Alcestis. Music by Vivian Fine.
1961 - One More Gaudy Night. Music by Halim El-Dabh.
1962 - A Look at Lightning. Music by Halim El-Dabh.
1963 - Circe. Music by Alan Hovhaness.
1967 - Cortege of Eagles. Music by Eugene Lester.
1969 - The Archaic Hours. Music by Eugene Lester.
1973 - Myth of a Voyage. Music by Alan Hovhaness.
1975 - Lucifer. Music by Halim El-Dabh.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

"Martha Graham." The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Volume 3: 1991-1993 Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.
"Martha Graham." Newsmakers 1991, Issue Cumulation. Gale Research. 1991. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.
Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2007. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.
"Martha Graham." American Decades. Gale Research. 1998. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.

External links

Teachout, Terry. 2003. http://www.time.com/time/time100/artists/profile/graham.html 100 Most Important People of the Century. Time Magazine Retrieved March 1, 2007.
Public Broadcasting System (PBS). 2007. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/graham_m.html American Masters biography. Retrieved March 1, 2007.
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entitY_id=3735&source_type=A Kennedy Center biography. Retrieved March 1, 2007.
Martha Graham at the Internet Movie Database
Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance. 2006. http://www.marthagrahamdance.org MarthaGrahamDance.org Retrieved March 1, 2007.

Credits

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[1] "Martha Graham." Newsmakers 1991, Issue Cumulation. Gale Research. 1991. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.

[2] Mille, Agnes (1991). Martha: The Life and Work of Martha Graham NYC: Random House, p. 264. ISBN 0-394-55643-7.

[3] Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2007. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Epname}}{{Claimed}}{{Contracted}}
+{{Epname}}{{Claimed}}{{Contracted}}{{Submitted}}
-[[Image:Martha Graham Bertram Ross 1961.jpg|thumb|Martha Graham and Bertram Ross in ''Visionary Recital'', photographed by [[Carl Van Vechten]], 1961]]'''Martha Graham''' (May 11, 1894 - April 1, 1991), an [[United States|American]] [[dancer]] and [[choreographer]], is known as one of the foremost pioneers of [[modern dance]]. Coming upon the foundation of turn-of the century dancer, [[Isadora Duncan]], Martha Graham would take this art form to a new level with her introduction of dance techniques that, at first horrified and later won over, the [[United States of America|American]] public.
+[[Image:Martha Graham Bertram Ross 1961.jpg|thumb|Martha Graham and Bertram Ross in ''Visionary Recital'', photographed by [[Carl Van Vechten]], 1961]]'''Martha Graham''' (May 11, 1894 - April 1, 1991), an [[United States|American]] [[dancer]] and [[choreographer]], is known as one of the foremost pioneers of [[modern dance]]. Coming upon the foundation of turn-of-the-century dancer, [[Isadora Duncan]], Martha Graham would take this art form to a new level with her introduction of dance techniques that at first horrified and then later won over the [[United States of America|American]] public.
-In terms of modernism she has been compared to [[Pablo Picasso|Picasso]], [[Igor Stravinsky|Stravinsky]], and [[Frank Lloyd Wright]]. Like other modernists she broke with the formalism of 19th century [[Romanticism]] in order to create not only a uniquely contemporary style, but one that was quintessentially American. Her philosophy, which helped shaped the American public's view towards dance, was that "dancing is an affirmation of life through movement." Her bold and transformative work cannot be limited only to dance, however, as she also exerted a marked influence over set design, costumes, and music.
+In terms of [[modernism]] she has been compared to [[Pablo Picasso|Picasso]], [[Igor Stravinsky|Stravinsky]], and [[Frank Lloyd Wright]]. Like other modernists she broke with the formalism of 19th century [[Romanticism]] in order to create not only a uniquely contemporary style, but one that was quintessentially American. Her philosophy, which helped shape the American public's view towards dance, was that "dancing is an affirmation of life through movement." Her bold and transformative work cannot be limited only to dance, however, as she also exerted a marked influence over set design, costumes, and music.
-[[Gerald Ford|President Gerald Ford]] called her a ''"A National Treasure"'' when awarding her the first [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] ever given in 1976. In 1998, TIME Magazine listed her as the ''"Dancer of the Century"''  and as one of the most important people of the [[Twentieth Century]].
+[[Gerald Ford|President Gerald Ford]] called her a ''"A National Treasure"'' when awarding her the first [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] ever given in 1976. In 1998, ''TIME Magazine'' listed her as the ''"Dancer of the Century"''  and as one of the most important people of the [[Twentieth Century]].
 ==Early Life and influences==
-She was born in Allegheny, [[Pennsylvania]]. The family moved to Santa Barabara, [[California]] when she was 14 years old seeking a more favorable climate for her sister's asthma problems. The liberal cultural milieu of the [[West Coast]] was also to have an impact on Graham's career choice.  After seeing [[Ruth St. Denis]] perform in  1910, she proclaimed that her future profession was "chosen" for her. Her father, initially discouraging her, allowed her to attend Cumnock Junior College in Los Angeles which had an emphasis on the arts. In 1916, at the age of 22 (a very late start for a dancer)  Graham  was finally able to pursue her interest professionally by enrolling at the school St. Denis founded, along with husband Ted Shawn, called the Denishawn Studio. She spent eight years there performing, teaching and embarking on a longtime collaboration with [[Louis Horst]], who would become her musical director and adviser.
+She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. She was 14 years old when her family moved to Santa Barbara, California in search of a more favorable climate for her sister's asthma problems. The liberal cultural milieu of the [[West Coast]] had an impact on Graham's career choice.  After seeing [[Ruth St. Denis]] perform in 1910, she proclaimed that her future profession was "chosen" for her. Her father, initially discouraging her, allowed her to attend Cumnock Junior College in Los Angeles, which had an emphasis on the arts. In 1916, at the age of 22 (a very late start for a dancer), Graham was finally able to pursue her interest professionally by enrolling at the school St. Denis founded, along with husband Ted Shawn, called the Denishawn Studio. She spent eight years there performing, teaching and embarking on a longtime collaboration with [[Louis Horst]], who would become her musical director and adviser.
-In 1923, seeking to branch out with a career of her own, Graham performed with the [[Greenwhich Village]] [[Follies]] on Broadway for two years. Then in 1925 she took a position as a dance instructor at the [[Eastman School of Music|Eastman School of Music and Theater]] in Rochester, [[New York]] where she was given complete control of her classes and an opportunity to do experimental work. It is from this pool of students that she first drew upon to create a performing ensemble. Initially, her dance group was made up entirely of female dancers in a field dominated by women. Later, she introduced male dancers and opened the way for more diversified performances.  She would also be one of the first directors to employ Asian and Black American dancers.
+In 1923, seeking to branch out into a career of her own, Graham performed with the [[Greenwich Village]] [[Follies]] on [[Broadway]] for two years. Then in 1925 she took the position as dance instructor at the [[Eastman School of Music|Eastman School of Music and Theater]] in Rochester, New York. She was given complete control of her classes and an opportunity to do experimental work. It is from this pool of students that she first drew upon to create a performing ensemble. Initially, her dance group was made up entirely of female dancers, but later0 she introduced male dancers and opened the way for more diversified performances. She would also be one of the first directors to employ [[Asia|Asian]] and Black American dancers.
 ==A new era in dance==
 [[Image:Martha Graham 1948.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Photo by [[Yousuf Karsh]], 1948]]
-In 1926, Graham founded her own company, the ''Martha Graham Dance Company.''  (Now, known as the [[Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance]], it is the oldest modern dance troupe in the world.) Her unique style of movement, which incorporated spastic tremblings, floor work, and tumbling falls provided a unique counterpose to the flying leaps and highly structured balletic style that was the mainstay of dance in Europe. Graham, at first ridiculed by American audiences, became widely recognized for her expressive style that had the ability to more intensely convey spiritual and emotional themes. The Chicago Tribune said of her art, "by creating dances that probed so deeply into the human psyche, Miss Graham established a new vocabulary for dance in America." <ref>"Martha Graham." Newsmakers 1991, Issue Cumulation. Gale Research. 1991. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.</ref>
+In 1926 Graham founded her own company, the ''Martha Graham Dance Company.'' (Now known as the [[Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance]], it is the oldest modern dance troupe in the world.) Her unique style of movement, which incorporated spastic tremblings, floor work, and tumbling falls provided a unique counterpose to the flying leaps and highly structured balletic style that was the mainstay of dance in [[Europe]]. Graham, initially ridiculed by American audiences, became widely recognized for her expressive style that more intensely conveyed spiritual and emotional themes. ''The Chicago Tribune'' said of her art, "by creating dances that probed so deeply into the human psyche, Miss Graham established a new vocabulary for dance in America." <ref>"Martha Graham." Newsmakers 1991, Issue Cumulation. Gale Research. 1991. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.</ref>
-Part of Graham's success can be attributed to the highly creative collaborations that she engaged in with other artists, such as sculptor [[Isamu Noguchi]] on sets.  Both set and costume design were spare and minimalist in contrast with more traditional dance and theatre productions.  Graham sometimes commissioned musical scores for her pieces by notable composers such as [[Aaron Copland]], who collaborated with her on ''Appalachian Spring,'' the story of a pioneer wedding. She drew inspiration - what she called a "certain stirring" - from American writers, [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]] and [[Emily Dickinson]] (''Letter to the World'') and from [[Native American]] rituals, Biblical stories, and historical figures.
+Part of Graham's success can be attributed to the highly creative collaborations that she engaged in with other artists, such as sculptor [[Isamu Noguchi]] on sets. Both set and costume design were spare and minimalist in contrast with more traditional dance and theater productions. Graham sometimes commissioned musical scores for her pieces by notable composers such as [[Aaron Copland]], who collaborated with her on ''Appalachian Spring,'' the story of a pioneer wedding. She drew inspiration - what she called a "certain stirring" - from American writers, [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]] and [[Emily Dickinson]] (''Letter to the World'') and from [[Native American]] rituals, [[Bible|Biblical]] stories, and historical figures.
 ==Career Highlights==
@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 In the 1930s nearly half of her dances were solo; the most publicized one was performed at the [[White House]] in 1937 for [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|President Franklin Roosevelt]] and First Lady, [[Eleanor Roosevelt]].  This short program drew attention to her newly emerging and important role in the establishment of modern dance in [[United States of America|America]].  Graham would go on to dance for seven more presidencies.
-A tour through the American [[Southwest]] provided her with the inspiration for ''Primitive Mysteries,'' (1931) a work that reflects both her interest in [[Native American]] stories and the art and imagery of painter [[Georgia O'Keeffe]]. That same year she would be the first dancer to receive a [[Guggenheim Foundation]] Fellowship.
+A tour through the American [[Southwest]] provided her with the inspiration for ''Primitive Mysteries'' (1931), a work that reflects both her interest in [[Native American]] stories and the art and imagery of painter [[Georgia O'Keeffe]]. That same year she would be the first dancer to receive a [[Guggenheim Foundation]] Fellowship.
-In 1936, Graham refused to perform at the [[Olympics]] in [[Berlin]] due to [[Nazi]] Germany's perseuction of fellow artists. Instead she immersed herself in the creation of one of her defining works, ''Chronicle'', which became a statement against [[Imperialism|imperialism]] and signalled a new beginning in an era of contemporary dance. The dance brought serious issues to the forefront, while rendering accounts from American history from the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929|Wall Street Crash]], to the [[Great Depression]] to the [[Spanish Civil War]].
+In 1936 Graham refused to perform at the [[Olympics]] in [[Berlin]] due to [[Nazism|Nazi]] [[Germany]]'s persecution of fellow artists. Instead she immersed herself in the creation of one of her defining works, ''Chronicle'', which became a statement against [[Imperialism|imperialism]] and signaled a new beginning in an era of contemporary dance. The dance brought serious issues to the forefront with renderings from American history that included the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929|Wall Street Crash]], the [[Great Depression]] and the [[Spanish Civil War]].
-In the 1930s, Graham taught at [[Bennington College]] summer school, where future [[First Lady]] [[Betty Ford]] took classes from her, and [[New York University]] where [[Martha Hill]] directed the dance departments. Graham was also a founding member of the dance division of the [[Juilliard School]].
+In the 1930s Graham taught at [[Bennington College]] summer school, where future [[First Lady]] [[Betty Ford]] took classes from her, and at [[New York University]] where [[Martha Hill]] directed the dance departments. Graham was also a founding member of the dance division of the [[Julliard School]].
-The 1940s were highly prolific for Graham when she produced many inimitable works such as ''American Document'', which featured principal dancer [[Erick Hawkins]] who would later become her husband. (They married in 1948 and divorced in 1954.) This passionate dance recited passages from [[King Solomon|Solomon]]'s "Song of Songs" and contrasted them with the rebuking words of Puritan preacher [[Cotton Mather]].
+The 1940s were highly prolific for Graham when she produced many inimitable works such as ''American Document'', which featured principal dancer [[Erick Hawkins]], who would later become her husband. (They married in 1948 and divorced in 1954.) This passionate dance recited passages from [[King Solomon|Solomon]]'s "Song of Songs" and contrasted them with the rebuking words of Puritan preacher [[Cotton Mather]].
-What could be considered her magnum opus was the production of ''Seraphic Dialogue'' (1955) which told the story of [[Joan of Arc]]. The re-enactment of women's struggles and victories throughout history was to be a recurring theme in Graham's work.  This work in particular was seen by critics as a telling reflection of Graham's own professional triumphs over disappointment and failure. Her largest-scale work, the evening-length and other-wordly ''[[Clytemnestra (dance)|Clytemnestra]]'', which drew from the poetic works of [[Robinson Jeffers]], was performed in 1958, and featured a score written by the Egyptian-born composer [[Halim El-Dabh]].
+What could be considered her magnum opus was the production of ''Seraphic Dialogue'' (1955), which told the story of [[Joan of Arc]]. The re-enactment of women's struggles and victories throughout history was to be a recurring theme in Graham's work. This work in particular was seen by critics as a telling reflection of Graham's own professional triumphs over disappointment and failure. Her largest-scale work, the lengthy and other-worldly ''Clytemnestra'', which drew from the poetic works of [[Robinson Jeffers]], was performed in 1958, and featured a score written by the [[Egypt]]ian-born composer [[Halim El-Dabh]].
 ==Retirement==
@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 Graham's dancing life gradually came to a rest starting in the 1950s.  Graham's own final performance was in 1968, at the age of 75, in ''A Time of Snow'' at the George Abbott Theater in [[New York City]]<ref>de Mille, Agnes (1991). ''Martha: The Life and Work of Martha Graham'' NYC: Random House, p. 264. ISBN 0-394-55643-7.</ref> however, she would continue to choreograph, teach, and direct her company, for two more decades. In 1990, only a year before her death, her final piece was performed, ''Maple Leaf Rag'' which featured the music of [[Scott Joplin]] and costumes by [[Calvin Klein]].
-Although her creative powers waned in later years she was to receive many awards for her work. In 1965 she won the ''Aspen Award in the Humanities'' which proclaimed that her work, "reaffirmed the primacy of the human spirit in an age dominated by science and technology" <ref>Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2007. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.</ref> In 1979 she was a [[Kennedy Center Honors Award]] recipient. In 1984 she was invited to [[Paris Opera]] by [[Rudolf Nureyev]], where she received the French [[Legion of Honor Medal]] and in 1985 she received the [[National Medal of Arts]].  She died from [[pneumonia]] at the age of 96 in 1991.
+Although her creative powers waned in later years she was to receive many awards for her work. In 1965 she won the ''Aspen Award in the Humanities'' which proclaimed that her work, "reaffirmed the primacy of the human spirit in an age dominated by science and technology" <ref>Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2007. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.</ref> In 1979 she was a [[Kennedy Center Honors Award]] recipient. In 1984 she was invited to the [[Paris Opera]] by [[Rudolf Nureyev]], where she received the [[France|French]] [[Legion of Honor Medal]] and in 1985 she received the [[National Medal of Arts]].  She died from [[pneumonia]] at the age of 96 in 1991.
 ==Legacy==
-Martha Graham had said that she primarily wanted to be remembered as a dancer, but her prodigious career of seven decades included much more from choreography to teaching to costume design. She influenced a generation of dancers who have incorporated her revolutionary ideas about movement, which are based in part on her use of disciplined breathing teachniques and the "contraction and release of energy," that so distinguishes her work. She had enormous influence over the way modern dancers approach and think about movement in both form and  content, and her ideas have become part of a permanent dance lexicon throughout the world.
+Martha Graham said that she wanted to be remembered primarily as a dancer, but her prodigious career of seven decades included much more— from choreography to teaching to costume design. She influenced a generation of dancers who have incorporated her revolutionary ideas about movement, which are based in part on her use of disciplined breathing techniques and the "contraction and release of energy," that so distinguishes her work. She had enormous influence over the way modern dancers approach and think about movement in both form and  content, and her ideas have become part of a permanent dance lexicon throughout the world.
-David - I also took out list of dancers... there are so many, different articles list different ones as being important.
-David - I took out the section on quotes; it was long. Eileen
+== Footnotes ==
+<references/>
-==References==
-*"Martha Graham." ''The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Volume 3:'' 1991-1993 Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001. Reproduced in ''Biography Resource Center.'' Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.
-*"Martha Graham." ''Newsmakers 1991,'' Issue Cumulation. Gale Research. 1991. Reproduced in ''Biography Resource Center.'' Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.
-*''Contemporary Authors Online,'' Gale, 2007. Reproduced in ''Biography Resource Center.'' Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.
-*"Martha Graham." ''American Decades.'' Gale Research. 1998. Reproduced in ''Biography Resource Center.'' Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.
 ==Dances==
@@ Line 67: / Line 61: @@
 *1969 - ''The Archaic Hours''. Music by Eugene Lester.
 *1973 - ''Myth of a Voyage''. Music by Alan Hovhaness.
-*1975 - ''Lucifer''.  Music by [[Halim El-Dabh]].
+*1975 - ''Lucifer''.  Music by Halim El-Dabh.
-== External links ==
+==References==
-*Teachout, Terry. 2003. http://www.time.com/time/time100/artists/profile/graham.html ''100 Most Important People of the Century.'' ''Time Magazine'' Retrieved March 1, 2007.
+*"Martha Graham." ''The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Volume 3:'' 1991-1993 Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001. Reproduced in ''Biography Resource Center.'' Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.
-*Public Broadcasting System (PBS). 2007. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/graham_m.html American Masters biography. Retrieved March 1, 2007.
+*"Martha Graham." ''Newsmakers 1991,'' Issue Cumulation. Gale Research. 1991. Reproduced in ''Biography Resource Center.'' Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.
-*John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entitY_id=3735&source_type=A Kennedy Center biography. Retrieved March 1, 2007.
+*''Contemporary Authors Online,'' Gale, 2007. Reproduced in ''Biography Resource Center.'' Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.
-*{{imdb_name|id=0334208|name=Martha Graham}}
+*"Martha Graham." ''American Decades.'' Gale Research. 1998. Reproduced in ''Biography Resource Center.'' Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.
-*Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance. 2006. http://www.marthagrahamdance.org MarthaGrahamDance.org Retrieved March 1, 2007.
-== Footnotes ==
-<references/>
 == Further Reading ==
@@ Line 88: / Line 78: @@
 *{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Paul |title=Private Domain: An Autobiography |year=1987 |publisher=Knopf |location=NYC |id=ISBN 0-394-51683-4 }}
 *{{cite book |last=Soares |first=Janet Mansfield |title=Louis Horst: Musician in a Dancer's World  |year=1992 |publisher=Duke University Press |location=Durham, NC |id=ISBN 0-8223-1226-3 }}
-*{{cite book |last=Hawkins |first=Erick |title=The Body Is a Clear Place and Other Statements on Dance |year=1992 |publisher=Princeton Book Co |location=Hightstown, NJ |id=ISBN 0-87127-166-4 }}
+*{{cite book |last=Hawkins |first=Erick |title=The Body Is a Clear Place and Other Statements on Dance |year=1992 |publisher=Princeton Book Co |id=ISBN 0-87127-166-4 }}
+== External links ==
+*Teachout, Terry. 2003. http://www.time.com/time/time100/artists/profile/graham.html ''100 Most Important People of the Century.'' ''Time Magazine'' Retrieved March 1, 2007.
+*Public Broadcasting System (PBS). 2007. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/graham_m.html American Masters biography. Retrieved March 1, 2007.
+*John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entitY_id=3735&source_type=A Kennedy Center biography. Retrieved March 1, 2007.
+*{{imdb_name|id=0334208|name=Martha Graham}}
+*Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance. 2006. http://www.marthagrahamdance.org MarthaGrahamDance.org Retrieved March 1, 2007.
 [[Category:Art, music, literature, sports and leisure]]