Martha Graham

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 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 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.

President Gerald Ford called her a "A National Treasure" when awarding her the first Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1976. In 1998, TIME Magazine listed her as the "Dancer of the Century" and as one of the most important people of the 20th 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.

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 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.

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 company in the world.) Her unique style of movement, which incorporated spastic tremblings, floor work, and 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." (Newsmakers)

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. 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.

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 and signalled a new beginning in an era of contemporary dance.

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.

Graham's dancing life gradually came to a rest starting in the 1950s. 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 created works for it.

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

Retirement and end of life

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.

Quotes

According to Agnes de Mille: "The greatest thing she ever said to me was in 1943 ...

'"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable 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 yourself open and aware 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 the others"'

from The Life and Work of Martha Graham

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.

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 Hovhaness]].
• 1975 - Lucifer. Music by Halim El-Dabh.

Early Dancers

Graham's own final performance was May 25, 1968, in A Time of Snow at the George Abbott Theater, NYC.

So many important dancers appeared in Graham's company that any listing involves editorial decisions that leave out deserving performers. Some lists made by scholars include:

"Graham's original girls were superb - Bessie Schonberg, Evelyn Sabin, Martha Hill, Gertrude Shurr, Anna Sokolov, Nelle Fisher, Dorothy Bird, Bonnie Bird, Sophie Maslow, May O'Donnell, Jane Dudley, Anita Alvarez, Pearl Lang - as were the second group - Yuriko, Ethel Butler, Ethel Winter, Jean Erdman, Patricia Birch, Nina Fonaroff, Matt Turney, Mary Hinkson. And the unforgettable group of men - Erick Hawkins, and after him Merce Cunningham, David Campbell, John Butler, Stuart Hodes, Glen Tetley, Betrtam Ross, Paul Taylor, Mark Ryder, William Carter."

External links

• Time Magazine: 100 Most Important People of the Century
• PBS:American Masters biography
• Kennedy Centery biography
• Martha Graham at the Internet Movie Database
• MarthaGrahamDance.org - Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance

Further Reading

• Graham, Martha (1991). Blood Memory: An autobiography. NYC: Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-26503-4. 
• Freedman, Russell (1998). Martha Graham: A Dancer's Life. NYC: Clarion Books. ISBN 0-395-74655-8. 
• Horosko, Marian (2002). Martha Graham: The Evolution of Her Dance Theory and Training. Gainesville, FL: Univ. Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-2473-0. 
• Morgan, Barbara (1980). Martha Graham: Sixteen Dances in Photographs. Morgan & Morgan. ISBN 0-87100-176-4. 
• Tracy, Robert (1997). Goddess - Martha Graham's Dancers Remember. Pompton Plains, NJ: Limelight Editions. ISBN 0-87910-086-9. 
• Bird, Dorothy and Greenberg, Joyce (2002 reprint). Bird's Eye View: Dancing With Martha Graham and on Broadway. Pittsburgh, PA: Univ. of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0-8229-5791-4. 
• Taylor, Paul (1987). Private Domain: An Autobiography. NYC: Knopf. ISBN 0-394-51683-4. 
• Soares, Janet Mansfield (1992). Louis Horst: Musician in a Dancer's World. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-1226-3. 
• Hawkins, Erick (1992). The Body Is a Clear Place and Other Statements on Dance. Hightstown, NJ: Princeton Book Co. ISBN 0-87127-166-4. 

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