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Martha Graham |
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On May 11, 1884, Martha Graham was born to parents George and Jenny graham. She is the oldest of three girls, and was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Her father was a very intelligent and wise man; he was a doctor. He taught Martha more about movement than anyone ever had, particularly that movements reveal many things about a person. As a child, Martha was difficult, she was always in trouble, and lied to get herself out of trouble. She was quiet, but very inquisitive and always curious and aware of everything that was going on around her. The people that knew her described her as being an extremely unique individual.
Martha Graham lived her life as an American dancer, choreographer, teacher, and even as an actress. Although she achieved all these titles, she was very modest and thought of herself only as a dancer. At the same time, she was very narcissistic, and thought of herself as the greatest dancer there was. Undoubtedly, she was one of the most prominent figures in America during the 20th century. She was a pioneer of modern dance, in her words- “contemporary” dance.
Martha choreographed more than 160 works. They required great discipline and flexibility to perform, and were highly individual, and a
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There were many things that I did not like about Martha’s dances. There were only a few things that I did find interesting. I found all of the dances to be extremely uninteresting and monotonous. The setting and scenery was very strange. Ignoring the fact that I was almost put to sleep, I really loved the costumes that the dancers wore. I especially admired the dress in Errand into the Maze, and the way that it made the dancer looked as she moved across the stage. Also, the technical proficiency of the dancers in all of the dances was fascinating. I loved how the female dancers could do their movements on the male dancers, either walking up their leg, or being held on their shoulder. The dancers were so dramatic and theatrical, especially in Cave of the Heart. Their movements are done so perfectly, it appears as if anyone can perform them.
Of the four dances that I viewed, the one that I found to be the most interesting was Appalachian Spring. The way that the husband, Stuart Hodes, and the wife, Martha Graham, danced together was done beautifully, with great emotion and eloquence, as if they were so happy. Martha’s movements across the stage were very dramatic, her body was flimsy, and gave into her weight as she dropped to the floor. The symmetry of the movements of the other dancers was also done beautifully. I did not like Acrobats of God. This dance was a satirical comedy about dancers and their masters, or choreographers. I found the story very hard to follow. Martha was very old and her moves seemed to be off, she did not exhibit any technical proficiency. I did not like the music, the costumes or the choreography. I felt that it was too long and drawn out, and the music did not help to move it along.
In 1934, another attempt was made to join modern dancers. This time the project was conducted at Bennington College, in Vermont, as opposed to being at a theater. This dance project later became very famous and was known all over the world. In addition to Graham, many other famous dancers of the time were invited to teach courses at the school. Because of the Great Depression going on at this time, dancers were very appreciative of the program. In 1935 Martha choreographed and danced what would become her most popular solo, Frontier. It became her trademark as she traveled with her company performing it for different audiences.
Martha’s next signature work was in 1948, when she choreographed Diversion of Angels. It was the first of her major works that she did not dance in herself. It was first performed in Connecticut, where it became very popular. During the 1950s, Martha began to tour around the world. While in Paris, she pushed herself so hard that she strained tendons in her legs, and while performing, she tore the cartilage in her knee. Shortly after, while in London, Martha decided that she would have to cancel the tour so that she could heal her injured knee. She went to New Mexico and healed her knee on her own; she did not want to have surgery. In 1954, Martha along with her dance company went back on tour in Europe. The British were so astounded by her dances that they established an academy founded on the Graham technique. In 1955, Graham was asked by the American Government to travel to Asia and the Middle East as a cultural ambassador. She was the first American dancer to achieve this. During this time she was still managing her company in Manhattan, creating dances, teaching classes at the Juilliard School of Music, and the Neighborhood Playhouse.
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RELATED ESSAYS |
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Martha Graham .... 3. Martha Graham treated male and female dancers very differently to traditional ballet, where the male dancers often did not perform in a masculine way. .... |
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Merce Cunningham .... He went on to join Martha Graham's company in 1940 and danced with her for five years. .... Martha Graham had composers write music specifically for her dance. .... |
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Modern Dance .... The major contributors that we have focused upon in class such as Isadora Duncan, Denishawn, and Martha Graham have allowed dance to survive and continue to be .... |
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Space in Dance .... to come. One being Martha Graham. Graham grew up in a somewhat religious family where dancing was not approved of. Therefore, she .... |
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Analysis of Two Dance Works .... Robert Cohan is from America and began his dance career studying with Martha Graham in her company from 1946-47 (then later 1962-69). .... |
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PROFESSIONAL ESSAYS |
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Martha Graham Don McDonagh has provided the means to understand the work of one great artist in his volume titled simply, Martha Graham: A Biography. |
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The Artistry of Martha Graham With creative insight, passion and sheer artistic potency, Martha Graham earned a place among this pantheon of luminaries through her singular creation of the |
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Martha Graham & the Art Form of Modern Dance Martha Graham single-handedly created the art form known modern dance. Martha: The life and work of Martha Graham. New York: Random House. |
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Martha Graham's "Blood Memory" Martha Graham has been recognized as one of the great artists of the 20th century. Through her unique vocabulary of movement and |
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The Modern Dance Movement & Martha Graham Martha Graham was arguably one of the greatest artists of the American tradition. Martha Graham would have been pleased. References Armitage, M. (Ed.). (1978). |
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Martha Graham's Influence as an Artist In the world of dance, Martha Graham's influence as an artist has been substantial and monumental. She has been recognized as one |
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