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Martha GrahamDance CompanyStudent Matineeand ResidencyStudent MatineeFriday, May 6, 200511:00 a.m. - 12:00 NoonHarrison Opera House, Norf.Residency Dates:May 2 - 8, 2005

All materials for this SAILS guide have been respectfully produced incollaboration with the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance

2 Annotated Table of Contents4 Introducing Martha Graham5 Residency Details6 The Real Martha Graham8 Martha Graham Technique10 1930’s: Step By Step12 WWII: ‘Tis A Gift To Be Simple14 Post-WWII: I Sing The Body Electric16 Capturing Grace: Barbara Morgan17 Setting The Set: Isamu Noguchi18 Calendar of Events

Virginia Arts Festival 2005 2 Martha Graham Dance Company

Complete SAILS are available online in PDF format atwww.virginiaartsfest.com/education_sol.html

A briefintroductionto theactivity

TEACHER’SOVERVIEWConnectionsandapproaches tousing thelessons inyourclassroom

FURTHER SAILINGListed here arebooks and linksto get your classlaunched on thewaters ofdiscovery!

INTRODUCINGMARTHA

MARTHAGRAHAMRESIDENCYDETAILS

THE REALMARTHAGRAHAM

MARTHAGRAHAMTECHNIQUE

1 2 3 4As with all people ofreal note, she hasbecome more than thesum of her parts; heraccomplishments spanseventy years: Here isthe essence of MarthaGraham.

Students will benefitfrom the concept thatbiographies come inall types, from “justthe facts” to positiveor negative positions.A discussion of theline drawn betweenacceptable andlibelous writing isalso fruitful.

Here are the details ofthis rich collaborationbetween the VirginiaArts Festival and theacclaimed MarthaGraham DanceCompany.

Listed are the criticaltimes, dates, andplaces to help guideyou through theupcoming MarthaGraham DanceCompany residency,includingopportunities to viewfilms and photographson the subject, and tointeract with companymembers.

Biographies of MarthaGraham fill ourlibraries andbookshelves, largelybecause it isimpossible toencapsulate thisextraordinary womanin a single volume.

This biographicalsketch highlights theaccomplishments ofMartha Graham. . . hertriumphs and tragediesas her life ranalongside the whole ofthe 20th century. Intandem with AaronCopland, Frank LloydWright, AlexanderCalder, Isamu Noguchi,and Samuel Barber,Graham was a centralfigure as theycollectively createdand defined a uniquelyAmerican voice.

The Graham Techniquefinds meaning in allmovement, andreduces dance to thebody’s natural functionof breathing…thecontraction andrelease.

As classroomextensions, havestudents look foreveryday bodylanguage in Graham’schoreography. Havestudents identifynatural emotionalgesture. (What does afootball player dowhen he makes atouch down? What isthe body language ofsomeone who isdepressed? Elated?Nervous? Angry? etc.

Boorstin, Daniel J..The Creators – AHistory Of Heroes OfThe Imagination.New York, VintageBooks, 1992.

De Mille, Agnes.Martha – The LifeAnd Work Of MarthaGraham. New York,Random House, 1991.

Franko, Mark.Dancing Modernism/Performing Politics.Bloomington, IndianaUniversity Press.1995.

Gardner, Howard.Creating Minds – AnAnatomy OfCreativity… NewYork, Basic Books,1993.

The TIME Magazine100 www.time.com/time/time100/artists/profile/graham.html

Martha Graham DanceCompanywww.marthagrahamdance.org/

PBS Site www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/graham_m.html

Martha and ModernDance www.pitt.edu/~gillis/dance/martha.html

Adjacent to several worksheets arelesson extensions and SOL connections.

“Ballet vs. Modern”& Martha GrahamOnline Lessonat www.vafest.com

“Roots of ModernDance” Article atwww.vafest.com “Advanced Class”

Article &“Taking Class with

Martha” Information atwww.vafest.com

“Martha Graham:20th CenturyWarrior” Article at

www.vafest.com


1930’SSTEP-BY-STEP

‘TIS A GIFTTO BESIMPLE

I SING THEBODYELECTRIC

SETTINGTHE STAGE

CAPTURINGGRACE

5 6 7 8 9“Steps in the Street”provides a glimpseinto Graham’s veryreal relation to thesocial, political andmilitary events of theage.

This dance depictsthe dilemmas facingDepression-erapeople, from thestrife of growingmilitarism in Europe,to poverty andstruggle at home.Students can discusspolitics and socialissues in art. Theperiod of the 1930’sgives us the uneasylull between WorldWars, the Dust Bowland the grindingprogress of theDepression.

Here is somebackground into one ofthe most popularAmerican ballets ofthe 20th century.

Discussed is theGraham-Coplandcollaboration, cast ofcharacters, as well assets and music forAppalachian Spring.Explore theAmericana themesGraham and Coplandrejected for thisballet: Davy Crockett,Pocahontas, the CivilWar, Uncle Tom’sCabin. Have studentsflesh out otherpossible versions ofAppalachian Spring.

The work Errand Intothe Maze is thevehicle for discoveringan intriguing personalinterpretation of themyth of Theseus andthe Minotaur.

It is the dancer’s roleto create a physicalexpression of anindividual’s internallandscape. Arevealing project forstudents is found indiscussing thedifference between amaze and a labyrinth.Students can createlabyrinths, either onpaper as “fingerlabyrinths (let yourfingers do thewalking)” or largerdesigns with sidewalkchalk.

Noguchi’s sets defineand inspire theinterpretations of thedancers, and createthe space with whichthe dancers mustinteract.

Learn about one ofthe 20th century’smost importantsculptors and his 50+-year collaborationwith Martha Graham.Set design is anobvious discussionpoint, leading toparallels in physicalsettings in literatureand theater. Studentscan design on paperor in miniature theirown sets for theballets they’ll beseeing.

The leadingphotographer inAmerican moderndance captures thedancer’s “fugitive art.”

Barbara Morgan’sphotographs of moderndance take center stagehere, along with theinherent conflictsbetween the static,graphic medium ofphotography and theplastic medium ofdance. Students canexamine the seemingcontradiction ofcapturing movement ina still photograph, aswell as thedevelopment ofphotography from arecords-keeping deviceto an artistic mediumitself.

Graff, Ellen. SteppingLeft – Dance AndPolitics In New YorkCity, 1928-1942.Durham, DukeUniversity Press,1997.

Graham, Martha.Blood Memory – AnAutobiography. NewYork, Doubleday,1991.

Morgan, Barbara. 16Dances InPhotography. NewYork, Duell, SloanAnd Pierce, 1941.

Polcari, Stephen.“Martha Graham AndAbstractExpressionism.”Smithsonian StudiesIn American Art,Winter, 1990.

Stodelle, Ernestine.Deep Song – TheDance Story OfMartha Graham. NewYork, SchirmerBooks, 1984.

Tracy, Robert.Goddess – MarthaGraham’s DancersRemember. NewYork, ProsceniumPublishers, 1997.

Tracy, Robert. SpacesOf The Mind – IsamuNoguchi’s DanceDesigns. New York,ProsceniumPublishers, 2000

Martha and theNoguchi Museumwww.noguchi.org/graham.html

Martha Biographywww.cmi.univ-mrs.fr/~esouche/dance/Graham2.html

Short Summarywww.sacbee.com/static/archive/news/projects/people_of_century/entertainers/graham.html

Barbara Morganwww.temple.edu/photo/photographers/morgan2/index/morgan.html

Modernitywww.open2.net/modernity/

“Becoming A PioneeringWoman” & “ConductingCopland” Articles at

www.vafest.com

“The Untold Story ofthe Noguchi Sets” atwww.vafest.com

You will like Martha Graham. You may even come to love her;not because she is charming and beautiful, though she clearly is.Not because she speaks and thinks and... most importantly…moveswith an erudite grace, which she clearly does. Not because she is aseeker of truth no matter whether the truth will devastate orennoble her and those around her. And certainly not because she isone of those creative lodestones to which great men and womenare unalterably attracted. Not even because she broke new groundin Dance without caring about current fad or propriety or censure. You will love her because she is the fulcrum of dance and life;the bright point at which the two collide, merge and becomeindistinguishable. She held up a mirror, giving us, as humans andAmericans, a true and irrefutable view…of ourselves.Understanding this explains the forces which bring her into thelives and works of such disparate souls as Alexander Calder andLiza Minelli, Woody Allen and Rudolf Nureyev, Moshe Dayan andHelen Keller. She taught many of these twentieth century icons,but her teaching was almost an afterthought of the demonstrationof her own life, lived without apology. And it is no coincidence that Ms. Graham is followed into thetwenty-first century by armadas of artists, droves of dancers. Shedid not need to beckon us forward: In fact, she admonished us tofollow our own individual voices. A dance student once asked her ifshe should become a dancer, and Graham answered, “If you have toask, then you should not.” We either are a thing or we are not. In 1991, Doubleday published Graham’s autobiography, BloodMemory, and of all the things that might be said about this artist’slife, it is arguably most important to quote her first lines: “I am adancer. I believe that we learn by practice. Whether it means tolearn to dance by practicing dancing or live by practicing living,the principles are the same…Blood Memory is, after all, thememory that comes not from the mind or the intellect, but from theblood and bone.” Scholars have a convention when referring to a work ofliterature: We speak of a poem or a novel in the present tense; itdoesn’t matter that a piece was written five hundred years earlier,because the work still lives in the present. It is, in a way, acompliment to the author. Perhaps it is just as fitting to speak of aperson who carries so many of us on her shoulders into the future.You will like Martha Graham.

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Online Extension: “The Roots ofModern Dance”

1.Student Matinee – What toExpectThe Student Matinee performancewill be held at the newlyrefurbished Harrison Opera Housein downtown Norfolk, Friday, May6th, 11:00a.m.-12:00 Noon. Workswill include excerpts fromAppalachian Spring, “Steps in theStreet” from Sketches fromChronicle, and Errand Into the Maze.Sets for all ballets were designed byacclaimed sculptor, Isamu Noguchi.Limited tours of the sets can bearranged. Repertoire flash pointswill be explored in depth within thepages of this SAILS.

2.Barbara Morgan PhotographyExhibition – Graham in MotionHoused at the Chrysler Museum ofArt, Norfolk. 25 photos of MarthaGraham, from the collection ofBarbara Morgan will be on display.Morgan is best known for hercompelling photographs of moderndance and for being the first inAmerica to work withphotomontage. Produced over thedecade known as The Golden Age ofModern Dance (1935-1945), herimages of Martha Graham wereintended as metaphors on theimmediacy of movement. Specialstudent docent tours of thisexhibition are available.

3.Martha Graham DancesCaptured on Camera – Then andNowThe Dress Circle of the HarrisonOpera House will have photographicimages of Graham dancers, pairingthe original dancer who premiereda particular role with the currentMartha Graham Dance Companydancer now performing it.

4.Master Classes are a well-established tradition in musicperformance, dance, and drama, inwhich promising students presenttheir talents to seasonedprofessionals for evaluation, adviceand encouragement. If you’re one ofthe lucky few who will have theopportunity to work with a masterdancer from the Martha GrahamDance Company – you’re in for ahistory lesson into modern dance andcreative movement, ala MGDC. Allclasses will be in the Martha Grahamtechnique.

5.Main Stage Performances will beon Friday, May 6, 8:00 p.m. andSunday, May 8, 2:30 p.m. Checkout the Virginia Arts Festivalwebsite for details atwww.vafest.com Student ticketsare ALWAYS 50% off the regularadult ticket price.

6.Photography Workshop andPanel DiscussionSaturday, May 7, 2005 is MarthaGraham Dance Company OpenHouse at the Chrysler Museum ofArt, Norfolk.10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CapturingDance Digitally - an interactiveworkshop for digital photographersinterested in photographing dance inmotion. Martha Graham dancerswill be onstage; photographers willtake pictures that will beimmediately projected anddiscussed. Participants must pre-register. Auditors are welcome.1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. A Dancer’sLife Panel Discussion, featuringMartha Graham Dance Companyand area dancers. Rob Cross andBill Hennessy will moderate thislively conversation. Followingdiscussion there will be a 2:00 p.m.docent tour of the Barbara MorganExhibition.

6.Additional ResourcesCheck out Kennedy CenterCuesheets at http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/cuesheets/single_cuesheet.cfm?asset_id=56934This beautiful 8-page resourcebooklet is available to all. If youstill crave more, call the VirginiaArts Festival Education Departmentat (757) 282-2817 for the MarthaGraham Educational Video, featuringexcerpts of the ballets you’ll beseeing, and Martha Grahamintroducing her work.

Here are the details of this rich collaboration between the Virginia ArtsFestival and the acclaimed Martha Graham Dance Company. This 6-dayresidency brings this 20th century artistic tour de force into our schoolsand stages across the region. Below are the critical times, dates, andplaces to help guide you through the upcoming Martha Graham DanceCompany residency, including opportunities to view films andphotographs on the subject, and to interact with company members.

The 2005 Virginia Arts FestivalMartha Graham Dance Company ResidencyMay 3-May 8, 2005


Online Extensions: “Advanced Class”Article & “Taking Class with Martha”

It is hard to say who the “real” Martha Grahamwas – she intentionally destroyed much of her personalaffects, leaving to posterity the reminiscents of students,friends and collaborators; an autobiography; and adistinctive body of 181 ballets (only 70 extant), pairedwith her now formalized teaching method. Whether ornot Martha Graham actually “invented” modern dance isfor the historians to debate. She was an innovator andgroundbreaker, and in the course of her life she came toembody her medium.

Born in 1894 in Allegheny, Pa., Graham movedwith her family to California when she was 14. Threeyears later, she attended a Los Angeles recital by thedance pioneer Ruth St. Denis, the first dance performanceof any kind that Graham had ever seen. It so overwhelmedher that in 1916 she joined Denishawn, the school andperforming troupe that St. Denis co-led with her husbandTed Shawn. At 22, dangerously late for an aspiring dancer,Graham had found her destiny. After seven years withDenishawn, Graham moved to New York City and struckout on her own, giving solo recitals and eventuallylaunching her own company in 1926. When she split withDenishawn, she was forbidden to use any Denishawnchoreographies or teaching methods, without paying St.Denis a royalty fee. Born out of necessity and a purelyprimal drive to create, she slowly and painstakingly(“costing nothing less than everything”), began to developher own vocabulary of modern dance.

To raise funds, she danced at the opening ofRadio City Music Hall, modeled furs and later gave classesin which she taught movement to such actors as BetteDavis and Gregory Peck. But nothing could deflect herfrom what she believed to be her sacred mission: To "chartthe graph of the heart" through movement. "That drivingforce of God that plunges through me is what I live for,"she wrote, and believed every word of it. Others believedtoo, partly because of the hurricane-strength force of herpersonality.

Will the RealMartha Graham

Please StepForward?

(1894-1991)Chronicling the life of

noteworthy individuals is oftenthe relatively simple process oflisting their achievements. But

there are those whose liveshave become much more –

whose accomplishments mustbe viewed from many different

perspectives to be trulyunderstood and appreciated.Like a volcanic eruption that

creates its own weather system,Martha Graham bursts from her

own life as a figure of almostmythic proportions.

Whereas balletmasters composedin an inheritedlanguage, amedium readily athand, Marthainvented her ownlanguage, new andextraordinary,unknown, andfresh.

– Agnes de Mille

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What is the differencebetween the legacy of“personal affects andreminiscents,” “anautobiography,” and “adistinctive body” ofwork?

Desribe somethingyou’ve seen orexperienced that haschanged your lifeforever.

What have you donewhich cost you “nothingless than everything?”What are some otherexamples of people whowent to these ends toachieve their dreams?

DISCUSSIONQUESTIONS

Throughout the years, the artistic greats of the centurywere drawn to her. She met and collaborated with sculptor/artists Alexander Calder and Isamu Noguchi; actor/directorJohn Houseman; she commissioned works from the greatcomposers of the day, including Samuel Barber, Gian CarloMenotti and Aaron Copland. Despite her antipathy forclassical ballet, she created roles in her own work forMargot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov.She taught actors how to use their bodies as an instrumentof expression, including Orson Welles, Tony Randall andJoanne Woodward. Graham also became involved in the political andsocial struggles that punctuated the 20th century, with suchevents as the Crash of 1929, the Dust Bowl Era, the GreatDepression. In the 1930’s she danced for democracy duringthe Spanish Civil War, and according to a former memberof the Martha Graham Dance Company, Ellen Graff,declined an invitation to travel to the 1936 Olympics

sponsored by Nazi Germany, explaining

I would find it impossible to dance inGermany at the present time. So many artists

whom I respect and admire have beendeprived of the right to work for ridiculous

and unsatisfactory reasons that I shouldconsider it impossible to identify myself, by

accepting the invitation, with the regime thathas made such things possible. In addition,some of my concert group would not be

welcomed in Germany.” [Graff, p.116]

“Keep in mind, dance up to this point,was about swans, dancing flowers,

princesses and royalty –Martha Graham wanted to

communicate about us.” Dance, atthe turn of the 20th century in America wasnot considered a true “art form” with acapital “A.” What did grow up on Americansoil was created as light entertainment,

taking place in vaudeville halls or as glitzyextravaganzas. And American dance hall

dancers held little respect in society. Parallelingthis kitchy dancing was also the European

classical ballet tradition being transplanted toAmerica. Martha wanted none of this: Ballet came out

of the royal courts of Europe and Russia. These weredances commissioned by kings and emperors forentertainment, and to reinforce the existing order – not topush its boundaries. For Martha Graham, dance became amedium for personal expression…and so much more.

Martha Graham came decisively into her own inthe 1940s, turning out in rapid succession a decade-longseries of potent dance dramas. She continued dancing untilthe age of 74, and choreographed well into her 90’s. Bythe time of her death in 1991, Martha Graham had becomethe driving force behind Modern Dance.

“Keep in mind, danceup to this point, was

about swans, dancingflowers, princesses

and royalty – MarthaGraham wanted to

communicate aboutus.”

– Janet Eilber


What does dancehave in commonwith sculpture?acting?architecture?music?

How does someone“dance fordemocracy?”

How would youdefend the argumentthat dance is a“true art form?”What is art, afterall?

Who is the “drivingforce” behind otherglobal activities?Surfing? Hip-hop?Democracy? Worldpeace? War?Computers?Movies?

DISCUSSIONQUESTIONS

Graff, Ellen. STEPPINGLEFT – DANCE ANDPOLITICS in NEW YORKCITY, 1928-1942. Durham,Duke University Press,1997. p.116]

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Online Extension: “Martha Graham: 20thCentury Warrior” Article

The Martha Graham Techniquewith contributions from Janet Eilber, Ex-Principal Dancer and Master Teacherof the Graham Technique

“It takesabout tenyears tomake amaturedancer. Thetraining istwofold.First comesthe studyand practiceof thecraft…Thencomes thecultivationof thebeing fromwhichwhateveryou have tosay comes.”- Martha Graham

First Martha Graham created her dance. Thepedagogy came later. In 1926, Graham startedwhat has now become the oldest dance company

in America. Working out of a tiny CarnegieHall studio, she began developing a new

type of dance: One that wedded thetangible to the metaphysical. It was

out of the necessity of having toteach her dances to her

students and companymembers, that her vocabularywas created – known todayas The Martha GrahamTechnique. This is a physicalvocabulary – one ofmovement – one that prior

to her work, didn’t existanywhere in dance. Shediscovered the link thephysical and thepsychological, and in sodoing, Martha Grahamcreated a completely newtype of theater in America.

In developing hertechnique, Martha Grahamexperimented endlesslywith basic humanmovement, beginning withthe most elemental

movements of living - thecontraction and release.

Using these principles as thefoundation for her technique, Martha Grahambuilt a vocabulary of movement that would“increase the emotional activity of the dancer’sbody.” Graham’s dancing and choreographyexposed the depths of human emotion throughmovements that were sharp, angular, percussive,and direct.


Technically, themovement can stand byitself. But you must beable to add somethingdramatically – the innerdialog.

– Terese Capucilli

Martha Graham’s technique isbased on a few key paradigms:

1. The body has a natural way ofexpressing itself and “The bodynever lies.”

2. The way we move reveals whatwe are really thinking andfeeling.

3. Graham took this natural bodylanguage and from it, created atheatrical dance language.

4. Emotion is revealed by thebreath – like when we laugh orcry – and all Graham movement(like all emotion) emanates fromthe center or your body.

5. The key to movements are thecontraction and release – whichare based on the mechanics ofbreathing.

6. The physical and the emotionalare inextricably connected. Theyare two halves of a whole. Totruly communicate, a movementmust have both.

7. Graham’s technique is a systemof communication – it’s not simplyimpressive technical feats orinteresting designs in space.

Martha Graham Teaching / Photographer unknown

Here are a few MG terms to get youstarted. These are some of thebuilding blocks, when put together,express whole thoughts.

Cave Turn: Taken from Martha Graham’sdance, Cave of the Heart, in which adancer flings her torso down towards herstanding leg and her other leg goesstraight up. She’s turning while upsidedown with one leg in the air inarabesque.

Pleadings: A deep contraction thatempties the energies of the entire body,like in Michelangelo’s Pieta, with Maryholding Christ in her lap. Christ is in theposition of the pleading contractions.(See “Students in a Graham class 1960”at top left.)

Bison Jumps: The dancer is horizontal inthis jump, facing the floor. His back isarched up toward the ceiling in acontraction so powerful that it has pulledhis feet up under him, high off theground.

Butterfly Jumps: A series of jumpstraveling with arms stretched up and backlike wings and legs kicking up behind.

Knee Vibrations: The dancer is standingon one leg. A series of contractions andreleases in the torso motivates the otherleg to swing across and open to the frontand then to the back and around to thefront again in a violent figure eightpattern demonstrating great inner turmoil(it is also used by Medea in Cave of theHeart and by the woman in Errand intothe Maze)


“The arms startfrom the backbecause they wereonce wings.”- Martha Graham

“The spine isyour body’stree oflife. Andthrough it, adancercommunicates;his bodysays whatwordscannot.”- Martha Graham

Contraction and ReleaseThe contraction and release that Martha Graham codified was, in her method, anextension of the breath – of breathing itself. The contraction and release is one wayof categorizing body movement and emotion.

Contraction- the exhalation motivates the torso

A sob, laugh or sigh, this is really just a big exhale,where the body folds in on itself – a contraction.These exhales may be short and sharp (like a laughor shout) or long and slow (like a sigh) or full (like asob).

Release- the body expands and the energy, is released/projected out

The inhalation motivates many different types ofreleases depending on what you are trying tocommunicate. The body fills, expands and projectsenergy. If a contraction is like the recoiling of asnake, the release is when the snake strikes.

Students in a Graham class 1960 / photographer unknown

Students in a Graham class / Photo by Finn PetersonFons©

Martha Graham Teaching / AP News Features Photo © Photographer unknown

Online Extensions: “Martha GrahamTechnique” Lesson & “Ballet vs. Modern”

Sketches from Chronicle is a MarthaGraham ballet with a specific political agenda.It occupies a significant niche in world history– the years of a crumbling truce between theworld wars and the loomingthreat of Nazi Germany, whichwas the host of the 1936Olympics. Graham declined aninvitation to perform at thegames because of the Germanatrocities, and joined otherartists such as Pablo Picassoin condemning the fascistposture of Francisco Francoin the Spanish Civil War.Chronicle is at once areaching out to thoseembroiled in conflicts, and aninward expression of thehorrors of those conflicts.

The dance, whichpremiered in 1936, originallycontained five sections, threeof which survive. “Steps In The Street” is themiddle work, bookended by “Dances beforeCatastrophe” and “Prelude to Action.” Thismiddle movement is considered the darkbefore the light. It expresses the nihilistdestruction of war and its inevitable isolation.There are no sets. The lighting is verysculptural, designed to enhance the geometricchoreography on stage.

1930’s Step By Step:A Collaboration with the People

The dance that is a work in progress as the perpetualprelude to the conflicts of the world.

“Seemingly picking upcontrapuntal elementsin Riegger’s score, thechoreography conveysthe desperation of themasses, the pain ofisolation, the lonelinessof despair.”“Stirring ‘Steps’ Into thePast,” New York Post—October 10, 1989, (excerpts)By, Clive Barnes

Chronicle does notattempt to show theactualities of war;rather does it, byevoking war's images,set forth the fatefulprelude to war, portraythe devastation ofspirit which it leaves inits wake, suggest ananswer.– From the original programnotes for Chronicle.

. . . Miss Grahamnever works so muchwith specifics as shedoes with universals.“Steps in the Street” isa portrait of the humancondition, . . . MissGraham was dealinghere with theaftermath of war butalso with the lonelinessthat can well up ineveryone, especiallythose alienated fromsociety.“Graham Explores Her EarlyRepertory”, New York Times—October 9, 1989, (excerpts) By,Anna Kisselgoff


The subtitle of “Steps…” is “Devastation– Homelessness – Exile,” and as a piece createdin the midst of the Great Depression, is also theplight of common folk suffering through hunger,

poverty, civil and labor strife.The choreography is stark andstriking, with the twelve womenrepresenting those lost in thedevastation of conflict: Theydance in groups. . . but neverreally together . . . with clenchedfists and Graham’s signaturemovements – angular andpercussive. The music byWallingford Reigger is asexhalatory as the heartbeats ofthe victims of military and socialchange. The general structureof the dance is very geometric,with anguish at its core.

“Steps In the Street” isa perpetual work in progress,and the jury will always be out

on our success or failure in dealing with militaryand social conflict as long as such conflict exists.But here, too, we see the hint of a resolution inthe dance, as the lead dancer literally rises againand again toward a future full of light, a futuretoward which we all walk or dance. After all,the journey of a thousand miles begins with thefirst step.

Martha Graham Dance Company/“Spectre - 1914” fromSketches from Chronicle/Fang-Yi Sheu/Photo by Nan Melville ©

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DISCUSSIONQUESTIONS1.How can dance further apolitical agenda? How cansomeone protest throughdance? Painting? Theater?Music?

2.What kinds of movementsdo you think Martha Grahamused to capture the ideas of“devastation,” homelessness,”and “exile?”

3.Why would it be moreimportant, or effective, todeal with “universals” ratherthan “specifics” throughdance, or another art form?

4.Compare the quotationfrom the original programnotes for Chronicle toKisselgoff.’s How do they bothaddress the same concept?

5.This piece waschoreographed in the late1930s, following WWI andleading into WWII. Errandinto the Maze waschoreographed after WWII.“Steps” emphasizes thecollective/unions/socialistthoughts and feelings of themasses leading and speaking.While “Steps” shows America“solidifying” its power in theworld, Errand captures therise of the US as a globalpower, where individualismleads to a more self-absorbedattitude. How do the twodances capture thesedifferences?

ARTS ACTIVITIES1. Political Art Create a piece of art orperformance piece with a “politicalagenda.” Choose the political stance first,then plan the main message you want toget across (the “universals” mentioned inKisselgoff’s quotation). Then create yourwork, trying to stay away from literal orrepresentational symbolism but ratherfigurative or metaphorical imagery. Onething to consider: Graham’s choreographypushes the dancers, and therefore theaudience, to take action in an attempt tochange their condition. How can youcapture the same message in your piece ofwork?

2. Exhalatory Art Listen to the musicused in Sketches from Chronicle. Create apiece of artwork which accompanies themusic. Make sure it is “percussive.” (Whatis “percussive” art?)

3. Triptych Create a three-section pieceof art (called a triptych) representing thethree concepts in Sketches from Chronicle,“devastation,” “homelessness,” and “exile.”Each section should be separate, but theyshould be displayed together. Keep in mindthese key points about the dance: It isconsidered “the dark before the light,” thatis, the suffering before the resolution, ordarkness before dawn.

Lesson #11930’s: Step By Step

HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES Look at other artworks which have a “political agenda.”Examples could come from art (Picasso’sGuernica) or theater (Brecht’sThreepenny Opera). Discuss the change innationalism and social thought when“Steps” was choreographed vs. whenErrand was choreographed.

SOL EXTENSIONSENGLISH Write playbill notes, read dramaswith “political agendas” throughouthistory, from Aristophanes’ political satireto Shakespeare’s histories and tragediesto today’s Wallace Shawn.

SCIENCE What are the physical effects oflong-term suffering like the ones capturedin this dance (homelessness, hunger,poverty)? How can learning about thephysical damage caused by this sufferingimprove the effectiveness of an artist’swork?

VOCABULARYPerpetual PreludeActualities EvokingAgenda TruceLooming AtrocitiesFascist NihilistPercussive AlienatedContrapuntal

MATH Look at the numbers associatedwith a particular state of suffering in yourwork, either in Graham’s life or your own.This can lead you to understanding thereal impact of this suffering more,increasing your emotional response andmaking you a better audience memberand future artist. For example, how manychildren were considered starving duringthe Great Depression? Take that numberand convert it to more familiar concepts togain greater understanding of it: If eachchild were one second, how many hours(or days) would they fill? If each childwere a brick, how far would they stretchend-to-end?

SOL ConnectionsSOL ConnectionsSOL ConnectionsSOL ConnectionsSOL ConnectionsEnglishEnglishEnglishEnglishEnglish: 33333.4-8, 10 44444.4, 5, 7, 9; 55555.5-8; C/T5C/T5C/T5C/T5C/T5.2-4;66666.4, 5, 7, 8, 9; 77777.5, 6, 8-10; 88888.3-5; C/T8C/T8C/T8C/T8C/T8.1-4;99999.3-8; 1010101010.3, 4, 7, 9, 10; 1111111111.3, 7; 1212121212.7History/Social ScienceHistory/Social ScienceHistory/Social ScienceHistory/Social ScienceHistory/Social Science: 33333.8; USIIUSIIUSIIUSIIUSII.1-3, 5, 7, 8;WHIIWHIIWHIIWHIIWHII.10, 15; WGWGWGWGWG.3; VUSVUSVUSVUSVUS.1, 8, 14ScienceScienceScienceScienceScience: 33333.1, 4; 44444.1, 55555.1; 66666.1, 2, 8; LSLSLSLSLS.1, 4;BIOBIOBIOBIOBIO.1, 8, 9MathematicsMathematicsMathematicsMathematicsMathematics: 33333.1-3, 8, 9, 15, 21-23; 44444.1, 2, 5-7,11, 20; 55555.1, 3, 4, 12, 18, 19; 66666.2, 4, 5, 9, 18, 19;77777.4, 5, 17, 18; 88888.1, 3, 12, 13

Appalachian Springis…a dance of place.You choose a piece of

land, part of thehouse goes up…Thequestioning spirit isthere and the sense

of establishing roots.– Martha Graham

Created in the dark days of World War II, AppalachianSpring was Martha Graham and Aaron Copland’s artisticcontribution to the American war effort. They intentionally setout to create something uniquely American, reflecting theAmerican legacy of hope and optimism.

In one of the first instances of government support forthe new American art form, modern dance, the Library ofCongress commissioned Aaron Copland to compose a score for anew dance by Martha Graham. Their collaboration took placealmost entirely through the mail. Grahamsent Copland scenarios of her vision forthe dance and Copland brought herwords to life in music.

In choosing a theme forthis ballet, Graham andCopland cast a broad net.One script had a “showboat stage” and includeda re-enactment fromUncle Tom’s Cabin andreferences to JohnBrown and HarpersFerry; in another, theHusbandman leavesto fight in the CivilWar; from DavyCrockett to Pocahontas,every American iconbecame fair game. Allthree versions of the scripthad spoken quotations from theBible, opening with the Motherspeaking “And the Lord Godplanted a garden eastward in Eden,”and closing with the line, “In the beginning,God created the Heaven and the Earth…”

Graham distilled all that they considered into acast of four iconic characters and a chorus of four women.She set the dance in rural 19th century Pennsylvania – thefrontier. The cast includes a young couple on their wedding day,settling into their new home, putting down roots and revealingtheir love, fears and hopes for the future. They are joined by anitinerant Preacher and his four devoted Followers. Though thespoken quotations from the Bible were not in the final work,these characters represent America’s complicated relationship toreligion and our puritanical roots. The final character is thePioneering Woman, an embodiment of the American manifestdestiny, who blesses the other characters and urges them into thefuture (based on Martha’s own ‘pioneer’ grandmother – “She is

very beautiful and very still” –Martha Graham)The American experience is evident in all the artistic

elements of Appalachian Spring. Copland folds into his scoreAmerican folk music themes, the clip-clop of horse hooves andthe rhythms of daily life. The remarkable set by IsamuNoguchi is also born out of Graham’s scenario -- “…theframework of a doorway, the platform of a porch, a Shakerrocking chair with its exquisite bonelike simplicity, and asmall fence that should signify what a fence means in a newcountry “-- MG. The lines of the beams of the house evoke thelimitless space of the American frontier. Martha insertsAmerican folk dance and everyday gestures into herchoreography (curtseys, do se do’s, praying, rocking a baby,even a simple hand shake) – a stage technique that wasunheard of at the time.

The wonderfully integrated collaboration of thesenew American artists created a masterpiece of 20th centuryAmerican art that still resonates with our national characterand the American dream. As Graham first described it toCopland, “This is a legend of American living. It is like thebone structure, the inner frame that holds a people together.”With its simple tale of new life in a new land, the dance

embodied hope – atestimony tothe simple

fineness of thehuman spirit.

WW II:‘Tis a Gift to be Simple

(1944)

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DISCUSSIONQUESTIONS1. Why do you think Grahamand Copland named the pieceAppalachian Spring? Why isit appropriate?2. What would be thedifficulties of collaboratingwith someone on a projectlike this through the mail?What are the benefits?3. Why did Graham andCopland, as well as all artists,start the creative process by“casting a broad net?” How isthis process helpful to theartist?4. Why do you think Grahamand Copland left out thespecific American icons in thefinal performance? What didthe piece lose when theseicons were taken out? Whatdid it gain?5. Some critics would say thatevery piece of art orliterature, despite havingspecific characters, capturesthe “distilled” essence ofbasic, or universal,characters. Do you agree?Why or why not? Giveexamples.6. How does the character of“Pioneering Woman” capture“American manifest destiny?”What other character couldcapture this essence?7. What do you think Noguchiconsidered when designinghis set? Why do you think hemade the choice to keep theset simple and iconic?8. Two things are compared tobones in this piece. The firstis Noguchi’s “Shaker rockingchair with its exquisitebonelike simplicity” and theother is Graham’s descriptionof the dance as “like thebone structure, the innerframe that holds a peopletogether.” What differentqualities of “bone” does eachquotation use? What otherqualities of “bone” could beused metaphorically?

ARTS ACTIVITIES1. American Themes Listen to the musicof Appalachian Spring and create a pieceof artwork which captures its themes.Listen for the “American experience”captured in the music listed in the essay,and work that imagery into your piece ofwork.

2. Contemporary Costumes Create acostume for the characters in the piece if itwere to be set in the present day. These“four iconic characters” and chorus shouldbe representative of today’s “frontier,” soyou’ll have to determine what this frontieris! (Think beyond the geographic!)

3. Everyday Gestures Martha Grahamused everyday gestures (curtseys, do sedo’s, praying, rocking a baby, handshakes)in her dance. Create dance movements fortoday’s common everyday gestures: Talkingon a phone, typing, greeting a friend,pushing a button, playing a video game,kicking a soccer ball, etc.

Lesson #2World War II: ‘Tis aGift to be Simple

VOCABULARYLegacyCommissionedCollaborationScenariosDistilledIconicItinerantPuritanicalManifest destinyEmbodiedTestimony

HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES Discuss ManifestDestiny and it’s impact on the American“way of life.” How is this concept stillseen today? How has it changed since thetime of the setting of this piece? Since thetime of the choreography? Why has itchanged? Why is “the frontier” still soclosely associated with Americanism?What other frontiers are important toAmericans?

MATH How has the American populationshifted since the era captured in thispiece? How many people lived in the USat that time? Compare the population’sdemographics as well: Ethnicity, gender,country of origin, etc. Would a modernsetting of the piece have different “iconiccharacters” as a result?

SCIENCE What technology was available atthe end of the 19th century to a youngcouple? What technological skills wouldbe necessary to create a set likeNoguchi’s? What muscles and physicalprincipals play into achieving the leapcaptured in the picture with the essay?

SOL EXTENSIONSENGLISH Discuss how the spoken wordchanges a piece of non-verbal art. Forexample, how would having words spokenhave detracted from this piece? How doesthe spoken word enhance other words,such as musicals (as compared to opera)?How does the written word effect non-verbal art forms? Have your class create apiece of artwork about a powerfulemotion, such as jealousy, with half yourclass having permission to use words andthe other half not being able to use words.Compare and contrast the effect of eachapproach.

SOL ConnectionsSOL ConnectionsSOL ConnectionsSOL ConnectionsSOL ConnectionsEnglishEnglishEnglishEnglishEnglish: 33333.1, 2, 8; 44444.1, 2, 6, 7; 55555.1-3, 5, 7; 66666.1, 2, 5-8; 77777.1, 3, 4,5, 8; 88888.1, 3, 5; 99999.2, 6; 1010101010.1, 2, 5, 7, 9; 1111111111.1-3, 5, 7; 1212121212.1, 2, 5, 7History/Social ScienceHistory/Social ScienceHistory/Social ScienceHistory/Social ScienceHistory/Social Science: 33333.5, 6, 9; USIUSIUSIUSIUSI.1, 2, 8; USIIUSIIUSIIUSIIUSII.1, 2, 3, 6;WHIIWHIIWHIIWHIIWHII.1, 9, 11; WGWGWGWGWG.1, 3, 5, 6, 12; VUSVUSVUSVUSVUS.1, 8, 12;ScienceScienceScienceScienceScience: 33333.2, 10; 44444.1, 2; 55555.1; 66666.1; LSLSLSLSLS.1, 3; PSPSPSPSPS.1, 6, 10; BIOBIOBIOBIOBIO.1, 4,8; PHPHPHPHPH.1, 4, 5, 6,MathematicsMathematicsMathematicsMathematicsMathematics: 33333.1-3, 8, 9, 15, 21-23; 44444.1, 2, 5-7, 11, 20; 55555.1, 3,4, 12, 18, 19; 66666.2, 4, 5, 9, 18, 19; 77777.4, 5, 17, 18; 88888.1, 3, 12, 13

Online Extensions: Becoming ThePioneering Woman & Conducting Copland

A part of Martha Graham’s philosophy of dance sprang fromthe early 20th century Jungian exploration of the ego and theunconscious. Graham translatedthis quest for self-knowledgeliterally into the dancer’sbody. By the dawning ofWorld War II, she describedher work as “journeying intomyself.” The well of the soulin this philosophy is thehuman body, and the motive ofmodern dance is not drawnfrom fairy tales or elaborate sets,but from the inner motivations of thedancer. It is graphic, basic, true.

It is through this (ambition and necessity) that theIt is through this (ambition and necessity) that theIt is through this (ambition and necessity) that theIt is through this (ambition and necessity) that theIt is through this (ambition and necessity) that thelegends of the soul's journey arelegends of the soul's journey arelegends of the soul's journey arelegends of the soul's journey arelegends of the soul's journey areretold with all theirretold with all theirretold with all theirretold with all theirretold with all theirtragedy andtragedy andtragedy andtragedy andtragedy andtheirtheirtheirtheirtheirbitternessbitternessbitternessbitternessbitternessandandandandandsweetness ofsweetness ofsweetness ofsweetness ofsweetness oflivinglivinglivinglivingliving..." p..." p..." p..." p..." p.4-5.4-5.4-5.4-5.4-5Blood MemoryBlood MemoryBlood MemoryBlood MemoryBlood Memory,,,,, by Mar by Mar by Mar by Mar by Martttttha Grha Grha Grha Grha Grahamahamahamahamaham

A seminal work epitomizing Graham’s post-World War IIphilosophy of dance is Errand Into the Maze. As with theabstract expressionists of the 1930’s and 40’s, this work“presents dance as a mode of psychological ritual, andhistorical cultural self-examination.” The pounding score waswritten by eccentric genius Gian Carlo Menotti; the set designwas created by master sculptor, Isamu Noguchi. The story isloosely based on the myth of Theseus, who is chargedwith confronting the Minotaur, half bull and halfman, in its home, the maze. In Errand Into theMaze, Graham contemporizes the myth,fusing Theseus and Ariadne into onecharacter, as she, herself descendsinto the labyrinth to conquerthe Minotaur, and as such,conquers the internalenemy, her own fear.

Post WW III Sing the Body Electric:

The Inward Journey ofMartha Graham

Errand Into the Maze (1947)

Art is eternal, for itreveals the innerlandscape, which isthe soul of man.– Martha Graham

Errand is a duet, danced by a woman (Ariadne) and a maledancer (The Creature). The stage is spare, with a single set

piece – a large V placeddownstage with a long ribbonattached. The V is organic,reminiscent of the ancientstone outcroppings perhapsfound in Zion National Park.Noguchi’s intent was to

invoke the primal: A humanpelvic bone, meant to bean extension of the female

protagonist’s own body. In asense, this dance is choreographed

inside of Ariadne herself. The ribbonsymbolizes both the maze, as well as

representing Theseus’ goldenchord tied around himself

so he could retracehis steps out of

thelabyrinth.

This is adance about personal fears – fears of the unknown; facingour fears; denial and repression. The dance opens withAriadne closed into her body – her arms are crossed in frontof her, and she is tightly holding onto herself. When the duetbegins with the Creature, she never looks directly at him.She wraps the rope around the set piece, which looks like aV-shaped entryway, to keep the Creature out. But he keepscoming back…It isn’t until she looks at him (literally“facing” her fears), wrestles him to the ground, that sheemerges – she steps through the V and opens her arms wide

to the outside world.

Virginia Arts Festival 2005 14 Martha Graham Dance Company Marth

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Noguchi’s set for Errand Into the Maze

Errand Into the Maze Set design by Isamu Noguchi Photo by Rudolf Burckhardt©


DISCUSSIONQUESTIONS1. What is self-knowledgeto you? How do youjourney into yourself?Why is self-knowledgeimportant?

2. Why would WWIIinspire a journey intooneself, as an artistlooking for inspiration?

3. What does the story ofTheseus and the Minotaurtell us about “the humancondition,” that is,universal experiences ofhumans? What about thestory of Ariadne? Whywould Martha choose tocombine these charactersinto one?

4. Why is the pelvic boneimportant imagery, bothfor humans and for afemale, specifically?(What makes us differentfrom other primates?What unique biologicaltrait do females have?)

5. How have you faced afear and “wrestled it tothe ground?”

ARTS ACTIVITIES1. Costume Design Create costume forThe Creature and Ariadne. Consider thefact that the struggle between these twocharacters is really an internal strugglebetween only Ariadne… should theircostumes reflect this symbioticrelationship? Also keep in mind that thecharacters are dancing and need to havetheir bodies free for the open, exuberantmovements characteristic of Grahamchoreography.

2. Bone Still Life Draw a bone usingcharcoal pencil. Use shading to show thecontours of the bone. To make it look likeit’s made of stone, alter your sketch after itis complete by using an eraser stick to rubout parts of the charcoal in an even butvaried pattern.

3. Playwriting Create a short play usingwords which capture the essence of thisdance. Would it be a one-person or two-person play? What would the Minotaurhave to say to Ariadne? How will Ariadne’swords change from the beginning of theplay to the end?

Lesson #3Post World War II

VOCABULARYJungian EgoUnconscious MotiveSeminal EpitomizingMode EccentricLabyrinth SpareOrganic OutcroppingsPelvic bone RepressionAbstract expressionistsTheseus and the Minotaur, Ariadne

SOL EXTENSIONSENGLISH Have students read Jung to learnabout Graham’s inspiration. To exposestudents to abstract expressionism, havethem look at paintings by Pollock, deKooning, and Rothko and write downtheir reactions to works. Explore theMinotaur myth as an allegory. WriteAriadne’s internal monologue throughoutthe dance based on the positions her bodytakes. Create a written outline of thescenes in the dance as you would outline astory.

MATH Labyrinths are unicursal, that is,they have only one path. A maze has manyoptions. Explore both using math byhaving students design one of each. Lookat examples of beautiful labyrinths andmazes from throughout history asinspiration, and have students use graphpaper to create their own. They can thentrade and experience or solve each others’work.

SCIENCE The Minotaur is half-man, half-bull. What are the biological possibilitiesof such a creature? What would have tohappen to get such a creature to exist?

HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES Have studentsresearch the origins of the Minotaur myth.Have them compare and contrast theGreek culture and its beliefs with theculture in which Graham choreographedthis dance. Research labyrinths: They canbe found all over the world, from Syria toIreland; the oldest is 3000 years old.

SOL ConnectionsSOL ConnectionsSOL ConnectionsSOL ConnectionsSOL ConnectionsEnglishEnglishEnglishEnglishEnglish: 33333.4-8, 10; 44444.3-5, 7, 9; 55555.4-8; C/T5 C/T5 C/T5 C/T5 C/T5.2-4; 66666.3-5,7-9; 77777.5, 6, 8-10; 88888.3-6; C/T8C/T8C/T8C/T8C/T8.1-4; 99999.3, 6, 8; 1010101010.3, 7-10;1111111111.7, 9; 1212121212.7, 8HistorHistorHistorHistorHistory/Social Sciencey/Social Sciencey/Social Sciencey/Social Sciencey/Social Science: 33333.1, 4-6; USIIUSIIUSIIUSIIUSII.1, 7, 8; WHIWHIWHIWHIWHI.1, 5;WGWGWGWGWG.1, 3, 4, 12;ScienceScienceScienceScienceScience: 33333.1, 4; 44444.1, 55555.1; 66666.1, 2, 8; LSLSLSLSLS.1, 4; BIO BIO BIO BIO BIO.1, 8, 9MathematicsMathematicsMathematicsMathematicsMathematics: 33333.18-20; 44444.14-18; 55555.14-16; 66666.14-17;77777.9-13; 88888.8-10; GGGGG.1-9, 11, 12

Martha Graham’s philosophy demanded that all of the theatricalelements on her stage, the music, costumes, sets and lighting wereintegrated into one theme or message. When she first decided tocollaborate with a set designer, she did not want the stage merely

decorated with a painted backdrop as was the norm. She needed a worldcreated, a place evoked. Fortunately, she collaborated with a young

sculptor who said he was fascinated by the challenge “to wed the total voidof theater space to form and action.” Thus began the half-century-long

IsamIsamIsamIsamIsamu Nou Nou Nou Nou Nogucgucgucgucguchi’hi’hi’hi’hi’s vision of space ans vision of space ans vision of space ans vision of space ans vision of space and td td td td the inthe inthe inthe inthe inteeeeegggggrrrrralalalalalmeaning of his sculpture set me on a directionmeaning of his sculpture set me on a directionmeaning of his sculpture set me on a directionmeaning of his sculpture set me on a directionmeaning of his sculpture set me on a direction

wwwwwhichichichichich sustained me th sustained me th sustained me th sustained me th sustained me thrhrhrhrhroughout moughout moughout moughout moughout my cary cary cary cary careereereereereer.....– Martha Graham

I rI rI rI rI realized tealized tealized tealized tealized that he had that he had that he had that he had that he had the astrhe astrhe astrhe astrhe astringingingingingencyencyencyencyency,,,,, t t t t that ehat ehat ehat ehat evvvvveryteryteryteryterythinghinghinghinghingwas strwas strwas strwas strwas stripped to essentials ripped to essentials ripped to essentials ripped to essentials ripped to essentials ratatatatather ther ther ther ther than beinghan beinghan beinghan beinghan being

decordecordecordecordecorativativativativativeeeee..... Ev Ev Ev Ev Everyteryteryteryterything he does means something he does means something he does means something he does means something he does means somethinghinghinghinghing..... It It It It Itis not ais not ais not ais not ais not abstrbstrbstrbstrbstract eact eact eact eact except if yxcept if yxcept if yxcept if yxcept if you tou tou tou tou think of orhink of orhink of orhink of orhink of orangangangangange juice ase juice ase juice ase juice ase juice as

ttttthe ahe ahe ahe ahe abstrbstrbstrbstrbstraction of an oraction of an oraction of an oraction of an oraction of an orangangangangangeeeee.....– Martha Graham

In my work I wanted somethingIn my work I wanted somethingIn my work I wanted somethingIn my work I wanted somethingIn my work I wanted somethingiririririrrrrrreducibleeducibleeducibleeducibleeducible.....– Isamu Noguchi

ArArArArArt should disappeart should disappeart should disappeart should disappeart should disappear.....– Isamu Noguchi

He took me to imagHe took me to imagHe took me to imagHe took me to imagHe took me to images tes tes tes tes that Ihat Ihat Ihat Ihat Ihad never contemplatedhad never contemplatedhad never contemplatedhad never contemplatedhad never contemplated

before and gave new life tobefore and gave new life tobefore and gave new life tobefore and gave new life tobefore and gave new life toworks I had created.works I had created.works I had created.works I had created.works I had created.

– Martha Graham

Setting the Set – theNoguchi Collaboration

A Guggenheim Fellowship took him to Paris to study abstractsculpture as assistant to Constantin Brancusi, and there he met

kindred spirit, Alexander Calder. He spent his life travelingbetween Japan and the United States, and though his abstract

sculptures were met with mixed reviews, his architectural reputationgrew with his creation of fountains, parks and façades. In all his

collaboration between herself and sculptor, architect and designer,Isamu Noguchi. From 1944-1967, Noguchi would be Martha Graham’s

closest partner in the realization of her major works. Noguchi had thesame aesthetic goal as Martha – utter simplicity of expression. They

both relied on the primal essence of shape to motivate their art.Noguchi, the son of Japanese poet, Yone Noguchi and Irish-Americanwriter, Leonie Gilmour, was born in Los Angeles in 1904. This genetic

juxtaposition between eastern and western thoughts and artistic values,became a central theme in his work.

work, Noguchi believed that art should bepart of life, that it should have usefulness,an essential value – whether practical –like his public parks or famous paperlamps – or symbolic – like much of what hedesigned for Graham. Noguchi saw thestage as an arena in which abstract formscould create the necessary theatricalillusions. These forms (the sets) couldchange and actually create space. This isclear, for example, in the ropes that are

part of his set for the solo Frontier and inthe house beams in Appalachian Spring –both give the audience the sensation ofgreat distance. Noguchi’s props and setswere commissioned not to necessarilydelineate specific places, but rather thedeep recesses of the mind and memory.No more perfect symbiosis could beimagined than that with the empress ofmodern dance. It was a case of twoindependent artists expressing theirinterpretative abilities, and finding a newstatement in the encounter. They

collectively produced a body of workexposing the American psyche in all of itsmanifestations. Their work togethercontinued until, as Graham states,“December 1988, on the day that Isamudied.”

Martha Graham finds herspiritual ally in set design


Martha Graham

Dance Company / Appalachian Spring / M

artha Graham (Bride), Erick

Hawkins (Husbandman), M

ay O’Donnell (Pioneering Wom

an) and Company. Library of

Congress Staff photograph. / Reproduced from the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Collection. /

Music Division, Library of Congress.

Online Extension: “The Untold Story ofthe Noguchi Sets”

It was the “realism” of early photography that, inpart, drove painters and sculptors into a more abstractarena. But as photography itself became a form of artisticexpression, a few brave souls ventured into newperspectives, allowing their visual interpretation of asubject to enhance the chronicling of the event.

Barbara Brooks Morgan was born in the Kansasprairie in 1900 and began her art studies as a painter.Shifting into photography, she moved to New York in 1930,eventually creating photographic portfolios of many of the great

emerging modern dancers of the twentiethcentury.

The inspiration for capturing theessence of Martha Graham’s work ironicallystemmed from a sense of loss. Morganvisited an exhibition of Isadora Duncan’slife and was struck with the fragmentarynature of the works. She was convinced thatbecause of advancements in photographyshe could do better. And because of hergreat admiration ofGraham and her sense

of the “revolutionary importance” ofGraham’s place in the history of moderndance, Morgan worked to capture more thana photographic record of the dance,searching in every instance for the essenceand emotion of the visuals.

Barbara Morgan’s approach tophotography was similar to Martha Graham’sdisciplined and singular dance aesthetic.Martha Graham said, “Behind one perfectleap are hundreds of leaps taken over a period of years.”Morgan similarly employed a highly regimented exploration oflight, timing, and spacing as she attempted to seize the essenceof an entire ballet within a single gelatin frame – arresting timeto capture the dance “at its visual peak.” She chose thosecertain gestures that in her eye, came to “convey the meaningand form of each dance.”

Morgan enjoyed an almost equally long a career asMartha Graham; with Barbara Morgan’s initial documentation ofFrontier in 1935, dancer and photographer became artistic soulmates up until Graham’s death in 1991. It was Morgan’s vision,beyond the technical, which brought a static form to life beforeour very eyes.

The leadingphotographerin Americanmodern dancecaptures thedancer’s“fugitive art.”

CapturingGrace:

BarbaraMorgan, The

BeautifulLogic

To me, Barbara Morgan,through her art, revealsthe inner landscape thatis a dancer’s world.– Martha Graham

The only record of adancer’s art lies inthe other arts.– Martha Graham

The trivial dance endswhen the performance isover, but the great dancehaunts the memory.Dance Into Photography, byBarbara Morgan

Martha Graham’s Theater portraysthe vulnerable yet gallant humansoul both in turmoil and serenity.She sees universal rhythms; andwith her intuitive knowledge caststhem in beautiful logic.– Barbara Morgan

Photography is an art of timing in more ways than timing theshutter…First of all, the movement-timing of any livingthing is highly individual. Think of the fiery precisions ofToscanini and the deceptively casual precision of FredAstaire…The workings of the spirit also have cycles of ebband flow.– B. Morgan, Kinetic Design in Photography

Virginia Arts Festival 2005 17 Martha Graham Dance Company Marth

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april A Midsummer Night’s Dream 7:30 p.m. - Chrysler Hall (N)

Virginia International Tattoo 7:30 pm - Scope (N)

Virginia International Tattoo 7:30 pm - Scope (N)A Midsummer Night’s Dream 8 pm - Chrysler Hall (N)

A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2:30 pm - Chrysler Hall (N)Virginia International Tattoo 2:30 pm - Scope (N)

Ballet Veracruz 7:30 pm - Ferguson Center for the Arts (NN)

“From the Top” 7:30 pm - Harrison Opera House (N)

Tierney Sutton 7:30 pm - Granby Theatre (N)

Lunchtime Chamber Music #1 12 Noon - First Lutheran Church (N)Richmond Ballet Giselle 8 pm - Harrison Opera House (N)Paul Jacobs - Organ - 8 pm - Christ & St. Luke’s Church (N)

Tom Sawyer 1 pm - TCC Roper Performing Arts Center - (N)Tom Sawyer 3:30 pm - TCC Roper Performing Arts Center - (N)Garrison Keillor 5:30 pm - Chrysler Hall (N)

Richmond Ballet Giselle 2:30 pm - Harrison Opera House (N)Eroica Trio 7:30 pm - Great Bridge Presbyterian Church (C)

Eroica Trio 7:30 pm - Ferguson Center for the Arts (NN)

Imani Winds 7:30 pm - Attucks Theatre (N)

John Duffy Composer in Residence 7:30 pm - TCC Roper Performing Arts Center (N)

Elements Quartet 7:30 pm - Granby Theatre (N)Lunchtime Chamber Music #5 12 noon - Thomas Nelson Community College (H)

PANorama Caribbean Music Fest Ocean Front (VB)Lunchtime Chamber Music #2 12 Noon - Trinity Episopal Church (P)Martha Graham Dance Company 8 pm - Harrison Opera House (N)

PANorama Caribbean Music Fest Ocean Front (VB)Imani Winds 11 am - Children’s Museum of Virginia (P)Itzhak Perlman 8 pm - Chrysler Hall (N)

PANorama Caribbean Music Fest Ocean Front (VB)Martha Graham Dance Company 3 pm - Harrison Opera House (N)Blue Hair - P- P- P- P- Peter Cutts eter Cutts eter Cutts eter Cutts eter Cutts 3 pm - Children’s Museum of Virginia (P)Tokyo String Quartet 7:30 pm - St. Paul’s Church (P)

Smithsonian Chamber Players 7:30 pm - Chrysler Museum (N)

Evening Chamber Music 7:30 pm - St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (N)

Gary Burton’s “Generations” 7:30 pm - Granby Theatre (N)

Lunchtime Chamber Music #3 12 Noon - First Presbyterian Church (VB)Canadian Brass 7:30 pm - Phi Beta Kappa (W)

Virginia Beer Festival 2-6 pm - Town Point Park (N)Canadian Brass 8 pm - Town Center (VB)

Noche Flamenco 7:30 pm - Town Center (VB)

JoAnn Falletta and Friends 7:30 pm - TCC Roper Performing Arts Center (N)

Lunchtime Chamber Music #4 12 Noon - Chrysler Museum Theater (N)Koresh Dance Company 7:30 pm - King’s Fork High School (S)

Chris Smither/Willy Porter 7:30 pm - Granby Theatre (N)

Koresh Dance Company 8 pm - Phi Beta Kappa (W)

Broadway Under the Stars 8 pm - Sunken Garden College of Wm & Mary (W)

Festival Finale: Tchaikovsky Spectacular 7 pm - Sunken Garden College of Wm & Mary (W)

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Robert W. CrossExecutive Director

Laurie BaefskyEducation Director, Editing and Research

Erica Smith-LleraLessons and Layout, Online Extensions

Douglas ThieleWriter

Janet EilberMartha Graham Resources, Project Consultant

Ben MeyerEducation Assistant

Reproduction, including downloading,of Burkhardt and Noguchi works isprohibited by copyright laws andinternational conventions without theexpress written permission of ArtistsRights Society (ARS), New York.

Photocopying and duplicating foreducational purposes only.

Student Arts Information &LessonsAll rights reserved.©2005

SAILS TEAM

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FROM THE 2005 VIRGINIA ARTS FESTIVAL

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