Martha Graham
Dan Kockott
Background
• Born in Allegheny County, PA 1894
• Athletic from young
• 1911 Ruth St. Denis
• Enrolled in Denishawn
• 1911-1919
Dancing Impact
• Picasso to painting, Stravinsky to music, frank Lloyd
Wright to architecture.
• Martha Graham Dance Company
• Contemporary dance
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHjyW6bJ8R0&featur
e=related
New York
• Graham gets known
• Established reputation
• Primitive Mysteries
• Fame rapidly spread
Career
• 1938
• Many, many dances
• Focused all on expression and tense body movement
• Won many honors for dances
• Soon known as “Picasso”
Later years and company
• Still starring in her own dances at age 64
• Started to put famous ones on film
• Appalachian Spring, Night Journey
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmgaKGSxQVw
• Established Martha graham dance company to carry on her
legacy
• Final work maple leaf rag in 1990
• Died 1991 at age 91
Political
• Lots of dances were infused with political themes
• Dance is a weapon was one of her many politically
themed dances.
• Danced for Franklin Roosevelt and received presidential
medal of freedom
diplomatic
• Received the French legion of honor
Economic
• She became wealthy and had lots of cash money
Social
• Discovered a whole new form of dancing
• First Choreographer to employ both Asian and African-
American dancers
• 20th centuries most influential dancer
Technological
• Performances broadcasted through television in the 50’s
Cultural
• Changed modern / contemporary dance as we know it
today
• “mother of modern dance”
Famous quotes
• ”The body says what words cannot.”
”Some men have thousands of reasons why
they cannot do what they want to,
when all they need is one reason why they can.”
”To learn to dance by practicing dancing
or to learn to live by practicing living,
the principles are the same.”
”You are unique, and if that is not fulfilled,
then something has been lost.”
- Martha Graham
Key terms
• Contemporary dance- a genre of concert dance (which is performed
to an audience) that employs compositional philosophy, rather than
choreography, to guide unchoreographed movement. It uses dance
techniques and methods found in ballet, modern dance and
postmodern dance
• Denishawn- founded in 1915 by Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn in
Los Angeles, California. The school was especially renowned for its
influence on ballet and experimental Modern dance.
Quiz
Where was Martha Graham born?
A. Canada
B. California
C. Allegheny Pennsylvania
D. Arkansas
E. Doylestown
Quiz
How old was she when she died?
A. 106
B. 59
C. 90
D. 91
E. 87
Quiz
Martha Graham is to dancing as _________
is to painting?
A. Leonardo Da Vinci
B. Michelangelo
C. Andy Warhol
D. Claude Monet
E. Pablo Picasso
Quiz
Martha received the legion of honor from
what country?
A. Portugal
B. England
C. Italy
D. France
E. America
Quiz
•
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
What was Marthas final work?
Appalachian spring
Maple leaf rag
Night journey
Dance is a weapon
Little mermaid