Martha Graham

American dancer and choreographer (1894–1991)

AI overview

Martha Graham was an American dancer and choreographer who lived from 1894 to 1991 and fundamentally transformed modern dance through her innovative movement techniques and powerful artistic vision. She matters because she created an entirely new approach to dance that moved away from classical ballet traditions, influencing generations of dancers and establishing modern dance as a major art form.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Born: 11 May 1894
Died: 1 April 1991
Works: 10

Top works

The notebooks of Martha Graham
Een leven in dans
Blood memory
Martha Graham and dance group
Blood memory

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

Acting

via TMDB

Music · MusicBrainz

Type: Person
Gender: Female
Country: United States
Active from: 1894
Active to: 1991

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners: 108
Total plays: 343

via Last.fm · Martha Graham

Recent publications · Crossref

5 total works indexed

A global reference for human genetic variation
· 2015 · cited 17,756x
Mixed effects models and extensions in ecology with R
· 2009 · cited 12,767x
The Sequence of the Human Genome
· 2001 · cited 10,201x
Efficacy and Safety of the mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine
· 2021 · cited 9,941x
ASSESSMENT OF COMA AND IMPAIRED CONSCIOUSNESS
· 1974 · cited 9,783x

via Crossref · CC0

Quotes

“We look at the dance to impart the sensation of living in an affirmation of life, to energize the spectator into keener awareness of the vigor, the mystery, the humor, the variety, and the wonder of life. This is the function of the American dance.”
“Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion.”
“I have spent all my life with dance and being a dancer. It's permitting life to use you in a very intense way. Sometimes it is not pleasant. Sometimes it is fearful. But nevertheless it is inevitable.”
“I believe that we learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same. In each it is the performance of a dedicated set of acts, physical or intellectual, from which comes the shape of achievement, a sense of one's being, a satisfaction of spirit. One becomes in some areas an athlete of God.”
“To practice means to perform, in the face of all obstacles some act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired.”
“I think the reason dance has held such an ageless magic for the world is that it has been the symbol of the performance of living.”

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

Official website

Martha Graham Dance Company – The official home of the Martha Graham Dance Company

RESERVE YOUR SEATS NOW COMING UP... GRAHAM100 NATIONAL TOUR Vail Dance Festival July 31 - August 1 General R. Ford Amphitheater BUY TICKETS GRAHAM100 NATIONAL TOUR Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival

marthagraham.org →

Martha Graham and her Company have expanded contemporary dance’s vocabulary of movement and forever altered the scope of the art form by rooting works in contemporary social, political, psychological, and sexual contexts, deepening their impact and resonance. Always a fertile ground for experimentation, Martha Graham Dance Company has been an unparalleled resource in nurturing many of the leading choreographers and dancers of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Merce Cunningham , Anna Sokolow , Erick Hawkins , Pearl Lang , Sir Robert Cohan , Donald McKayle , Elisa Monte , Jacquelyn Buglisi , Paul Taylor and many others. Graham’s repertoire of 181 works has also engaged noted performers such as Mikhail Baryshnikov , Claire Bloom , Margot Fonteyn , Liza Minnelli , Rudolf Nureyev , Maya Plisetskaya , and Kathleen Turner . Her groundbreaking techniques and unmistakable style have earned the Company acclaim from audiences in more than 50 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The Martha Graham Dance Company has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, the Paris Opera House, Covent Garden, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as at the base of the Great Pyramids in Egypt and in the ancient Odeon of Herodes Atticus theatre on the Acropolis in Athens. Click below to see where we’ll be next. The Graham repertory provides almost limitless possibilities for events, performances and curricula that can enhance a range of subjects for any audience. These include masterclasses, lecture-demonstrations, film screenings, gallery exhibits, and many other creative interactions. For more information or to discuss specific collaborations, please contact Simona Ferrara or Janet Eilber by email or call the Martha Graham Dance Company at 212.229.9200.

Encyclopedic overview

Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer, teacher and choreographer responsible for creating the Graham technique.

Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She was the first dancer to perform at the White House, travel abroad as a cultural ambassador, and receive the highest civilian award of the US: the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction. In her lifetime she received honors including the Key to the City of Paris and Japan's Imperial Order of the Precious Crown.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Martha Graham” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.