Martha Graham 1894-1991
Happy Birthday to Martha Graham, one of my favorites, who was born on May 11, 1894, and remains one of the most important dancer/choreographers of all time. I’d say only George Balanchine comes close, but that’s also like comparing apples and oranges: Graham set out to create an American dance idiom while Balanchine was a ballet master with a Russian pedigree.
In 1938, Graham created her work American Document in which she incorporated important written texts into the dance narrative. These included the Declaration of Independence, the words of Martin Luther King, Jr, and John of Kennedy, the poetry of Walt Whitman, and Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
American Document is not a dance about Lincoln but one in which his ideas were distilled and used to fire Graham’s imagination. The words were spoken by an on-stage narrator who shared the stage with the dancers.
Lincoln has inspired other artists including composer Aaron Copland. Dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones is working on a new piece about Lincoln titled, “Fondly Do We Hope/ Fervently Do We Pray.” I don’t think Lincoln’s influence will ever diminish.
Tags: 1894, Bill T. Jones, dance, Martha Graham, May 11
