From left to right:
Madonna and Martha Graham at the Plaza Hotel in 1990, Martha Graham & Charles Weidman appearing in 1930 Vanity Fair,Martha Graham in the premiere performance of her work Herodiade (1944)., Martha Graham in Letter to the World, 1941, and Martha Graham and Eric Hawkin- Bennington College 1938.
Martha Graham's contributions transformed the art form of dance revolutionizing and expanding it around the world. She searched for a way to express herself freely and honestly, that being she created the Martha Graham Dance Company, one of the oldest dance troupes in America. She collaborated with some of the foremost artist of her time including the composer Aaron Copland and sculptor Isamu Noguchi.
Contraction, Flow Work, and Sharp Movement are all dance techniques’ Martha Graham established. Graham said that she just wanted to feel comfortable and have their students' the same, so she created pieces they would all like. As I quote her saying, “I wanted to begin not with characters of ideas, but with movements...I wanted significant movements. I did not want it to be beautiful or fluid. I wanted it to be fraught with inner meaning, with excitement and surge."
By 1930, when she formed her own company, she dismissed the classical, fluid, lyrical form of modern dance and replaced it with a sharply angular, sexually charged aesthetic. In 1936, Graham made her defining work, "Chronicle," which brought serious issues to the stage for the general public in a dramatic manner. Influenced by the Wall Street Crash, the Great Depression and the Spanish Civil War, it focused on depression and isolation, reflected in the dark nature of both the set and costumes.
Martha Graham danced for over 70 years. Now during that time,Martha danced at the White House and became the first dancer to do that. Graham also became the first dancer to travel overseas to act as a cultural ambassador. Her actions had her being the first to receive awards like the Highest Civilian and the Medal of Freedom Award. Without her actions the world of dance wouldn’t be what it is today. The Expressive movements we dancers have offered to us would not be as great nor the same without her, she has made herself the true pioneer of this field of dance known to us today and we know her work will outlive us in this age.
President Ford and Martha Graham admire the Medal of Freedom which Ford had just presented to her at the White House on October 15th, 1976.