Martha Graham
Born in 1893 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Martha Graham is recognized as a seminal artist of the 20th Century, alongside Picasso, Stravinsky, James Joyce, and Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1998 Time Magazine named Martha Graham as the Dancer of the Century, and People Magazine named her among the female "Icons of the Century". As a choreographer, she was as prolific as she was complex. She created 181 ballets and a dance technique that has been compared to ballet in its scope and magnitude.
As an artist, Martha Graham conceived each new work in its entirety---dance, costumes, and music. During her 70 years of creating dances, Martha Graham collaborated with such artists as sculptor Isamu Noguchi; actor and director John Houseman; fashion designers Halston, Donna Karan and Calvin Klein; and renowned composers including Aaron Copland, Louis Horst, Samuel Barber, William Schuman, Carlos Surinach, Norman Dello Joio and Gian Carlo Menotti.
In 1976, President Gerald R. Ford bestowed upon Martha Gram the United States' highest civilian honour, the Medal of Freedom, and declared her a "National Treasure", making her the first dancer and choreographer to receive this honor. Another Presidential honour was awarded Martha Graham in 1985 when President Ronald Reagan designated her among the first recipients of the United States' National Medal of Arts.
Martha Graham Dance Company
Martha Graham founded her dance company and school in 1926, living and working out of a tiny Carnegie Hall studio in midtown Manhattan. In developing her technique, she experimented endlessly with basic human movement, beginning with the most elemental movements of contraction and release. Using these principles as the foundation for her technique, she built a vocabulary of movement that would "increase the emotional activity of the dancer's body". Martha Graham's dancing and choreography exposed the depths of human emotion through movements that were sharp, angular, jagged, and direct. The dance world was forever altered by Martha Graham's vision; it continues to be a source of inspiration for dance and theatre artists.
Her company was the training ground for future modern choreographers Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor and Twyla Tharp. She created roles for classical ballet stars such as Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov, welcoming them as guests into her company.
This is the first time Martha Graham Dance Company coming to Mainland China. Ten classic works have been selected to form two performances with different themes, titled Mythology & Fable and American Chronicle.
Mythology & Fable November 27 - 28, 2008
Mythology & Fable covers a series of Greek mythology such as Errand to the Maze and Night Journey, expressed by modern dance, which interprets ancient tales in a way of modernity. Among them Night Journey that is created by Martha Graham herself, has been regarded as fruit of her painstaking work.
Programs
Errand to the Maze
Diversions of Angels
Night Journey
Acts of Light
American Chronicle November 29 - 30, 2008
American Chronicle consists of six renowned works created from early part of the 20th Century to the end. They all will be presented on the stage as an epitome of Martha Graham's entire life beginning with her debut. It reflects both her focus on human reality and her exploration of American culture and history.
Programs
Serenata Morisca
Lamentation
Appalachian Spring
Chronicle
Embattled Garden
Maple Leaf Rag
Favorite
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