Dancer and choreographer Martha Graham: biography. Martha Graham School and Dance Technique

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

In any encyclopedia of contemporary ballet, the name of dancer Martha Graham will take pride of place. She can be called a revolutionary and a destroyer of foundations. Graham's dance school and its technique became the basis for modern choreography and influenced the development of ballet around the world.

The start of the journey

On May 11, 1894, Martha Graham was born in a small American town. Neither the environment, nor the family, nor the time seemed to portend a great future for this girl, but fate decreed otherwise. The Graham family descended from the first settlers in America who came from Scotland. The father of the future dancer was a psychiatrist, her parents professed Presbyterianism and adhered to very conservative views on life. The family was quite we althy, little Marta was surrounded by a Catholic nanny and servants, Chinese and Japanese worked in the house. Thus, a girl from childhood could get acquainted with different cultures.

But dancing in the family was regarded as something unworthy and sinful. Therefore, Martha first encountered the art of choreography alreadyalmost 20 years old. She managed to attend the performance of the famous Ruth Saint-Denis, which turned the girl's world upside down. She makes a categorical decision to enter the School of Expression, and later continues her studies at the famous Denishawn School, which was led by Saint-Denis herself along with the outstanding choreographer Ted Shawn. In a few years, she will join the Denishawn troupe and make her debut in its performances on the big stage.

Victorian dance

At the turn of the century, there was a strong perception in public opinion that dance was not a serious occupation. He was an element of entertainment shows: vaudeville, cabaret. In the United States, classical ballet at that time did not receive significant distribution; there was no formed national school. There were also many stereotypes about dance. Men were prescribed rational, straightforward jerky movements, while women were supposed to embody the smoothness of lines. Restrictions also applied to the plots of dances, classical, antique plots were preferred. The woman was obliged to realize lyrical roles with a soft plastic pattern.

Understanding Opportunities

Martha Graham came to choreography late even by the standards of that time - at the age of 20, so classical dance was difficult for her, and she was not interested in it. In the Denishawn troupe, she was required to have lyricism, which was not characteristic of her. Ted Shawn - the recognized father of American dance - saw in Graham a special energy andabilities, her charisma and passionate nature and made for her the production of Xochitl. Martha's special style, the "ferocity of the black panther" and her beauty could be manifested in her. She passionately fell in love with modernity, which turned out to be consonant not only with the era, but also with her views and character. From childhood, Martha heard her father's reasoning that movements can convey the inner, emotional state of a person. It was this idea that led her to create her own technique.

Beyond the limits

The search for plastic opportunities was the trend of the time, and Martha Graham was no exception on this path, whose technique became a breakthrough in modern dance. She sought to eliminate gender inequality in dance, to give a woman the right to express strong feelings with the help of sharp, ragged movements. Graham wanted to create a technique that would help dancers become conventionally formal, embodying emotion and idea. She demanded discipline and high concentration from the dancers, at the same time she was able to simplify the classical tradition of plasticity for an easier understanding of the idea by the viewer and gave the dancers more opportunities to convey emotions. Reflection and creativity helped Graham understand that dance is based on three foundations: time, energy and space. Energy is associated with the emotions that movements evoke, this has become the starting point of her technique. Lessons in Martha's class began with a chain of simple movements that weaved into complex compositions. The technique is built on two principles: contraction (compression) and release (lengthening). She made the dancerconcentrate on the center and obey the anatomical laws of plasticity. The search for self-expression in dance allowed Graham to create a unique technique in which breathing and concentration play an important role. She was able to understand and use the possibilities of the human body for aesthetic purposes. Her technique is still the basis for modern dance and is included in all training programs for professional dancers.

Marta understood that a person perceives the world through images, myths, archetypes, and used this in her productions. Martha Graham suggested putting dances on non-classical subjects. She tried to give the dancers as much freedom as possible to express their feelings.

Martha Graham Troupe

In 1926, Martha leaves the Denishawn troupe, in which she did not have the opportunity to realize her ideas. After all, the troupe had its own queen - Saint-Denis, and there was simply no place for Graham. She gathers her troupe in 1927, which was originally purely female, it included the most devoted students. Martha was close to feminist views, she thought a lot about the role of women in society and tried to give her more rights and opportunities. She even devoted several productions to this topic: "Heretic", "Border" and the famous "Lament". In these productions, Graham embodies his ideas and findings, captivating the audience with new plastique.

In 1938, the first man appears in the troupe - Eric Hawkins, who encourages Martha to modernize her dance technique, she is enriched with classical elements. A little later, Merce comes to the troupeCunningham, who became famous as the destroyer of traditional choreographic canons.

Martha's troupe gained world fame after a tour of Europe and the Middle East. The choreographer also creates a school, which, together with the troupe, receives a permanent location in New York. This group still exists today. And not as a monument to the great Graham, but as a living, creative team. Many of Marta's productions have been preserved in the troupe's repertoire, all of her performances have been recorded for posterity.

Main productions

During her creative life, Martha Graham composed 180 performances. Her legacy is striking in its diversity and richness, it is difficult to single out something as the very best in it. But Graham's most notable productions are "Letter to the World", "Cave of the Heart", "Clytemnestra", "Phaedra", "Half-awake, half-asleep", "Acts of Light". Her performances were distinguished not only by excellent choreography, but also by thoughtfulness to the smallest detail. She chose costumes, music, made spatial decisions, and participated in the creation of scenery. Her performances today are a classic guide for dancers and choreographers.

Great partners

There are many outstanding people in the history of ballet, but few live their lives as a dance. The great dancer of the 20th century, who managed to embody all her passion and her history in dance, is Martha Graham. Photos of the ballerina amaze with strength and expression, she immersed herself in the image to the smallest detail, she thought over the choreography and costumes herself. And paid a lot of attentionchoosing a dance partner. She had the opportunity to work with many great contemporaries (Nureyev, Paul Taylor, Merce Cunningham, Robert Wilson). A special line in her biography is associated with the creation of modern dance, and here the tandem of Jose Limon and Martha Graham is impossible not to remember. These two innovators, the greatest revolutionaries, created something that delights viewers to this day.

Influence on world ballet

If there is a person who radically influenced the culture of the 20th century, it is Martha Graham. Quotes from her statements clearly characterize the dancer and her attitude to the work of her life. She said: "The movement never lies, the body conveys the temperature of the soul." Marta made feeling the main idea of the dance, and this became her main merit. She was also able to develop a plastic language for expressing emotions, which became Martha Graham's unique technique. She is rightfully considered the founder of modern dance in America, and her importance in creating a national choreographic school cannot be overestimated.

She not only created a unique troupe, but also staged performances for many theaters, in which the audience could see such magnificent dancers as Rudolf Nureyev, Margot Fonteyn, Maya Plisetskaya, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Natalia Makarova.

Private life

Martha Graham, whose biography is entirely devoted to ballet, could not fully realize herself as a woman. Her husband was a dance partner, a handsome man - Eric Hawkins. They lived together for 6 years, and the breakup was a big shock for Martha, but she was able to draw from this emotional experience that becamedance inspiration. She left the stage at the age of 76, experienced severe depression on this occasion, but was able to overcome the illness and return to work as a choreographer, composing 10 more ballets. Marta passed away at the age of 96.