Martha Graham was and still is a renowned modern Dance pioneer of her time, a woman who made a remarkable impact on dance. She was a visionary for dance in the 1900’s challenging the world of classical ballet with its gracefully structured moves and its fairy tale performances. To Graham ballet did not represent the world she lived in so she created her own style and technique known as “the Graham technique.” She dedicated her life to this new modern style of dance which she herself performed into her seventy’s. By many Graham is considered to be the 20th century’s most important dancer. It’s said that Graham gave us a new language, a new way of moving and a new purpose in moving. She gave us a body of dance technique as complex and formal
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Rather than using music Graham used historical events, such as mythology, social issues, poems, and paintings for inspiration. Duncan had used music to inspire her works whereas Graham used music to make her works dramatic. Her life experience coloured her choreographic perspective and she searched for new truths in dance, rejecting the prettiness of ballet in order to discover her own unique movement of technique. Her trademark vocabulary of movement originated in the tension of a contracted muscle and continued in the flow of energy released from the body as the muscle relaxed. Graham’s dances were often based on strong, precise movements and pelvic contractions. The more she choreographed the more her dances started to become her own and with each dance she challenged herself and the art form further. She established a new era of dance that would forever change anybody who wanted to become a …show more content…
She used very angular, sharp and jarring movements and theatrical expressions which were a distinct deviation from the traditional ballet. One of Graham’s famous solo, “lamentation” consisted of a portrait of a grieving woman, sitting alone on a bench and moving to an anguished Kodaly piano score. compositions.Chronicle, deep song and Frenetic Rhythms are just some of the works Graham created.
Later on in 1931 after a trip to the American southwest Graham became interested in making dances on the theme of American history. In "Primitive Mysteries," as a choreographer she combined her interest in the religious rites of American Indians with an exploration of other religious rites, including pagan and Catholic
Rather than using music Graham used historical events, such as mythology, social issues, poems, and paintings for inspiration. Duncan had used music to inspire her works whereas Graham used music to make her works dramatic. Her life experience coloured her choreographic perspective and she searched for new truths in dance, rejecting the prettiness of ballet in order to discover her own unique movement of technique. Her trademark vocabulary of movement originated in the tension of a contracted muscle and continued in the flow of energy released from the body as the muscle relaxed. Graham’s dances were often based on strong, precise movements and pelvic contractions. The more she choreographed the more her dances started to become her own and with each dance she challenged herself and the art form further. She established a new era of dance that would forever change anybody who wanted to become a …show more content…
She used very angular, sharp and jarring movements and theatrical expressions which were a distinct deviation from the traditional ballet. One of Graham’s famous solo, “lamentation” consisted of a portrait of a grieving woman, sitting alone on a bench and moving to an anguished Kodaly piano score. compositions.Chronicle, deep song and Frenetic Rhythms are just some of the works Graham created.
Later on in 1931 after a trip to the American southwest Graham became interested in making dances on the theme of American history. In "Primitive Mysteries," as a choreographer she combined her interest in the religious rites of American Indians with an exploration of other religious rites, including pagan and Catholic