Martha Graham summary

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Martha Graham, (born May 11, 1894, Allegheny county, Penn., U.S.—died April 1, 1991, New York, N.Y.), U.S. dancer, teacher, choreographer, and foremost exponent of modern dance. She studied from 1916 with Ted Shawn at the Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts, then left in 1923 for New York, where she founded her own school in 1927 and a performing company in 1929. She choreographed more than 160 works, creating unique “dance plays” and using a variety of themes to express emotion and conflict. Many are based on American themes, including “Appalachian Spring” (1944); other works include “Primitive Mysteries” (1931), “El Penitente” (1940), “Letter to the World” (1940), “Cave of the Heart” (1946), “Clytemnestra” (1958), “Phaedra” (1962), and “Frescoes” (1978). She collaborated for many years with Louis Horst, her musical director, and with Isamu Noguchi, who designed many of her sets. She retired from dancing in 1970 but continued to teach and choreograph. Her technique became the first significant alternative to classical ballet, and her influence extended worldwide through her choreography and her students.

choreography Summary

Choreography, the art of creating and arranging dances. The word derives from the Greek for “dance” and for “write.” In the 17th and 18th centuries, it did indeed mean the written record of dances. In the 19th and 20th centuries, however, the meaning shifted, inaccurately but universally, while the

modern dance Summary

Modern dance, theatrical dance that began to develop in the United States and Europe late in the 19th century, receiving its nomenclature and a widespread success in the 20th. It evolved as a protest against both the balletic and the interpretive dance traditions of the time. The forerunners of

ballet Summary

Ballet, theatrical dance in which a formal academic dance technique—the danse d’école—is combined with other artistic elements such as music, costume, and stage scenery. The academic technique itself is also known as ballet. This article surveys the history of ballet. Ballet traces its origins to

dance Summary

Dance, the movement of the body in a rhythmic way, usually to music and within a given space, for the purpose of expressing an idea or emotion, releasing energy, or simply taking delight in the movement itself. Dance is a powerful impulse, but the art of dance is that impulse channeled by skillful