including sculptor Isamu Noguchi and composers Aaron Copland, Samuel
Barber, and Gian Carlo Menotti.
Graham’s groundbreaking style grew from her experimentation with the
elemental movements of contraction and release. By focusing on the basic
activities of the human form, she enlivened the body with raw, electric
emotion. The sharp, angular, and direct movements of her technique
were a dramatic departure from the predominant style of the time.
Cunningham, Paul Taylor, and Twyla Tharp, altering the scope of dance.
Classical ballet dancers Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail
Baryshnikov sought her out to broaden their artistry. Artists of all genres
were eager to study and work with Graham—she taught actors including
Bette Davis, Kirk Douglas, Madonna, Liza Minnelli, Gregory Peck, Tony
Randall, Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson, and Joanne Woodward to utilize their
bodies as expressive instruments.
During her long and illustrious career, Graham created 181 dance compositions.
During the Bicentennial she was granted the United States’
highest civilian honor, The Medal of Freedom. In 1998, TIME Magazine
White House and to act as a cultural ambassador abroad, she captured
the spirit of a nation. “No artist is ahead of his time,” she said. “He is his
time. It is just that the others are behind the time.”
ABOUT THE COMPANY
The Martha Graham Dance Company has been a world leader in the
development of contemporary dance since its founding in 1926. Today,
under the direction of Artistic Director Janet Eilber, the Company is embracing
a new programming vision that showcases masterpieces by Graham
alongside newly commissioned works by contemporary artists. With
platforms for contemporary dance and multiple points of access for audiences.
Since its inception, the Company has received international acclaim from
audiences in over 50 countries throughout North and South America,
Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The Company has performed
at such illustrious venues as the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, the
Paris Opera House, and Covent Garden, as well as at the base of the
Great Pyramids of Egypt and in the ancient Herod Atticus Theatre on the
Acropolis in Athens. In addition, the Company has also produced several
Though Martha Graham herself is the best-known alumna of her company,
the Company has provided a training ground for some of modern
dance’s most celebrated performers and choreographers. Former members
of the Company include Merce Cunningham, Erick Hawkins, Paul
Taylor, John Butler and Glen Tetley. Among celebrities who have joined
the Company in performance are Mikhail Baryshnikov, Margot Fonteyn,
Rudolf Nureyev, Maya Plisetskaya, Tiler Peck, Misty Copeland, Herman
Cornejo and Aurelie Dupont.
In recent years, the Company has challenged expectations and experi-
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