Who was Martha Graham? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Died At Age: 96

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Erick Hawkins

father: George Graham

mother: Jane Beers

Born Country: United States

Ballet Dancers Choreographers

Died on: April 1, 1991

place of death: New York, New York, United States

U.S. State: Pennsylvania

Cause of Death: Pneumonia

Ancestry: Irish American, British American

More Facts

awards: 1976 - Presidential Medal of Freedom
highest civilian award of the USA

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1

What is Martha Graham known for?

Martha Graham is known as a pioneer of modern dance and is considered one of the greatest choreographers of the 20th century.
2

What was Martha Graham's dance technique called?

Martha Graham developed a unique dance technique known as the "Graham technique," which is characterized by its focus on contraction and release movements.
3

How did Martha Graham revolutionize the world of dance?

Martha Graham revolutionized the world of dance by breaking away from traditional ballet techniques and introducing a new, more expressive and emotional style of movement.
4

What are some famous works choreographed by Martha Graham?

Some of Martha Graham's famous choreographed works include "Appalachian Spring," "Cave of the Heart," and "Night Journey," among many others.
5

How did Martha Graham's work influence future generations of dancers and choreographers?

Martha Graham's work had a profound influence on future generations of dancers and choreographers, shaping the development of modern dance and inspiring countless artists to explore new forms of movement expression.

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Childhood & Early Life

Martha Graham was born on May 11, 1894, as one of the three daughters of George Graham, a physician, and his wife Jane Beers, in a suburb of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Her father was a doctor ad practiced psychiatry.

She joined the Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts, founded by Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn, in the mid-1910s. The newly established school explored different types of dance styles including folk, classical, experimental, Oriental, and American Indian, thus introducing her to the rich cultural heritage of dances from around the world. She studied here till 1923.

Ted Shawn, who was her mentor at the school recognized her potential and guided her to perform an Aztec ballet, ‘Xochitl’. Her performances at various concerts and vaudeville were met with great success.

Martha Graham performed an Egyptian dance with Lillian Powell—again under Shawn’s guidance—in a short silent film by Hugo Riesenfeld, in 1922.

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Career

Martha Graham left Denishawn in 1923 and became a featured dancer in the Greenwich Village Follies revue. She went to the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York in 1924 where she taught dance.

She made her debut as an independent artist in New York, in 1926. She loved experimenting with dance movements and this was reflected in her performances. Some of the performances she gave during this time were ‘Three Gopi Maidens’ and ‘Danse Languide’.

She founded the Martha Graham Dance Company in 1926, as a contemporary dance company. The company went on to become a very famous institution for dancers and choreographers.

In 1927, Martha Graham performed a program, Revolt, set to the avant-garde music of Arthur Honegger. This was an original dance that was considerably different from her previous works and was not received positively by the audiences. But this did not dampen her imaginative spirit.

Over a period of time her genius mind and creativity began attracting the attention of critics and by the time she choreographed ‘American Document’ in 1938, her fame as an innovative choreographer had spread far and wide.

She believed dance to be a powerful medium of expression and explored several social, political, psychological and sexual themes through her performances and choreography.

Her works in the 1940s reflected her views about the human society and its complexities. Some of her best known works from this period include ‘Deaths and Entrances’ (1943), ‘Appalachian Spring’ (1944), ‘Dark Meadow’ (1946), and ‘Errand into the Maze’ (1947).

The Martha Graham Company premiered the ballet ‘Clytemnestra’ in April 1958 which went on to become a roaring success. It was her largest scale of work and the only full-length work she ever produced.

Some of her later works are ‘The Witch of Endor’ (1965), ‘Cortege of Eagles’ (1967), ‘The Archaic Hours’ (1969), ‘Mendicants of Evening’ (1973), ‘Lucifer’ (1975), ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’ (1978), and ‘Frescoes’ (1980).

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Major Works

She founded the Martha Graham Dance Company which is today the oldest continually performing dance company in the world. The company has till date trained many world famous dancers and choreographers and has been recognized as "one of the seven wonders of the artistic universe" by the Washington Post.

Awards & Achievements

In 1976, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award of the USA, in 1976 by President Gerald Ford who declared her "a national treasure”.

Martha Graham was inducted into the National Museum of Dance's Mr. & Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Hall of Fame, in 1987.

‘Time’ magazine named her the “Dancer of the Century” in 1998.

Personal Life & Legacy

A dancer named Eric Hawkins joined her troupe in 1939 and played the male lead in many of her works. Eventually the two developed a relationship and got married in 1948. They, however, separated in 1954.

She became addicted to alcohol at one point of time following her last performance as a dancer. She became so depressed that she even tried to commit suicide. However, she bounced back by quitting alcohol and revived her career as a choreographer.

She lived a long life and continued choreographing till the very end. She died of pneumonia on April 1, 1991, at the age of 96.

Facts About Martha Graham

Martha Graham was known for her innovative approach to dance, creating a new language of movement that revolutionized the art form.

She often collaborated with other artists, including composer Aaron Copland and sculptor Isamu Noguchi, to create groundbreaking works that melded music, dance, and visual art.

Graham was a trailblazer for women in the male-dominated world of dance, founding her own dance company and training generations of dancers in her unique technique.

Graham's influence extended beyond the world of dance, as she was also a respected teacher and mentor to many aspiring artists and performers.

Martha Graham Biography

You wanted to know

What is Martha Graham known for?

What was Martha Graham's dance technique called?

How did Martha Graham revolutionize the world of dance?

What are some famous works choreographed by Martha Graham?

How did Martha Graham's work influence future generations of dancers and choreographers?