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Birth- Allegheny, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
From an early age, Martha was fascinated with the human body and movement. Her father was a doctor, an "alienist" used to describe the specialization of studying human psychology. Her father was interested in the way we move our bodies, which then passed on to Martha. -
Move to California- Inspiration
Her family moved to California during the 1910's. When Martha was 17 she saw Ruth St. Denis perform in Los Angeles. After the show she was inspired to dance, but her parents were strongly Presbyterian, and would not allow it. -
Began Studying at Denishawn
Over seven years, Martha studied dance at Denishawn, where she would meet her future husband Ted Shawn. She became one of the company's best performers, moving from student to teacher quickly. -
Move to New York, Job with Greenwich Village Follies
Martha took a new job in New York and gained a reputation for her ballet. She became involved in the arts scene there and saw many famous performers. -
Left Greenwich Village Follies to Purse Own Company
During this time between Greenwich and opening her own company, she took some teaching positions at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY and John Murray Anderson School in New York City. -
Martha Graham Dance Company- New York, NY
Opened the company based on what she was taught, but soon found her own style and voice. http://marthagraham.org/ -
Working with Louis Horst
Martha met Horst at Denishawn and began to work with him for the next 30 or so years. During this time, Horst was devoted to helping Martha's artistic vision and introduced her the work of German modern dancer Mary Wigman, and continued to bring innovations to her work. He also encouraged her to work with contemporary composers than those of the 18th and 19th century as her solo career took off. http://www.pitt.edu/~gillis/dance/martha.html -
Contraction and Release Technique
In the 1930's, Martha continued her teachings from Denishawn, but then developed a new system of movement in choreography. This was derived from Delsartean principal of tension and relaxation. Using muscle control of tension and release developed her famous dancing look of hard, angular shapes. http://www.pitt.edu/~gillis/dance/martha.html -
Inspiration from Emotion and American History
Throughout the 1930's Martha's career had many notable and famous dances inspired by emotional themes. Her solo "Lamentation" demonstrated the theme of grieving woman while making a visual representation of the modernization of America with high skyscrapers. She also gained inspiration from a trip in the American Southwest where some other famous works of came from, such as "Primitive Mysteries" and "Frontier." -
"Appalachian Spring"
Inspired by her time in the American Southwest, this dance tells the story of a wife and husband through their pioneer journey of beginning their life in the wilderness. The score from it is a Pulitzer Prize winner composed by Aaron Copland. Martha also met Isamu Noguchi who designed many sets for her dances such as this one. This dance was then filmed in 1958. http://www.pitt.edu/~gillis/dance/martha.html -
Filmed "Night Journey"
A dance choreographed and performed by Martha Graham. It is a retelling of "Oedipus the King" story by Sophocles. It is said that this is one of the three most successful dance films ever made. -
Death- New York City, New York
Martha's career lasted for 75 years. And although she has left us, her dance school and company are still in existence today in New York City.
