When Emilie Gerrity performed in Jerome Robbins’ Moves, it was her first time dancing a work without music. “It was super-exciting and just different from anything else I had ever experienced before,” she remembers. Dance and music are deeply interconnected, so it’s likely that dance students might not have much experience performing in silence. But […]
Like a pearl, an artist who can devote herself equally to performing, choreographing, and teaching, is uniquely rounded. Pearl Lang (1921–2009) was such a person, and she made no hierarchical distinctions in her three-pronged career. Lang’s devotion to her craft led her to become one of the mid-century’s most heralded modern dancers and choreographers, famous […]
The first time PeiJu Chien-Pott auditioned for Martha Graham Dance Company, she was instantly turned down. She gave birth to her first child the following year, and used Graham classes to help tighten her core muscles after pregnancy. In 2011, just one year later, she auditioned again, and this time she got in. The company’s […]
One of the most influential choreographers of the 20th century, Martha Graham (1894–1991) helped lead the American modern dance revolution, breaking from the traditions of classical ballet as well as the romantic style of earlier modern dance pioneers. The Pennsylvania native came to dance relatively late: At 22 she began studying with Ruth St. Denis […]
Martha Graham Dance Company created The EVE Project to mark the upcoming 100th anniversary of U.S. women’s right to vote. The female-focused initiative includes new works, as well as the company’s classic repertoire highlighting Martha Graham’s heroines and antiheroines. In April, the company is showing the newly reconstructed Circe, Graham’s 1963 interpretation of the Greek […]
Forty years ago, the movie musical Grease introduced audiences around the world to Grease lightning and an iconic hand jive. Would anyone guess now that all those unforgettable rock-n’-roll style dances were choreographed by a former Martha Graham Dance Company soloist? (Was John Travolta actually in a contraction?) Choreographer Patricia Birch, better known as Pat, […]
Martha Graham was the “Mother of Modern Dance,” influencing generations of dance artists with her incomparable choreography and technique that featured the pioneering concept of contraction and release. But did you know… 1. Graham frequently created her own costumes. In a 1989 interview, Graham commented, “Dance is theater and larger than life. Makeup and costume, […]
Long before Allison DeBona took the stage as a first soloist with Ballet West, she had chosen to give up dancing to have a normal adolescence. In eighth grade she quit ballet and joined her high-school drill team. In spite of this decision, DeBona’s teacher, Jean Gedeon of Pittsburgh Youth Ballet, never gave up on […]
Jacqulyn Buglisi has a flair for drama. To encourage the students in her intermediate and advanced Graham classes at The Ailey School to open their sternums in a high release, she tells them to stretch “like a flower came out of your heart.” When attempting to convey the weight of a hand gesture, she explains […]
Today marks the 16th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. In honor of this day’s remembrance, the Martha Graham Dance Company, based in New York City, is live-streaming a special performance of Graham’s iconic solo, Lamentation, performed by principal dancer, PeiJu Chien-Pott. To watch the performance live, visit here.