Famous Modern Dancer Martha Graham
Martha Graham is a famous modern dancer who was born in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania on May 11, 1894 and died in New York City at the age of 96 on
April 1, 1991. She was married, divorced and had no children. She is considered
to be a legendary modern dancer. Martha Graham did not begin to study dance
until she was in her teens. Her family moved to California. They did not
approve of Martha studying dance. She began taking classes at Denishawn in Los
Angeles. At Denishawn she was a student, a teacher and performer. She then
moved to New York and in 1926 she established her own dance company. Some
people thought that Martha Graham’s experimental style was jarring and ugly but
she said that her dance was spiritual.
Thanks for the profile on Martha. I saw her perform in concert in 1987 at UC Berkeley. Some of her principal dancers taught my class at university. My main dance teacher, David Wood, was a principal dancer and rehearsal director for Martha Graham for 25 years. So that was the style I learned. Also check out: Merce Cunningham, Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris, Isadora Duncan, Alvin Ailey, Paul Taylor, Ted Shawn. One of Martha's company dancers, Marni Thomas Wood, danced in the same class as Rana at Sarah Lawrence!
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