Martha Graham and the Rise of Modern Dance

For centuries, classical ballet was the only dance style that people taught and choreographed. Martha Graham (1894-1991) was one of the pioneers of modern dance, who broke away from the specific, disciplined technique of ballet. She was one of the first dancers to discover and perform with different techniques such as contractions, floorwork, and energy with opposition. Her choreography and approaches at dance are what made modern dance what it is today.

Graham demonstrated passionate emotions in her choreography, something ballet was unable to do because of its constricted, particular movement. She explored with loose movement in the limbs and spine; spiraling energy and opposition; and expressing emotions through movement. "Ballet…did not say enough, especially when it came to intense drama, to passion," she said. Graham’s innovations are now known as the "Graham Technique," which is used frequently in modern and contemporary dance to convey strong feelings. She greatly impacted dance, and is known still as the "mother of modern dance".

Martha Graham's creativity has greatly affected me and my dancing. She started something that has been used, altered, and elaborated on, to create entirely new approaches at expressing things through movement. Ballet training is extremely important for all dancers, because it teaches proper technique that is used in all styles, but I’m glad that I can use different movement in contemporary. Contemporary dance lets us portray feelings in a way that we can’t through ballet alone. Martha Graham inspired and influenced many dancers and choreographers, and completely changed dance. Her work has made dance more enjoyable for me, and many other dancers all over the world.

Sources

1. https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/photographs-the-classics/martha-graham-letter-to-the-world-kick-1940-42/12395

2. http://www.victoriaeugenia.com/100urte/laredsocial_temas_danza.html

3. http://moblog.whmsoft.net/related_search.php?keyword=martha+graham+technique&language=english&depth=3