Martha Graham Dance Company

“Unnervingly beautiful…Enduringly radical...” - Siobhan Burke, The New York Times

The MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY has been a leader in the evolving art form of modern dance since its founding in 1926. It is both the oldest dance company in the United States and the oldest integrated dance company. During its 90-year history, the Company has received acclaim from audiences and critics in more than 50 countries. Today, it is embracing a new programming vision that showcases masterpieces by Graham alongside newly commissioned works by contemporary artists.
 

We the People

Choreography: Jamar Roberts | Music: Rhiannon Giddens, as arranged by Gabe Witcher 

We the People is a dance of 21st Century Americana that references and reverberates with our history. Its new score by Rhiannon Giddens, as arranged by Gabe Witcher, offers the historic sound of American folk music. Its acclaimed choreographer Jamar Roberts has said, “We the People is equal parts protest and lament, speculating on the ways in which America does not always live up to its promise. Against the backdrop of traditional American music, We the People hopes to serve as a reminder that the power for collective change belongs to the people.”
 

CAVE

Choreography: Hofesh Shechter | Music: Âme and Hofesh Shechter

This high-energy work by Hofesh Shechter emerged out of an idea brought to the Graham Company by international dance star Daniil Simkin. Simkin was interested in taking dance that is part of the techno club scene to a new level and finding a way to integrate choreographed movement into a rave style event. As a prelude to this larger idea, Hofesh Shechter was invited to create a dance for the proscenium stage for the Graham dancers. The result is a visceral collective movement experience with a powerful, swirling shared kinetic energy.
 

Appalachian Spring

Choreography: Martha Graham | Music: Aaron Copland

Appalachian Spring tells the story of a young frontier couple on their wedding day.  Created as the war in Europe was drawing to end, the ballet captured the imagination of Americans who were beginning to believe in a more prosperous future, a future in which men and women would be united again. Themes from American folk culture can be found throughout the dance. Aaron Copland weaves a Shaker tune, “Simple Gifts,” throughout his luminous score, while Martha Graham’s choreography includes square dance patterns, skips and paddle turns and curtsies, even a grand right and left.  The spare set by Isamu Noguchi features a Shaker rocking chair. With its tale of a new life in a new land, the dance embodies hope.  Critics called Appalachian Spring “shining and joyous,” and  “a testimony to the simple fineness of the human spirit.”