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Martha Graham's Influence On Modern Dance

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Martha Graham, born on May 11,1894 in Allegheny, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and died on April 1, 1991 in New York City, NY, was an American dancer and choreographer. Martha was heavily influenced by her father, George Graham. Her father was a doctor that specialized in nervous disorders. Dr. George Graham felt and believed that the body could express its inner senses. That idea fascinated Martha. Graham and her family moved to California in the 1910s. In Los Angeles, at the Mason Opera House, when Martha was only 17, she saw Ruth St. Denis perform. After seeing the show, she beseeched her parents to let her study dance. Due to her parents being strong Presbyterians, they would not let her.

Martha Graham did modern dance. Some pieces that are the most impressive and famous include “Lamentation,” “Appalachian Spring,” “Cave of the Heart,” “Deaths and Entrances,” “Seraphic Dialogue,” and “Chronicle.” Later, she enrolled in an arts-oriented junior college. After her father …show more content…

The technique she had was very complex and were theatricality, severity, solemnity, and emotionally charged. Personally, I am not too big a fan of how slow everything is, but, I do respect how much time, effort, and patience needed to do what she does. It is truly art and is not easy doing what she did. Out of all of her dances that I watched, the one that I am most intrigued by is “Errand into the Maze.” She tells a story through it, and every single move is done with such precision and focus. Today’s modern dance differs from what it was when Graham did it. There are many differences from Martha’s style of dance and today’s style of dance. Already, Martha Graham had a unique style of dance that many people thought was “ugly.” It took quite some time for others to truly appreciate the way of Graham’s dance. Today, more people are accepting of unique types of

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