Martha Graham

Martha Graham May 11, 1894 to April 1, 1991, she was born in Allegheny City later to become part of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1894. She was an American Modern Dancer and a choreographer. She has been dancing and choreographing for over seventy years. Martha Graham was the first person to perform at the White House, travelling abroad as a cultural ambassador. She has also received the award for the highest civilian of the US.

Martha Graham was employed at the Eastman School of music in 1925. In 1926, Martha Graham had her own Center of Contemporary Dance which was established. On April 18 of the same year Martha Graham was debuted her first independent concert, consisting of 18 short solos and trios that she had choreographed herself. In 1936, Martha Graham had created the Chronicle which brought serious matters to the stage in an intense way. This has influenced the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the Great Depression followed, and then the Spanish Civil War. The dance focused on depression and isolation, which reflected in the dark nature of both the set and costumes.




Martha Graham also had her own dance company. As known she is one of the greatest artists of the 20th century Martha Graham had created a movement language based upon the expressive capacity of the human body. It all started in 1926 when Martha Graham started teaching a group of dancers who had been really influenced with her creative work. This then began the Martha Graham Studio, to continue under her personal guidance for the next 66 years. When official authorization came to dance in 1980 with the formation of the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD), it had adopted Martha Graham’s term, “Professional Studio School” to denote independent dance studios that teach to the professional standards.

Martha Graham had choreographed until her death occurred from pneumonia in New York, 1991 at the age of 96 years. Just before she became sick with pneumonia, she finished the final draft of her biography, Blood Memory, which was published afterwards in the fall of 1991.