Martha Graham: The Mother Of Modern Dance

This essay aims to expose Martha Graham's choreographic developments/ phases in relation Graham's socio-historical momentum. I will be drawing upon scholars such as Franko, Yaari and Foulkes to support my research.

Martha Graham commonly know as the ‘mother of modern dance’ Martha graham: The Mother Of Modern Dance (Biography), was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania in 1894. Graham’s father was a doctor who used physical movement to remedy nervous disorders. His work inspired Martha to incorporate her own style, she had also grown up watching ballet and the combination of both had developed her love for the arts. She eventually went to study dance in L.A where she joined the dance school ‘Denishaw’. Graham then went on to create her own
After the war graham used greek mythology as stimulus for the second phase of her career, known as the her ‘Mythographic’ phase. “Mythical symbolism” was used in her work, “which included the viewer to project their own life experiences into the choreography” Franko (2012) P.8. Martha Graham’s method of re-invention of late mythological tales to speak on modern issues, engaged the audience on a deeper level. “Graham chose ancient myths and tragedies as the raw material from which to portray women from a new perspective and in a new art form, theatrical dance.” Yaari, (2003) P.221. As Martha Graham became interested in Greek Mythology, she created a piece called “Night Journey” (1947) which was one of “Graham's most narrative works” Franko (2012) P.8. This piece is about the story of Oedipus Rex, a Greek god, written by Sophocles. The play, known as ‘Oedipus. The King’ is based about a man having a intimate relationship with his mother and during Greek times, something like this wouldn’t have been uncommon, however, was still illegal. The Greeks believed that the gods would have relationships with their mothers to enhance the likelihood that they would have a son of great power and pure genetics (meaning the aire to the throne would be a pure son of god). Erick Hawkins was the first male dancer in Graham's company, this was the first piece he danced a principal role. Hawkins was also Grahams lover off stage. In this dance performance the Choreography shown could be interpreted as the characters being a reflection of hawking and Graham's relationship, and how they had a big age gap between them. “The need to convert hidden messages of a political and personal nature” Franko (2012) P.8 The complexity and acute attention to details can be seen clearly within this phase as well as Hawking's influences within her choreographic practice at the