A to Z Bio Of Martha Graham's | Martha Graham's Birthday Today

MARTHA GRAHAM Sex: F Age: 96 Birth Date: May 11, 1894 Astrology Sign: Taurus Chinese Sign: - Birth Name: Birth Place: Allegheny County, PA Died Date: April 1, 1991 Website: Occupation: founder of American modern dance

Biography: Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 - April 1, 1991), an American dancer and choreographer, is known as one of the foremost pioneers of modern dance. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and moved to California when she was 14 years old. After seeing Ruth St. Denis perform in the 1910s, she took an interest in dance. Not until the age of 22 (1916) did she pursue her interest professionally by enrolling at Denishawn. In 1925, Graham became a dance instructor at the Eastman School of Music and Theater in Rochester, New York. She later set out on her own with the support of Louis Horst, an accompanist whom she had got to know while training at Denishawn and who grew to be her musical mentor and lover. Graham founded her own company, the Martha Graham Dance Company, in 1926. Her unique movement style -- widely recognised for its principle of contraction and release -- and imagery reflected the modern art of the times. At Bennington College in 1932, Graham founded the first-ever bachelor of arts degree in dance. In 1951, she was a founding member of the dance division of the Juilliard School. In 1936, Graham made her defining work, "Chronicle", which signalled the beginning of a new era in contemporary dance. The dance brought serious issues to the stage for the general public in a dramatic manner. Influenced by the Wall Street Crash, the Great Depression and the Spanish Civil War, it focused on depression and isolation, reflected in the dark nature of both the set and costumes. Graham's dancing life gradually came to a rest starting in the 1950s. In 1927, the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance was established. One of her students was heiress Bethsabée de Rothschild with whom she became close friends. When Rothschild moved to Israel and established the Batsheva Dance Company in 1965, Graham became the company's first director, groomed its first generation of dancers, and made works for it. In 1948, Graham married Erick Hawkins(a principle dancer in her company). She didn't want to marry, but after eight years of living together, he decided they should. Her final dance performances came in the late 1960s, and from then on she focused on choreography. Some critics say that even though there is little physical record of her dancing, it is more memorable than her choreography. Graham continued working until her death from pneumonia in 1991 at the age of 96. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1976 by President Gerald Ford (the First Lady Betty Ford had danced with Graham in her youth). In 1998, TIME magazine listed her as the "Dancer of the Century" and as one of the most important people of the 20th century.

Google Celebrate Martha Graham's 117th Birthday |

celebrate the 117th birthday of American dancer, teacher, and modern dance choreographer Martha Graham.

In a career that spanned over half a century Graham created more than 180 works and she herself performed in most.

Graham born on May 11, 1894 was one of the three daughters of a doctor. She began her professional career in 1916 and her choreography was influenced by oriental art. For most of her career Graham was the leading figure in American modern dance. She died on April 1, 1991.

The animated doodle marking Graham's birthday was preceded by a series of doodles that Google put together to celebrate the 76th birth anniversary of English author and illustrator Charles Roger Hargreaves.

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Martha Graham and the Martha Graham Dance Company | Martha Graham New York, May 7, 1961 | Dance Videos Of Martha Graham

Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American dancer choreographer regarded as one of the foremost pioneers of modern dance, whose influence on dance can be compared to the influence Stravinsky had on music, Picasso had on the visual arts, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.^[1] Graham was a galvanizing performer, a choreographer of astounding moves. She invented a new language of movement, and used it to reveal the passion, the rage and the ecstasy common to human experience. She danced and choreographed for over seventy years, and during that time was the first dancer ever to perform at The White House, the first dancer ever to travel abroad as a cultural ambassador, and the first dancer ever to receive the highest civilian award of the USA: the Medal of Freedom. In her lifetime she received honors ranging from the Key to the City of Paris to Japan's Imperial Order of the Precious Crown. She said, "I have spent all my life with dance and being a dancer. It's permitting life to use you in a very intense way. Sometimes it is not pleasant. Sometimes it is fearful. But nevertheless it is inevitable." (Source: Wikipedia)

Martha Graham and the Martha Graham Dance Company, New York, May 7, 1961

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"Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion.”
There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique.
And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable it is nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.
You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you.
Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive.

~Martha Graham to Agnes de Mille