Martha Graham, 1894-1991: The Mother of Modern Dance
27 August 2012
Dancer Fang-Yi Sheu from Taiwan, in white dress, performs sketches from "Chronicle" in Cologne, Germany, in July 2006 at the start of a European tour by the Martha Graham Dance Company
STEVE EMBER: I'm Steve Ember.
BARBARA KLEIN: And I'm Barbara Klein with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. Today, we explore the life of dancer and choreographer Martha Graham. She created almost two hundred dance pieces. She is often called the Mother of Modern Dance. Her influence on the world of dance continues today.
(MUSIC)
STEVE EMBER: In the beginning of the twentieth century, women like Isadora Duncan and Ruth Saint Denis wanted to create a new form of dance. Duncan and Saint Denis felt restricted by ballet. Modern dance was created as a revolt against ballet.
Martha Graham was one of the most famous dancers and creators of dance, called choreographers. She brought modern dance to a new level of popularity in American culture. She created a new language of movement that expressed powerful emotions.
She started traditions that are still used in modern dance today. They include expressive movements of the body to tell a dramatic story, special music, lighting, stage design and costumes.
BARBARA KLEIN: Martha Graham was born in the small town of Allegheny, Pennsylvania in eighteen ninety-four. After Martha turned fourteen years old, her family moved to Santa Barbara, California. While traveling across the Midwest, Martha enjoyed the wide, open spaces of nature. She also enjoyed the beautiful flowers and plants in California. The free, expressive movements of modern dance were clearly influenced by the beauty of nature Graham observed.
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