The oldest contemporary dance group in the United States, the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, will appear at the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center tonight.
The company was founded in 1926 by dancer and choreographer Martha Graham, who choreographed 181 ballets, creating the costumes and music for each, before she died in 1991.
She was named “Dancer of the Century” by TIME Magazine in 1998 and one of the “Icons of the Century” by People Magazine.
Cal Poly Arts program manager Peter Wilt said Martha Graham was the godmother of modern dance and that the show will give attendees a better idea of how contemporary dance, which is more focused on self-expression, started.
“She took ballet and turned it on its head,” Wilt said. “Everyone who is a modern dancer followed Martha Graham.”
Graham developed her technique by experimenting with basic human movements such as breathing and impulse control or “contraction and release,” as she called it. The Martha Graham Company website said she wanted to portray the emotions of the human body by the use of sharp, angular, jagged and direct movements. She was also inspired by modern paintings, the American frontier, religious ceremonies of Native Americans as well as Greek mythology. Graham was known to incorporate the roles of historic and mythological women like Emily Dickinson, Joan of Arc and Medea, granddaughter of the Greek sun god Helios, into her ballets.
Cal Poly Arts director Steven Lerian said having the essentials of the company performed is something he looks forward to seeing.
“Her style and repertoire were founding for modern dance, and for us to present them is a big deal. It elevates our dance program,” Lerian said.
Wilt said the show will be nothing like what most dance enthusiasts have seen before and may at first seem strange because it looks nothing like traditional ballet. Lerian also said not to think literally when watching the dancers as they use their body to portray emotions.
“It is about letting the movement walk over you, be amazed by the acrobatics and movement on stage. It is pretty complex, a cornucopia of movement and dance on stage,” Lerian said.
The athleticism of the dancers, combined with the choreography of Martha Graham, have made the company internationally-known. They have performed in over 50 countries over the past 84 years and has been featured at the Great Pyramids in Egypt, the Paris Opera House and Carnegie Hall.
Since the company’s establishment, they have developed their stellar reputation by receiving numerous positive reviews from the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and New York Times. They have even danced in several award-winning films for the Public Broadcasting Station.
Many of the dancers have also gone on to be renowned contemporary performers and choreographers. Amongst the most famous dancers was Betty Bloomer, who after dancing with the company in 1938, went on to be better known as First Lady Betty Ford.
The current artistic director and a former dancer in the Martha Graham Company, Janet Eilber, described her experience working with Graham when she was alive as “wonderful.” Eilber said Graham saw a different side to her most people didn’t get to see.
“She was funnier than most people would think. She was anything she wanted to be at any given moment because she was a theatrical genius. She could read people’s body language and understand them. It was amazing,” Eilber said.
Eilber said, along with performing some of Graham’s most notable ballets, the company will do live narration about Graham’s life and work as well as projecting video clips of her.
“Part of what we are doing is bringing the audience more context and points of access to Martha’s work,” Eilber said.
More information about Graham’s life will be discussed during a lecture by Cal Poly theatre and dance lecturer, Moon Ja Minn Suhr, at 6 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center’s Pavilion, before the show. She will cover Graham’s background, training, choreography, movement styles, theory and technique. Suhr will also share film excerpts of Graham’s speeches and her works to elaborate on Graham’s place in modern dance.
“Her influence on dance is compared to the influence Stravinsky had on music and Picasso had on the visual arts,” Suhr said.
The Martha Graham Company tour is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts’ “American Masterpieces: Dance Initiative,” given by the New England Foundation for the Arts.
Tickets range from $20 to $48, based on seating and can be purchased at the PAC ticket office, online or over the phone. Students tickets are available an hour before the show at $10 each.