Martha Graham

Martha Graham is one of the founders of American modern dance and a primary artistic force of the 20th century. TIME magazine named her “Dancer of the Century,” and People magazine named her among the female “Icons of the Century.”  

In 1926, Graham, who trained at the Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts, founded her dance company and school in New York City. Graham’s technique, in which she experimented with the most elemental forms of movement, specifically contraction and release revolutionized dance training and created an entirely new movement language.  

As an artist, Graham conceived each new work in its entirety dance, costumes, and music. Her ballets were inspired by such varied sources as modern painting, the American frontier, Native American religious ceremonies, and Greek mythology. Many of her most important roles portray great women of history and mythology, including Clytemnestra, Jocasta, Medea, Phaedra, Joan of Arc, and Emily Dickinson. During her 70 years of creating dances, she collaborated with such artists as sculptor Isamu Noguchi; actor and director John Houseman; fashion designers Halston, Donna Karan, and Calvin Klein; and renowned composers Aaron Copland, Louis Horst (her mentor), Samuel Barber, Norman Dello Joio, and Gian Carlo Menotti. Her company was the training ground for many future modern choreographers, including Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, and Twyla Tharp.  

Graham’s unique vision and creative genius earned her numerous honors and awards. In 1976, President Gerald R. Ford bestowed upon her the United States’ highest civilian honor, The Presidential Medal of Freedom, making her the first dancer and choreographer to receive this honor. In1985, President Ronald Reagan designated her among the first recipients of the United States National Medal of Arts. Her legacy is sustained by the Martha Graham Dance Company, Graham 2, and the Martha Graham School.