Cha Cha Peachy: The Political Dance Project Part 1 By The Martha Graham Dance Company
Whom You Know began our coverage of The Political Dance Project last night! “We are highlighting the era of the 1930s when the nascent art form of American modern dance was fueled by the political and social activism of the time,” says Artistic Director Janet Eilber. “Modern dance took on the plight of the oppressed of all races and backgrounds. Dances were created as if ‘ripped from the headlines’ – with themes that aligned modern dance to the complex social concerns of the day including the financial crisis, civil rights, workers rights, and the rise of fascism in Europe. The performances at The Joyce will explore the issues of that time and how they reverberate today in the ongoing dialogue about who we are as a nation.”
American Document (2010) premiering on opening night is not a dance by Martha Graham, but it is closely tied to one of her seminal works, American Document from 1938. American Document (2010) is a theatrical piece directed by Anne Bogart for six actors from SITI Company and ten Graham dancers. Using filmed excerpts, written descriptions and Graham's handwritten notes, Bogart and playwright Charles L. Mee have reinventedAmerican Document for the 21st century by incorporating text from a variety of sources including Walt Whitman's poetry and blogs from American soldiers in Iraq. The work, which includes speaking and dancing by all the performers, probes the same issues as Graham's original: what is an American?
American Document (2010) will be followed by Martha Graham’s 1936 masterwork Sketches from ‘Chronicle’ on the evenings of June 8, 11, 12 and 13.
Dance is a Weapon will premiere on June 9. This multimedia montage envisioned by Janet Eilber is based on an exhibit created by Victoria Geduld with text, images and media by Ellen Graff, Victoria Geduld and Nancy Stevens, and presents dances from the 1920s and 1930s by Graham and her contemporaries. Dance is a Weapon opens with a solo by Isadora Duncan:The Revolutionary. It is a rallying cry -- inspiring action and courage. This is followed by three other seminal solos of the era: Tenant of the Street by Eve Gentry (a portrait of a homeless woman – downtrodden but defiant); I Ain’t Got No Home (from Dust Bowl Ballads) by Sophie Maslow (a solo evoking the displaced people of the Dust Bowl Era, bowed by circumstances but determined to move on); and Time is Money by Jane Dudley (a powerful statement against “the machine” of commerce).
These solos will be followed by Panorama, a work by Graham from 1935 that speaks of the power of the people to take social action. The cast for Panoramaat The Joyce will be thirty-three high school students from all over New York City chosen for these performances by a city-wide audition process.
The Dance is a Weapon montage will conclude with Graham’s “Steps in the Street” and “Prelude to Action,” two sections of her work Chronicle from 1936. Eilber notes, “This is the same year Martha turned down Hitler’s invitation to perform at the International Arts Festival running concurrent with the Olympic games in Berlin.” Performed by the women of the Company, “Steps in the Street” evokes the devastation and isolation that war leaves in its wake while “Prelude to Action” suggests a response.
Dance is a Weapon will be followed by the work Graham created in 1944 as her contribution to the war effort, Appalachian Spring, on the evening of June 9 and the matinee on June 13.
On June 10, the Company will present a program that celebrates Graham classics: Panorama, Appalachian Spring, Lamentation Variations, andSketches from ‘Chronicle’.
Lamentation Variations commemorates the anniversary of 9/11 and premiered on that date in 2007. The work opens with a film from the early 1930s of Martha Graham dancing movements from her then new, and now iconic, solo, Lamentation. The variations that follow were developed by choreographers Larry Keigwin, Richard Move and Bulareyaung Pagarlava. Each created a choreographic sketch of their reaction to the Graham film. Originally to be performed one night only, the audience reaction toLamentation Variations was such that it has been added to the permanent repertory of the Martha Graham Dance Company and new variations have been commissioned.
The June 12 matinee will include the premieres of three new dances based on the original Graham American Document. Three choreographers (all leading dancers with the Martha Graham Company) have been paired with three composers to create new American Document “Episodes.” They have chosen text that speaks to the American experience and that will be woven into the dancing. The composers are creating music with specific instrumentation that relates to the original score for American Document. Graham II, the Graham Center’s pre-professional company, will be featured in the new Episodes. The choreographers are Tadej Brdnik, Samuel Pott and Blakeley White-McGuire. They are paired respectively with composers Patrick Leonard, Allen Krantz and Daniel Bernard Roumain.
The Martha Graham Dance Company is exploring new and creative ways to connect Graham’s extraordinary legacy to today’s audiences. While the company offers world-class performances of the core collection of Graham masterworks, it also continues to take on innovative projects that honor Martha Graham’s appetite for the new.
The Graham season programming includes a great range of creative events including multimedia enhancement; classic works from Graham’s contemporaries; a Graham masterwork performed by thirty-three high school students from all over New York City; three premieres by emerging choreographers and important composers; performances of seminal Graham masterpieces; and a major new dance/theater work which will premiere on opening night.
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The Political Dance Project performance was both a tribute to Martha Graham and in Ms. Graham fashion, a political commentary with applications to modern day issues.
In “Panorama,” now performed by students from New York schools and the Graham academy, the use of spectacular dance movement, space between the shifting groups of dancers and vivid red costumes captures the emotions of turning anxiety and fear into power. Set in the 1930's, the dance started with intense music that evolves to depict awakening and social consciousness.
“Appalachian Springs,” intended by Graham as her contribution to the war effort in the 1940s, uses a pioneering woman, revivalist, bride and husbandman to distill sentiments of courage and independence through music and dance.
“Lamentation Variations,” a trio of contemporary pieces inspired by Graham’s famous solo “Lamentation,” was conceived to commemorate the anniversary of 9/11. The piece includes a film clip of Graham performing her solo “Lamentation.” The audience appeared to be most captivated with this performance.
Graham’s 1936 "Chronicle" seems to be where she showed the most personal side of herself, reflecting on her own life experience. The dance addresses vulnerability and rage triggered by European fascism. The use of costume and distorted dance movements further highlights this theme.
Overall, I thought that it was quite apropos how these themes of society awakenings, deep courage in the face of tragedy, vulnerability and rage due to governmental policies from Martha Graham’s earlier works were as relevant today as they were decades ago.
Tickets are priced at $19-$59
To reserve Joyce season tickets for The Martha Graham Dance Company please call 212.242.0800 or visit http://www.joyce.org/
About The Martha Graham Dance Company:
Founded in 1926 by dancer and choreographer Martha Graham, The Martha Graham Dance Company is the most celebrated contemporary dance company in America. Since its inception, the Martha Graham Dance Company has received international acclaim from audiences in over 50 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The Company has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, the Paris Opera House, Covent Garden, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as at the base of the Great Pyramids of Egypt and in the ancient Herod Atticus Theatre on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. In addition, the Company has also produced several award-winning films broadcast on PBS and around the world.
Acknowledged as “one of the great companies of the world,” according to Anna Kisselgoff, former chief dance critic of The New York Times, the Martha Graham Dance Company has been lauded by critics throughout the world. Alan M. Kriegsman of The Washington Post referred to the Company as “one of the seven wonders of the artistic universe,” while Los Angeles Times critic Martin Bernheimer noted, “They seem able to do anything, and to make it look easy as well as poetic.” Ismene Brown of The Daily Telegraph, London, touted the Martha Graham Dance Company’s performance as “Unmissable,” and for Donald Richie of Japan Times these dancers were “Graham’s perfect instrument.”
