The Major Themes in Russell Freedman's Martha Graham, a Dancer’s Life

The light shine down and the music surrounds her as she dance into the air and across the stage. The audience yells and clap for her as the curtain close. It’s the end of another work week for Jane Onwuegbuchu. Jane comes from a very huge family of 8, where it’s very hard for her to be at the center of attention, especially being the 5th child. Jane was born in Houston, Texas on June 22, 1987 to Rosaline and James Onwuegbuchu. She started dancing at the young age of 3 with Elite dancers and fell in love with dancing since then. “Growing up as a child, Jane was a very good child, she loved dancing and just seeing her dance melt my heart. She was a part of a lot of dance organization, church, youth dance team etc… You name it and she was there,”

After giving a brief introduction to her subject, Desmond quickly begins her analysis on the piece Radha choreographed by Ruth St. Denis. She states that St. Denis was one of the mothers of modern dance in America despite how her works are not as well remembered as others including Martha Graham’s. She depicts Radha by describing the dancing quality, patterns in choreography, lighting, set, and costume in detail. Desmond also recounts the social issues that are reflected in the piece including gender roles and race. The author’s main point in writing “Dancing Out the Difference: Cultural Imperialism and Ruth St. Denis’s Radha of 1906” was to introduce St. Denis and share her detailed analysis of St. Denis’ Radha.

Influenced primarily by cultural roots and incredibly opportunity, Dunham had the luxury of studying in the West Indies as well as anthropological study of other cultural style dances. The West Indian experience changed forever the focus of Dunham’s life and caused a profound shift in her career. This initial fieldwork began a lifelong involvement with the people and dance of Haiti. And, importantly for the development of modern dance, her fieldwork began her investigations into a vocabulary of movement that would form the core of the Katherine Dunham Technique. Though many of Dunham’s primary influences lies within her multicultural experiences, Mark Turbyfill also seemed to play a large role in her future dance career, giving her private lessons despite his doubt in the opening of her student company (Kaiso! 187). Katherine Dunham has been list as an influence to “everyone from George Balanchine to Jerome Robbins, Alvin Ailey, Bob Fosse and Twyla Tharp. American dance, including ballet, modern dance, Hollywood and Broadway, would not be the same without her” (Aschenbrenner 226).

Born July 6, 1931 Donald McKayle grew up in Harlem, New York City and was raised by his parents Wilhelmina Cohen McKayle and Philip Augustus McKayle. As a young teenager, his English teacher helped spark an interest of African American history along with his neighborhood which was rich with “social dancing, culture and political awareness” (Jacinto, 2012, p. 1). This combination of interest in African American diaspora and influence of environmental surroundings would lead to inspiring and forming McKayle into a renowned dancer, teacher and choreographer. Prior to McKayle’s senior year in high school he saw a performance by Pearl Primus which made him realize he wanted to become a dancer. He went on to audition for the New Dance Group and was chosen as one of seven dancers. As a member of the New Dance Group he trained in a variety of dance genres under Sophie Maslow, Nona Shurman, Mary Anthony, Nina Golovina, and even Pearl Primus. His first choreographic work was with the New Dance Group entitled Saturday’s Child, which was a solo he performed. His time with the New Dance Group gave him a strong technical background and movement vocabulary that he would carry on with him as he joined the Contemporary Dance Group. It was then that he premiered Games, at Charles Weidman’s studio which “launched the young choreographer 's career” (Jacinto, 2012, p.1). This was the first time audiences saw him as a storyteller and social critic whose movement style played off of the human

Sally Banes is an American writer and dance historian and critic. She is also a professor of theater history and dance studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Banes has written multiple books and contributed to many documentaries and films. The book Moving History / Dancing Cultures, which Banes contributed to, includes the article “Choreographic Methods of the Judson Dance Theater”. This book was published in 2001.

Lester Horton has been named, as one of the many founders of modern dance, whose style continues to be used in present day choreography. Although Hortons’ early technique was impacted by his interest in various cultures; his style eventually shifted towards a more theatrical technique. Horton used his versatile dance background and interests to develop the sub genre under modern dance, more formally known as choreodramas. His technique seen in earlier pieces and choreodramas such as “The Beloved” and “Salome” were effective in displaying the purpose of Horton’s style. Horton integrated his background in dance, props, costumes, and choreography to emphasize contemporary ideas and display the new genre of choreodramas.

Alvin Ailey was an accomplished dancer and choreographer whose African-American heritage influenced his works in the 20th century. His successful dance career has gained international recognition and acclaim thus rendering a significant legacy. Ailey’s background as a dancer and choreographer had many strong influences from social, cultural, economic and political aspects during his early life. His African-American heritage has greatly influenced his works. Alvin was the founder of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (1958-), galvanized and stabilized an African American presence in theatrical dance. An outstanding performer, choreographer, company director, and mentor to scores of dance artists, Ailey oversaw the growth of his small, pick-up group of seven dancers into a large, carefully managed, internationally-renowned enterprise including several ensembles of dancers and a thriving school in New York City housed in the largest building devoted to dance in the United States. Along the way, Ailey changed the landscape of modern dance by developing new audiences for its performance through a consistent combination of exceptional artistry and wellcoordinated community outreach programs. In all, Ailey invigorated the art of dance with his distinctive creative imagination, his “blood memories” of cultural formations he witnessed as a child-- including the jook joint and the black church --and the strong survivalist ethic he learned as an African American man born in the

Jones rose from being the 10th of 12 children of migrant farm workers to one of the most notable, recognized modern-dance choreographers and directors of our time. Through HIV and AIDS, which

“Go within everyday and find the inner strength so that the world will not blow your candle out” (A Quote by Katherine Dunham 1). Once one of the most successful dancers in both American and European theater, Katherine Dunham, a dancer, anthropologist,social activist,and educator, continues to inspire people throughout the world. Named America’s irreplaceable Dance Treasure in 2000. Dunham remains a name heard regularly in dance schools across the world (“Katherine Dunham Biography” 4). She is known for always trying to make a difference and in the process she has become of the world’s greatest humanitarians (Osumare 5). Katherine Dunham’s work in African American rights in the dance world and her creation of new styles of dance makes her an important figure in American dance History.

Martha Graham (1894-1991) was a professional dancer and choreographer. It is said that Graham invented Modern Dance. She was very talented and even won awards for her hard work including the Medal of Freedom. After viewing short clips of Graham’s style of dance, I am able to see that Graham was not afraid to dance and nor was she afraid of the music. Watching her dance in these clips, I did see freedom and elegance. I was able to see her true personality through her body movements. In comparison to traditional ballet, I would definitely say that Graham’s style is extremely more unconventional as opposed to traditional, “by the book,” conventional ballet. In traditional ballet, everything is planned out to a “t.” Ballet dancers can’t miss a

Dance is an ever evolving form of art; in much the same way that one can categorize and differentiate between eras and styles of architecture one can also do so with dance. These eras at times have sharp delineations separating them from their antecedents, other times the distinction is far more subtle. Traditional forms of dance were challenged by choreographers attempting to expand the breadth and increase the depth of performance; preeminent among such visionaries was Seattle born dancer and choreographer Mark Morris. Mark Morris' began as one of the millions of hopeful individuals attempting to simply make a career in dance; he not only succeeded but managed to have a lasting effect on the entire landscape of dance.

Claude McKay’s “The Harlem Dancer,” focuses on an African American woman performing in a nightclub during a period of time in the 1920’s know as the Harlem Renaissance. She faces the crisis of self-exploitation and perception while exposing her “perfect half-clothed body (line 2)” to those who “toss coins in praise (line 10)” of her dancing. One can conclude from line 14 of the poem, “I knew her self was not in that strange place,” that the dancer feels like a slave to her job in being that perhaps she is doing it against her will. She appears not mentally strong enough to stop doing it.

Watching the video “A Dancer’s World” made me want to become a professional dancer. Martha Graham’s dancers showed how delicate, defined, sharp, smooth, and astatic a choreography can be. It illustrated how much hard word and dedication it’s needed, but the results will always be beautiful. Also Martha Graham explained how dancing with a partner can be. She also talked about males as dancers, but in her video she demonstrates how men danced with females using physical contact. The techniques and how the piece turns out to be. Both genders jumped a lot through out each piece of performed and that’s something loved. During a piece, there can be both gender dancing separately doing their own thing. The techniques are used differently by males

Martha Graham was one of the most influential figures in American modern dance, and her techniques and styles are still practiced today. She became widely known throughout all ages and decades. Her first debut was in the 1920's. As time went on, she became more experienced and wiser in the modern dance field. Martha Graham, whose style was considered controversial, became one of the finest choreographers and dancers in the dance world.

Just when social dancing was at its height, World War 2 put a stop to its popularity. Lack of attendance, plus the intricate rhythmic patterns of modern jazz music, which were too complex for social dancing, led to the closing of dance halls and ballrooms. With the demise of social dance, the growth of jazz dance as a professional dance form began. During the 1940’s, jazz dance was influenced by ballet and modern dance. By blending the classical technique of ballet with the natural bodily expression of modern dance, jazz developed a sophisticated artistic quality. Unlike early jazz dance, which was performed by talented entertainers without formal training, modern jazz dance was performed by professionals trained in ballet and modern dance.