Martha Graham Research Paper

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Martha Graham was born on May 11, 1894 in Allegheny which now is known as Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When she was a teen in 1910, her family moved to Los Angeles, California. After she moved to Los Angeles she went to see Ruth St. Denis preform at the Mason Opera House and that show inspired her to dance. After that she studied at Denishawn School and Dance Company in Los Angeles. The owners of Denishawn were Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis. Martha’s main teacher was Shawn and he was the one that’s saw the dramatic power in her and gave her a part in an Aztec ballet names Xochitl which made her a Denishawn star. She stayed at Denishawn until 1923, then not too long after she decided to branch out. In 1926, Martha opened up her own dance studio …show more content…

When Martha graham created her own technique she used two main elements and they were contracting and releasing. Contraction is a process of which a muscle is made shortened or tighten. Releasing is allowing something to move or flow freely. Martha really wanted to break away from classical ballet technique. Martha has accomplished a lot of things during her years. One of the biggest accomplishment that Martha had was opening the world of dance by creating a new form of dance. Opening up her own dance studio and company is another accomplishment. Then in 1976, she was awarded the presidential Medal of Freedom which is the highest citizen award of the United States. 1984 was the year that she was welcomed into the National Museum of Dance’s Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whiney Hall Of Fame. A magazine in 1998, named Martha “Dancer of the Century”. During Martha’s career she had choreographed over 100 pieces. Cave of Heart is a one act ballet that was choreographed in 1946. That piece was first performed on May 10th 1946 with a title of Serpent heart then when it was being performed for the second season she renamed it Cave of

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