Martha Graham

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WHO IS MARTHA GRAHAM?Martha Graham, born in 1894, was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on the dance industry has been of great importance and reshaped dance by the ‘Graham Technique’. Graham's father used to study physical movement, as he was a psychiatrist and analyzed the way people move and why. This links to how Graham invented ways of moving using unnatural positions and parts of the body. Graham knew she wanted to be a dancer since she saw her first performance in 1911 at the age of 17. Her parents didn’t agree with this, and Graham finally got to begin her studies of dance in 1914 after the death of her father. This is when she began to feel free, and was able to begin introducing and creating new techniques. WHAT IS THE GRAHAM TECHNIQUE?The Graham technique is based on "contraction and release". It also involves different parts of the body in opposition to one another, creating spirals for a dramatic effect. Graham had two signature moves: the contraction and strike pose. Graham believed movement was generated from three areas. These were: the action of contraction and release, the pelvis, and the emotional inner self. She believed that the contraction, or strong pulling back and curving of the torso, and the release of this movement by returning to a straight torso were symbolic to the contrasts in life like fear and courage, and weakness and strength. Graham’s dancers created tension through contracting a muscle, and then use the flow of energy when the muscle is relaxed to begin the movement.

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The Graham technique was designed for dancers to help make their movements expressive and dramatic. Its movement connected both pysical and mental aspects of the self. Many of Graham’s technique's were exaggerated movements like the contractions and spirals, and can be difficult or painful for less-flexible dancers, as Graham herself was extremely flexible. The technique was originally developed on a company of female dancers, however the technique developed over the years and male dancers soon became part of the technique.

HOW DID MARTHA GRAHAM INFLUENCE MODERN DANCE?Martha Graham influenced Modern Dance by creating one of the only widespread sets of techniques that exists in modern dance. Graham created her own set of rules and exercises to train her dancers, much like Ballet. Graham changed the focus in dance from floating to being grounded, shown usually in contemporary dance. Graham also introduced the Graham Technique of contraction and release, as well as many more including expressive movements of the body to tell a dramatic story, special music, lighting, stage design and costumes. Graham believed that ‘dance is the hidden language of the soul’ and she created her own language through movement to tell powerful stories, something the world wasn’t used to. This changed the dance industry, and her beliefs are still

closely followed today, and all her techniques are used in dance pieces. 2

HISTORY OF BALLET DANCE, HOW AND WHY CONTEMPORARY DANCE EMERGED:

Ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th and 16th centuries, and is a formal form of dance. Ballet soon spread out of Italy to France, where ballet developed even further (the dominance of French in the vocabulary of ballet reflects this). The first stages of ‘court ballet’ came into development from royal money which dictated the ideas, literature and accompaniment used in ballet. This all helped to keep Aristocrats entertained. Catherine de' Medici and Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx were responsible for integrating poetry, dance, music and set design to convey a dramatic storyline in 1581. In the late 17th century Louis XIV founded the Académie Royale de Musique (the Paris Opera) from which emerged the first professional theatrical ballet company, the Paris Opera Ballet. Theatrical ballet soon became an independent form of art, and spread from Europe to other nations where The Royal Danish Ballet and the Imperial Ballet of the Russian Empire were founded in the 1740s. Soon ballet spread around the world with the formation of new companies, including London's The Royal Ballet and American Ballet Theatre in the 30s. In the 20th century, styles of ballet continued to develop. Developments have included contemporary ballet and post-structural ballet. George Balanchine is often considered to have been the first creator of contemporary ballet. The style of dance he developed, which lies between classical ballet and contemporary ballet, is known as neoclassical ballet. He used flexed hands, feet, turned-in legs, off-centered positions and non-traditional costumes, such as leotards and tunics instead of tutus, to distance his work from the classical ballet traditions. Balanchine worked with modern dance choreographer Martha Graham which expanded his exposure to modern techniques and ideas. Contemporary dance has grown to be one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world.

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There are a multitude of similarities and differences between Ballet and Contemporary dance. One of the most common known differences is the use of turn-out. Ballet uses turned out feet in all positions, whereas Contemporary uses parallel. In ballet, your posture is very important, more than it is in contemporary dance. This allows contemporary to have a wider variety of moves than ballet. Ballet normally consists of set steps put together to create a routine, however contemporary allows choreographers to create their own movement. Although contemporary has a wider range of movements, it still uses a lot of ballet inspired actions. Also, the difference between their choices of accompaniment are that contemporary dance can use many different types of music like r&b, pop, and many more. However, with ballet, most people tend to use something more classical from an orchestra when they perform. The choice of costume and clothing are different. In contemporary, loose clothing is often worn which matches the free, loose movements. However, in ballet, dancers wear more fitted clothing to accentuate their posture and so the audience can clearly see their alignment. Contemporary uses a range of dynamics, usually very heavy yet graceful. Similarly, Ballet uses graceful and soft dynamics as it is such an elegant dance style. Another similarity is that dancers should have a background in classical or neoclassical ballet before embarking on contemporary ballet as the majority of movements are similar. Contemporary can be done barefoot, on pointe or in ballet/jazz shoes, much like ballet. Contemporary uses ballet technique such as stretched feet and sometimes posture, as it originated from ballet.

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BALLET AND CONTEMPORARY DANCE TECHNIQUES:

WWW: Detailed research carried out Hannah with excellent comparisons made between ballet and Contemporary dance. Good use of quotations.EBI: Research Graham’s history/background and how this influenced her technique and ideologies. Proof read your work Hannah.

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