Nothing is More Revealing Than Movement

By Alison Baumgartner

The company that changed the landscape of modern dance for the past century, The Martha Graham Dance Company, will be at the Lincoln Center October 3, 2017.

Created by Martha Graham in 1926, The Martha Graham Dance Company is the longest running dance company in North America, and its style is so ingrained in our modern narrative of dance that its impact on art is often understated.

In the days that Graham first began to dance, the most popular form was ballet. Her movements, angles, and use of “contract and release” was not a part of any company’s repertoire, nor were her complex displays of the human psychological condition. For that alone, she was a pioneer.

Though Martha Graham initially trained at Denishawn with Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn and used her classical techniques to become a star in vaudeville, she changed her course by creating innovative choreography unlike anyone had ever seen.

Graham famously said that “nothing is more revealing than movement,” and it was through dance that she showed the intricacy and beauty of the human soul.

The passion and power of her dancing not only created compelling music (composer Louis Horst made music to match her dancing and not the other way around), but actors flocked to her to learn how to connect their movements to their emotions.

But Graham’s relevance did not stop there. Not only did she run the longest-lived dance company in America, she produced some of the greatest dancers and choreographers of our generation — such as Anna Sokolow and Merce Cunningham.

Although Graham passed away in 1991, the company she founded remains vibrant and relevant. Today the company embraces a new vision that showcases masterpieces by Graham alongside newly commissioned works by contemporary artists. With programs that offer a rich thematic narrative, the company creates new platforms for contemporary dance and multiple points of access for audiences.

The Lincoln Center is proud to bring a dance company with such a rich history to the Fort Collins community. Experience the art that only the illustrious Martha Graham Dance Company can create on October 3. Seats from $15.