Martha Graham Dance Company

The oldest dance company in the nation, Martha Graham Dance Company will anchor the Pillow’s commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the United States by honoring groundbreaking women who have shaped, and are shaping, dance in our nation. Graham’s connection with Jacob’s Pillow dates to her early apprenticeship with Ted Shawn as a member of Denishawn, and her legacy continues to shape generations of choreographers and performers.

The program—offered during the company’s own centennial year—will feature some of Graham’s most defining works, including Night Journey (1947), part of her Greek cycle with sets by Isamu Noguchi and music by William Schuman; Frontier (1935), a solo portraying the independence of pioneer woman; and Immediate Tragedy (1937), a politically charged response to the Spanish Civil War. These works highlight Graham’s revolutionary voice as an artist who used dance to speak out for democracy, women’s rights, and freedom of expression.

The Graham centennial will also be marked by a new work, En Masse, jointly commissioned by Jacob’s Pillow and the Boston Symphony Orchestra among others, which the company will present in the Koussevitzky Music Shed at Tanglewood during their week at Jacob's Pillow. This collaboration will include a performance of “For Martha” from En Masse, choreographed by former Alvin Ailey dancer Hope Boykin to a score by composer Christopher Rountree, which incorporates a recently recovered 49-second composition by Leonard Bernstein. The Graham Company will also perform Graham’s iconic Appalachian Spring alongside the Rountree work.

MARTHA GRAHAM (1894–1991) is recognized as a primal artistic force of the 20th century, alongside Picasso, James Joyce, Stravinsky, and Frank Lloyd Wright. TIME magazine named her “Dancer of the Century,” and People magazine named her among the female “Icons of the Century.” As a choreographer, Graham was as prolific as she was complex. She created 181 ballets and a dance technique that has been compared to ballet in its scope and magnitude. Her approach to dance and theater revolutionized the art form and her innovative physical vocabulary has irrevocably influenced dance worldwide.

The MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY has been a leader in the evolving art form of modern dance since its founding in 1926.It is both the oldest dance company in the United States and the oldest integrated dance company. Today, the Company is embracing a new programming vision that showcases masterpieces by Graham alongside newly commissioned works by contemporary artists. During its 100-year history, the Company has received acclaim from audiences and critics in more than 50 countries.

These men and women easily embody the choreographer’s sense of dancers as angelic athletes.

The Wall Street Journal