Watch Martha Graham perform 'Lamentation,' an influential piece on grief

Watch Martha Graham perform 'Heretic'

The 1929 piece features Graham in white, expressively dancing on her own, flanked by 12 dancers in black who follow a more rigid choreography. Some critics have argued the piece was an allegory for Graham's rebellion against ballet's strict traditions.

How the Martha Graham Dance Company experiments with technology

The dance company was the first major group to livestream rehearsals and has collaborated with Google on a version of Graham's "Lamentation" that superimposes past performances on the present-day dancer.

How Martha Graham challenged ballet's rigidity

Ballet prized lightness, but Graham's choreography emphasized weight. This essay explores how her work broke from European influences to embrace American idioms, much as her American contemporaries in jazz and literature did.

View a gallery of vintage photos of Martha Graham's performances

Graham's choreography was as visual as it was physical, complemented by the modernist set design of Isamu Noguchi. That's on display in this collection of artful photos from classic productions of shows like "Night Journey" and "Appalachian Spring."

Martha Graham's revolutionary approach to choreography

The dancer and choreographer created a uniquely American form of ballet that brought together stories from the country's history, abstract expressionism, modern psychological ideas, and collaborations with other major artists.

A visual biography of Martha Graham

This history of the modern dancer's life uses archival photos and videos to illustrate how Graham's childhood, especially her upbringing by a psychiatrist and her early dance performance, set the stage for her career.

Listen to the last-known interview with Martha Graham

Reporter Michael Small interviewed the influential choreographer and dancer in 1989 for People magazine, two years before she died, and features the 95-year-old looking back on her life and career. If you want to skip ahead to the raw audio, jump to 26:40.

Exploring Martha Graham's 'love of the body'

The innovative choreographer encouraged her dancers to tune into their bodies' natural movements. According to Kimerer L. LaMothe, author of "What a Body Knows," that kind of mindfulness made them better able to communicate a piece's symbolic meaning.

Unpacking 'Night Journey,' Martha Graham's take on a Greek myth

The dance piece was inspired by the story of Oedipus, as well as by more contemporary psychoanalytic theories from Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. This JSTOR article explores how Graham's piece merged those texts with her singular approach to movement to explore gender and identity.

The Martha Graham technique, explained

It's considered the first codified modern dance technique and a foundational pillar of American dance. In this 1975 instructional film, its namesake explains how the Graham technique works. "As you can see," she notes, "the body is capable of almost endless variations and combinations once it is trained."

Listen to an interview with Martha Graham from 1974

This interview, from the "Bernard Gabriel Views the Music Scene" program, features a candid conversation in which Graham discusses how her career did not take off until her 30s and how she learned to ignore criticism.

Martha Graham on preparation and discipline

This clip from the 1957 documentary "A Dancer's World" features the dancer explaining why she has committed all of her energy to her art. "Spontaneity … is something arrived at over years and years of training," she says. "It's not a mere chance."

Martha Graham's philosophy of creativity

The influential choreographer and dancer once said that creative people will never be satisfied with their work. Instead, "there is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others."

A step-by-step guide to the Martha Graham technique

This BBC explainer walks you through Martha Graham's famous approach to dance, offering you six moves you can work into your exercise regimen—or Graham-inspired routine.

Martha Graham refused to perform at the 1936 Berlin Olympics because she believed doing so would be a tacit endorsement of the Nazis

How Martha Graham's 'The Rite of Spring' imposed order on chaos

Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" is famously chaotic, making it an odd choice for Graham's highly precise style. Her 1984 choreography for it, however, redefined how people saw the ballet's score. Graham's version is still performed today; below is an excerpt from a 2018 performance in Paris.

The Martha Graham Dance Company was the first integrated Broadway dance company

In 1951, Graham hired Mary Hinkson and Mattie Tierney, two Black dancers who started in the company's dance corps and eventually took on lead roles in productions. The move broke color barriers that were the norm for the time.

Watch Helen Keller visit Martha Graham's studio

The two women were friends, and Keller eventually visited Graham's studio while her company was rehearsing. In this footage of that encounter, Graham shows Keller the shape of her choreography.

Why the US State Department sponsored Martha Graham Dance Company tours

The Graham company toured the globe several times on cultural exchange campaigns throughout the 1950s. Some believe that the Graham company in particular was chosen because it was the first integrated dance company in the US, thereby countering international perceptions of American segregation and racism.

Watch a performance of the influential ballet 'Appalachian Spring,' with music by Aaron Copland and choreography by Martha Graham.

The story behind Copland and Graham's 'Appalachian Spring'

The ballet, which premiered in 1944, was conceived by the composer and choreographer through the mail, with the two corresponding about how the music might fit the dancing. Later, designer Isamu Noguchi would design a set that whittled the western Pennsylvanian pioneer town down to its core elements.

Marina Abramović subjected herself to pain and humiliation in her ‘Rhythm’ series

The five performances, which included an invitation for the audience to use 72 objects as they pleased, helped put her on the map as a fearless artist, but they also caused her physical harm.

Marina Abramović wanted to create a shared consciousness between audience and performer in ‘The Artist Is Present’

The HBO documentary follows the preparation and execution of Abramović’s 2010 MoMA show, taking a deeper look into the emotional experience. Performing was both physically and emotionally taxing for the artist, and visitors were often moved to tears while connecting with her. (This resource contains some artistic nudity.)

‘The Artist Is Present’ is one of the most famous performance pieces in history

The exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art invited visitors to sit in silence in the company of a master performer. Many shed tears or gestured affectionately, claiming to have felt a profound connection with Abramović. (This resource contains some artistic nudity.)

Grief is defined as the anguish and physiological distress experienced after significant loss

It usually occurs following the death of a loved one, and symptoms may include confusion, apprehension about the future, separation anxiety, and ruminating on the past.

Marina Abramović continues to shock audiences in her 70s

Growing older did not limit Abramović from continuing to work or stir controversy. Reenactments of her older performances continue to generate strong responses from viewers, especially in a cultural atmosphere that she views as increasingly hostile and regulated. (This resource contains some artistic nudity.)

Exploring Oskar Schlemmer's 'Triadic Ballet,' a Bauhaus-inspired performance piece

The "symphonic dance of threeness" brought together Bauhaus' varied artistic interests and offered a fable in which collectivism wins. This history and timeline of the work details its origins as well as its near-destruction at the hands of the Nazis, who considered it profane.

Grieving is a process—no need to rush social activities or major life decisions, if possible

Individuals experiencing grief may find comfort through counseling, online support groups, support books, and activities like volunteering. Each of these resources can help individuals build a community or new daily patterns when navigating intense anguish.

The five stages of grief—and what to do when yours doesn't follow this model

The "five stages of grief" is a well-established process used by many to move through periods of mourning. Grief is notoriously difficult to manage, and such procedures help move people forward. Only, what happens if your experience doesn't match the model at all? This podcast episode explores one researcher's unique approach to processing her own grief.

Marina Abramović helped popularize performance art

Working across continents for over five decades has made Abramović one of the most recognizable and prolific performance artists in history. Her shocking oeuvre has involved self-harm, public nudity, exotic animals, and fire.

‘Rhythm’ 0 was a performance piece that exposed human nature

By inviting the audience to do as they please without repercussions, Abramović showed the public both the beauty and hideousness of human nature. Playful interactions eventually turned into assault, and the performance left her with scars she still wears decades later.

Lady Gaga studied the Abramovic Method

The Abramović Method compiles Abramović’s own learnings and gives instructions to other artists for remaining present and grounded. Pop star Lady Gaga learned the method and cited it as a huge influence on her work.

‘The Artist Is Present’ was inspired by an earlier performance titled ‘Nightsea Crossing’

In the ‘80s, partners Abramović and Ulay sat across from each other in public without moving or speaking. Ulay was unable to continue after a certain point, but Abramović kept going. “The Artist Is Present” marked Abramović continuing the performance without him.

‘Seven Easy Pieces’ helped propel Marina Abramovic’s career to her famed MoMA solo show

For seven days, Abramović reenacted seven works by her peers for seven hours each. The performance attracted widespread attention that helped lay the groundwork for her life as a celebrity artist.

Marina Abramović took 3,500 photos of China while performing ‘The Lovers’

During the 90-day performance that took place on the Great Wall of China, Abramović lived in isolation, nearly fell into an abyss, and wrote poetry—among other transformative experiences.

Liza Minnelli often disagrees with melancholic portrayals of her mother

When the Oscar-winning film "Judy" came out in 2019, Minnelli made a point to distance herself from the film and state that she had no plans to watch it. The actress has stated she dislikes how the media tends to pity her mother. Instead, she makes a point of talking about the happy memories and support that Garland gave her.

Marina Abramović and Ulay experienced a touching reunion during ‘The Artist Is Present’

Decades after their professional and personal breakup, the pair publicly reunited during Abramović’s popular MoMA show commemorating their previous collaborations. Their shared moment moved Abramović to tears and caused her to lean forward and grab his hands.

Augusta Savage's masterpiece was destroyed after a limited exhibition

"Life Every Voice and Sing," sometimes called "The Harp," debuted at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Based on the James Weldon Johnson poem (and eventual unofficial Black national anthem) of the same name, the massive, 16-foot-tall sculpture depicted a kneeling Black man holding a bar of music in front of 12 chorus singers. After the fair ended in 1940, Savage was unable to pay to preserve it, so it was destroyed.