


Search This Site

Customized Events, Parnerships & Collaborations

Martha Graham Connections: Ideas for Events and Curricula

Through the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Martha Graham Ensemble, and our roster of Teaching Artists and Company Alumni, the Martha Graham Center has a wide range of offerings available for presenters, communities, schools and universities. In addition, we are eager to foster collaborations nation-wide to develop new resources — from theatrical presentations to curricula for students of all ages.

The Graham legacy provides almost limitless possibilities for events, performances and curricula that can enhance a range of subjects for a range of audiences. The following list includes some of our current offerings and some suggestions for projects that can be tailored for specific audiences.

Certain of these offerings can be presented very simply or expanded for a larger audience or venue by adding artists and more stage craft. They may be presented as stand-alone events or in conjunction with main stage Martha Graham Dance Company performances.

Martha Graham Dance Company Lecture Demonstrations
Martha Graham Ensemble Educational Performances

Martha Graham School Teaching Artists

sequential workshops in elementary and secondary school classrooms,
master classes for advanced dance students in Graham technique and repertory excepts
professional development workshops for classroom teachers

Lecture-Demonstrations by Graham Artists

These are only a few of the topics that can be developed for different audiences. Lecture-Demonstrations can be customized for any size venue by adding dancers and stagecraft.

Martha Graham and the Revolution in American Dance
Reinventing Theater: The theatrical innovations of Martha Graham
Speaking Without Words: The dance technique created by Martha Graham
Martha Graham and…
- American Music
- American poetry and literature
- The Greek Tragedies
- Feminism and the rise of the individual
- Abstract Expressionism
- American Psychology, and many others.

Film Screenings

Several films (DVD or VHS) of Graham works are available to be screened with commentary from a Graham artist regarding the work and how it relates to Martha's contribution to American culture.

Panel discussions coordinated with experts from the community

Graham Artists are available to participate with organizations such as corporations, libraries, museums and civic groups in seminars and panel discussions that are of specific interest within a community. Discussion might revolve around topics other than dance. For example, a panel of scientists, executives and artists exploring "the importance of risk" or a corporate gathering focusing on "growth through collaboration" or "elements of creativity."

Photo Exhibits and Gallery Showings

Lobby or Gallery Exhibit of Classic Graham Photos: This group of 15 photos includes the work of Barbara Morgan, Max Waldman, Phillip Halsman, Arnold Eagle, Martha Swope, Annie Liebowitiz and John Deane — a selection of electric images of Graham performers from the 1930s to today. Important gallery shows solely made up of the Morgan or Waldman works can also be arranged with the estates of those artists.
Gallery and Museum Showings: The Graham Center collaborates with the Isamu Noguchi Foundation to present exhibits of the sets created by Noguchi for Graham. Experts from the Noguchi Foundation are available for lectures, commentary.

Of Special Interest to University Presenters

Although the above offerings are designed for all types of presenters, many of them also offer opportunities for interdepartmental collaborations within a University setting. Some additional examples:

Dance Department: Prior to the Martha Graham Company's main performances, teaching artists are available to provide a "Graham Intensive" course within the dance department. This would include a semester of the Graham technique, staging of Graham repertory excerpts and a student production of one of the Graham masterworks. The dance department students could also be prepared to be the "dance demonstrators" for any of the lectures listed above or could be rehearsed to perform as part of a main Company lecture demonstration.
Theater Department: Theater students of the University might prepare monologues and scenes from the classics of theater that Graham has used as inspiration for many of her works. Collaborative events such as a production of Medea or Oedipus Rex meshed with excerpts from Graham's Cave of the Heart (the work based on Medea) and/or Night Journey could be developed.
Music Department: The Graham Center and the Music Department could develop curriculum for student composers and choreographers based on the work of Graham and her collaborators, e.g., the use of ritual in composition, social political themes expressed through art, etc. The Music Department might also perform an evening of music commissioned by Graham (without dance performed), provide live music for the main Company performances and for lectures on Graham's influence on American music.
Regional Outreach — Seminars for Dance Educators: The University could host a state-wide seminar for dance educators. Graham Teaching artists would provide a 2 1/2 day workshop introducing the dance teachers to Graham's legacy, her technique and repertory excerpts. Audio/visual materials would be provided for the educator's use with their own students.
Media Department: This department might consider exploring new ways to document classic dance. Documentation of the University dance students rehearsing and performing a Graham work might be interspersed with use of archival photos, films, and interviews to create a documentary and a method of preserving an ephemeral art form. Student filmmakers might also provide innovative projections (using new and archival footage) for a Graham performance, lecture demonstration or other event.
American History/Women's Studies: American Modern Dance as the voice of the new American woman. This department could work with Graham Artists to research and explore the historical context that gave rise to specific Graham works. They could study and create events that explore the revolution – led almost entirely by women – that forged America's identity and our unique form of self-expression.
Multi-Department Collaboration: The University of Michigan created a residency for Martha's Centenary which focused many university departments and campus events on one of Martha's masterworks: Appalachian Spring. Similar campus-wide involvement could be designed for a number of Graham works. This involvement would explore specific thematic material from the approach of many different disciplines.

For more information or to discuss specific collaborations, please email resources@marthagraham.org.

Photo Credits: Yuriko rehearsing Primitive Mysteries, photo by Kristen Lödöen; two photos from A Dancer's World, from the collection of Martha Graham Resources.