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Customized Events, Parnerships & Collaborations

Martha Graham Connections: Ideas for Events and Curricula

Through the Martha Graham Dance Company, Graham II, 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
Graham II Educational Performances

Partnerships with Cultural Organizations

“On Stage in Fashion”
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
October 14, 2010 - January 22, 2011
Three costumes from the Martha Graham Licensing & Resources archival collection were featured at this exhibit that celebrated the collaborations of performers with fashion designers. The costumes were designed by Halston, Donna Karan and Calvin Klein, especially for dances choreographed by Martha Graham.

“Heart & Soul” Awards Luncheon
Career Transition for Dancers
March 31, 2011
A costume from Martha Graham’s “Satyric Festival Song” was presented at the Costumes from the Dance fashion show held during this luncheon at Club Colette in Palm Beach, Florida.
Miki Orihara

“Isamu Noguchi: Between East and West”
The Museum of Contemporary Art (Andros, Greece)
June 27, 2010 - September 26, 2010
The Goulandris Foundation’s Museum of Contemporary Art in Andros, Greece presented a major exhibition on Isamu Noguchi and presented a video recording of Martha Graham’s “Frontier” (1935).

“Dance/Draw”
The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston
October 7, 2011 - January 16, 2012
Featuring works from nearly 40 artists working in different media, this exhibit considers the relationship between contemporary dance and drawing. Martha Graham’s “Frontier” (1935) will be shown to highlight the use of the line as a means of expression.

“Change of Scenes”
Moderna Museet (Malmo, Sweden)
October 15, 2011 - February 5, 2012 The Modern Museum in Malmo will present over 130 art works, together with film clips documenting collaborations between visual artists and choreographers. Excerpts from “Panorama” (1935), “Lamentation” (1930), and “Deep Song” (1937) will demonstrate the importance of the collaboration between Martha Graham and Alexander Calder.

“The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860-1989”
The Guggenheim Museum
January 30, 2009 - April 19, 2009 This exhibition explored how Asian art was transmitted and transformed in America, and how American art evolved through a process of appropriation. The exhibition featured Martha Graham’s “Frontier” (1935), which demonstrates her collaboration with Japanese sculptor Isamu Noguchi.

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.