New York Dance Company Moves To the Rhythm of Its Creator

Candace Braun

The third program in a series of preview talks at the Princeton Public Library on McCarter Theatre performances remembered an artist who made her mark on the history of dance; it also looked ahead to a performance in Princeton that will exemplify original works of the Martha Graham Dance Company.

Martha Graham's modern dance creations made her a prominent figure in the 20th century. In 1998, she was named "Dancer of the Century" by Time magazine.

In total, she created 181 works and a dancing style that has become known as the "Martha Graham Technique."

The Martha Graham Dance Company was founded by her in 1926 in Manhattan, in a tiny studio in Carnegie Hall. Using the principles of contraction and release, she created dance movements which expressed emotion through movements that were sharp, angular, and direct, according to the Martha Graham Dance Company's website. Her first production included 18 dances, 12 of which were solos performed by Ms. Graham herself.

Ms. Graham also designed all the costumes for her shows, working with designers such as Calvin Klein and Donna Karen.

"The fashion world was fascinated by her," said dancer Christine Dakin at the library's talk on Monday. A member of the dance company since 1976, she added that they are currently working with Oscar DeLorenta on the costumes for their shows.

Bill Lockwood, the director of special programming at McCarter Theatre, recalled the last time Martha Graham herself danced on the stage in Princeton in the 1960s.

"The applause is still rattling around the rafters," he said.

After Martha Graham's death in 1991, the company experienced a slow decline. There were legal and financial difficulties in 2000 during a lawsuit disputing the ownership of the dances. After being forced to close, the company resolved the lawsuit, and started over with its first new opening season in the fall of 2002.

"If you stop dancing you run all kinds of risks," said Executive Director Marvin Preston, a Princeton resident.

Many of Ms. Graham's dances were never written down. This was why the company turned to former dancers such as Ms. Dakin, who worked under the direction of Ms. Graham for 15 years and now serves as one of the artistic directors. Wanting to keep the Martha Graham Technique alive, and desiring to show audiences the full scope of what Ms. Graham did for the history of modern dance, Ms. Dakin began looking back through old tapes and pictures of her dances, trying to piece together some of the Martha Graham originals.

"Martha didn't look back; she never re-used anything," said Ms. Dakin, adding that now the company is going back through old set designs and dusting them off to use again, as many were only used once before they were tossed aside.

"Our priority has been to bring back the greatest works," she said.

Bringing these back has been difficult, said Ms. Dakin, since Ms. Graham left no notes on her dances, making it appear as though she was content to have the dances die along with her: "The dances live in the body of the dancers."

A Special Technique

Only during the last four years of Ms. Graham's life did she allow some of her dances to be written down, but even so, many were never recorded. Now Ms. Dakin teaches the dances that she remembers to the company's 27 dancers; unfortunately, most of the dancers were not in the company when Ms. Graham was alive.

"That's a challenge for us," said Ms. Dakin of the company's desire to bring back the stage presence and movements that have been long remembered as characteristics of Ms. Graham's dancing.

One member of the library audience asked Ms. Dakin what the meaning was of the cupped hand movement in Ms. Graham's dancing. She answered candidly that it was possibly an effect of her arthritis, that was in turn copied by her dancers because no one questioned her techniques.

Ms. Dakin recalled her favorite role as a dancer, the lead in Cave of the Heart, one of the dances that will be part of the production at McCarter later this month. Calling the role dark, off-centered, and perverse, she said she felt so pulled into the role that she was unable to speak when she came offstage after a performance.

"That was the hardest role I ever did. It was so outside the human experience," she said.

Reviving the Dance

At present, the company has revived approximately 15 works and will have one premier dance this season, having sought out the most viable, beautiful, original and exemplary pieces ever created by Ms. Graham. The goal is to revive 50 works that can be brought on and off the stage during various seasons, said Ms. Dakin.

The most important part of the process is finding the original intent of the dance, she said: "We learned from Martha that it can only be art if it's alive."

And, after mourning the loss of its founder and surviving the lawsuit, the Martha Graham Dance Company is performing again, with several shows planned this spring at the New York City Center, and shows being scheduled as part of a tour in Italy and Spain in the coming year.

"We think we have a pretty good take on the direction that we're going.... [Our dancers] are all marvelously talented and dedicated to their work," said Ms. Dakin. "Martha said it takes 10 years to become a dancer, and we hope we're on our way."

Tickets are still available for the Martha Graham Dance Company's performance at McCarter Theatre on Friday, January 28, at 7:30 p.m. The program will feature three Graham classics: Appalachian Spring, Cave of the Heart, and Diversion of Angels.

For more information or to purchase tickets, call (609) 258-2787, or visit www.mccarter.org.