Hello!

My name is Emily Dodrill, and I am a current undergraduate student studying Dance at West Virginia University! This site is a blog which I have created to showcase the research that I have done on one of the most influential dance-makers in history: Martha Graham. I am infatuated with Graham’s choreography and technique, so […]

Life

Martha Graham’s life began in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, on May 11, 1894. Growing up, Graham had two sisters, and a father who happened to be a doctor. During Graham’s childhood, her and her family picked up and moved across the country to Santa Barbara, California, where the beginning of her iconic, and massively influential career would […]

Career

I wanted to separate Martha’s career from her life in these blog posts, simply to establish both her presence as a human, and as an artist, without suppressing the importance of either. This became quite a challenge, however, because of Graham’s wide array of successes in her career which often bled over into her life. […]

Music

Dance and music have a deeply rooted relationship, stemming from the earliest forms of dance in a multitude of cultures and parts of the world. Much of Graham’s music shares similar sounds and emotions, suggesting her most preffered sounds to move and create movement to. How fitting is it that one of Graham’s most respected […]

Set Design

Martha loved working with, around, and through various pieces of sculptural art in her choreographic works. I have always been a fan of sculpural art, both in creating and admiring it, so this aspect of Martha Graham’s works makes watching them that much more enjoyable to me. Graham worked with a number of set designers […]

Lighting Design

Martha’s dramatic works have a certain artistic weight to them simply on their own, but the lighting which accompanies her works makes her choreographic genius that much more evident. I am a sucker for good stage lighting; I can feel the shift in mood and emotion more if the lighting is unique to its respective […]

Costumes

Ah, finally the post I have been waiting to make: COSTUMES! I love all things fashion-related, though design specifically holds a special place in my heart. If only to make me love her more, Graham actually designed a large amount of the costumes which she used in her company. Some of Graham’s most well-known designs […]

Famous Works

Anything that was choreographed by Martha Graham is a “famous work” in the dance world, but like all great artists, some of her 181 pieces were more popular than others. Here, I have compiled a short list of Martha Graham’s most iconic works throughout her career, with a brief synopsis of the meaning behind each. […]

Further Exploration Through Media

Both for the continuing education of myself, and to facilitate the education of others, I have compiled a number of different resouces on everything Martha Graham, such as websites, and social media accounts which help to stay up-to-date on important information! Martha Graham Dance Company Website This is a fantastic resource to learn about the […]

Video References

Links to full videos and clips of some of Graham’s pieces are listed below! Lamentation (1930) Ekstasis (1933) Frontier (1935) Chronicle (1936) Every Soul Is a Circus (1939) Appalachian Spring (1944) Herodiade (1944) Cave of the Heart (1946) Errand Into the Maze (1947) Night Journey (1947) Diversion of Angels (1948) Clytemnestra (1958) Maple Leaf Rag […]