NSC Dance Studies Production: Martha Graham's background, trai

Question

Martha Graham's background, training and career.

- Martha Graham was born in 1894 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, into a strict Presbyterian family that strongly opposed her pursuing the performing arts.
- At a young age, she persuaded her father to take her to see Ruth St. Denis perform. This experience sparked her interest in dance and inspired her to become a dancer.
- Following her father's passing, Graham was unable to continue her dance studies at the Denishawn School. 
- She eventually moved to New York to further her training and began to develop her distinct style.
- In New York, she worked alongside Charles Weidman, focusing on how to express emotional content through the medium of dance.
- In 1926, she founded the Martha Graham School of Modern Dance and later established her own dance company.

How Martha Graham's Lamentation was innovative for that time.

7.2.1 Movement vocabulary and symbolism:

- The piece portrays the three stages of grief through movement, a unique portrayal for its era.
- Her use of contraction and release reflects the inner turmoil of grief.
- Each movement expresses emotional depth, allowing the audience to connect with the dancer’s feelings of despair.
- The dancer's actions, where only parts of her body are revealed, symbolize vulnerability and invite empathy.
- She embodies the feeling of despair through angular and explosive gestures, emphasizing the horror of grief.

7.2.2 The production elements:

Costume:
- The dancer wears a purple tube dress made of jersey fabric, representing her emotional state.
- The design of the costume allows the audience to perceive the dancer's confinement and struggle within her fabric prison.

Set design/props:
- Central to the performance is a wooden bench, symbolizing both a place of support and isolation for the dancer.

Lighting:
- A stark stage with a focus on the dancer enhances the emotional gravity of the piece.

Evaluate how the music enhanced the theme of Lamentation.

- The music becomes increasingly dissonant, mirroring the dancer's struggle against reality.
- The chords build up to a climax, emphasizing the moment of realization and internal conflict within the dancer.
- Eventually, the music softens, reflecting the dancer's journey toward acceptance of her grief.

Martha Graham is often referred to as 'the mother of contemporary dance'.

- Graham's innovative approach has profoundly influenced modern dance and the broader performing arts landscape.
- Her techniques and philosophies on movement continue to educate and inspire new generations of dancers.
- She enabled self-expression and explored the human form in ways that had not been previously recognized.

How did Martha Graham's choreography and dance technique make an impact on dance and society?

- Graham's creative vocabulary laid the groundwork for contemporary dance, revolutionizing how dance is taught and practiced.
- Her techniques provided a framework through which dancers could explore complex human emotions and themes, shaping the evolution of dance as an expressive form.

Martha Graham's background, training and career - NSC Dance Studies - Question 7 - 2018 - Paper 1

Worked Solution & Example Answer:Martha Graham's background, training and career - NSC Dance Studies - Question 7 - 2018 - Paper 1

Describe Martha Graham's background, training and career.

Explain how Martha Graham's Lamentation was innovative for that time.

Evaluate how the music enhanced the theme of Lamentation.

What do you think Martha Graham's choreography and dance technique made an impact on dance and society?

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