By

Hannah Duncan
Summer 2015 Homework

Martha
Graham

WHO IS MARTHA GRAHAM?

Martha Graham, born in 1894, was an American modern
dancer and choreographer whose influence on the dance
industry has been of great importance and reshaped dance
by the Graham Technique.
Graham's father used to study physical movement, as he
was a psychiatrist and analyzed the way people move and
why. This links to how Graham invented ways of moving
using unnatural positions and parts of the body. Graham
knew she wanted to be a dancer since she saw her first
performance in 1911 at the age of 17. Her parents didnt
agree with this, and Graham finally got to begin her studies
of dance in 1914 after the death of her father. This is when
she began to feel free, and was able to begin introducing
and creating new techniques.

WHAT IS THE GRAHAM TECHNIQUE?

The Graham technique is based on "contraction and
release". It also involves different parts of the body in
opposition to one another, creating spirals for a dramatic
effect. Graham had two signature moves: the contraction
and strike pose.
Graham believed movement was generated from three
areas. These were: the action of contraction and release,
the pelvis, and the emotional inner self. She believed that
the contraction, or strong pulling back and curving of the
torso, and the release of this movement by returning to a
straight torso were symbolic to the contrasts in life like fear
and courage, and weakness and strength. Grahams
dancers created tension through contracting a muscle, and
then use the flow of energy when the muscle is relaxed to
begin the movement.

The Graham technique was designed for dancers to help

make their movements expressive and dramatic. Its
movement connected both pysical and mental aspects of
the self. Many of Grahams technique's were exaggerated
movements like the contractions and spirals, and can be
difficult or painful for less-flexible dancers, as Graham
herself was extremely flexible. The technique was originally
developed on a company of female dancers, however the
technique developed over the years and male dancers
soon became part of the technique.

HOW DID MARTHA GRAHAM INFLUENCE MODERN

DANCE?

Martha Graham influenced Modern Dance by creating one

of the only widespread sets of techniques that exists in
modern dance. Graham created her own set of rules and
exercises to train her dancers, much like Ballet. Graham
changed the focus in dance from floating to being
grounded, shown usually in contemporary dance. Graham
also introduced the Graham Technique of contraction and
release, as well as many more including expressive
movements of the body to tell a dramatic story, special
music, lighting, stage design and costumes. Graham
believed that dance is the hidden language of the soul
and she created her own language through movement to
tell powerful stories, something the world wasnt used to.
This changed the dance industry, and her beliefs are still

HISTORY OF BALLET DANCE, HOW AND WHY

CONTEMPORARY DANCE EMERGED:

closely followed today, and all her techniques are used in

dance pieces.
Ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the
15th and 16th centuries, and is a formal form of dance.
Ballet soon spread out of Italy to France, where ballet
developed even further (the dominance of French in the
vocabulary of ballet reflects this). The first stages of court
ballet came into development from royal money which
dictated the ideas, literature and accompaniment used in
ballet. This all helped to keep Aristocrats entertained.
Catherine de' Medici and Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx were
responsible for integrating poetry, dance, music and set
design to convey a dramatic storyline in 1581. In the late
17th century Louis XIV founded the Acadmie Royale de
Musique (the Paris Opera) from which emerged the first
professional theatrical ballet company, the Paris Opera

Ballet. Theatrical ballet soon became an independent form

of art, and spread from Europe to other nations where The
Royal Danish Ballet and the Imperial Ballet of the Russian
Empire were founded in the 1740s. Soon ballet spread
around the world with the formation of new companies,
including London's The Royal Ballet and American Ballet
Theatre in the 30s.
In the 20th century, styles of ballet continued to develop.
Developments have included contemporary ballet and
post-structural ballet. George Balanchine is often
considered to have been the first creator of contemporary
ballet. The style of dance he developed, which lies between
classical ballet and contemporary ballet, is known as
neoclassical ballet. He used flexed hands, feet, turned-in
legs, off-centered positions and non-traditional costumes,
such as leotards and tunics instead of tutus, to distance his
work from the classical ballet traditions. Balanchine worked
with modern dance choreographer Martha Graham which
expanded his exposure to modern techniques and ideas.
Contemporary dance has grown to be one of the dominant
genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world.

BALLET AND CONTEMPORARY DANCE

There are a multitude of
similarities and differences
TECHNIQUES:
between Ballet and Contemporary dance.
One of the most common known differences is the use of
turn-out. Ballet uses turned out feet in all positions,
whereas Contemporary uses parallel. In ballet, your posture
is very important, more than it is in contemporary dance.
This allows contemporary to have a wider variety of moves
than ballet. Ballet normally consists of set steps put
together to create a routine, however contemporary allows
choreographers to create their own movement. Although
contemporary has a wider range of movements, it still uses
a lot of ballet inspired actions. Also, the difference between
their choices of accompaniment are that contemporary

dance can use many different types of music like r&b, pop,
and many more. However, with ballet, most people tend to
use something more classical from an orchestra when they
perform. The choice of costume and clothing are different.
In contemporary, loose clothing is often worn which
matches the free, loose movements. However, in ballet,
dancers wear more fitted clothing to accentuate their
posture and so the audience can clearly see their
alignment.
Contemporary uses a range of dynamics, usually very
heavy yet graceful. Similarly, Ballet uses graceful and soft
dynamics as it is such an elegant dance style. Another
similarity is that dancers should have a background in
classical or neoclassical ballet before embarking on
contemporary ballet as the majority of movements are
similar. Contemporary can be done barefoot, on pointe or
in ballet/jazz shoes, much like ballet. Contemporary uses
ballet technique such as stretched feet and sometimes
posture, as it originated from ballet.
WWW: Detailed research carried out Hannah with excellent
comparisons made between ballet and Contemporary
dance. Good use of quotations.
EBI: Research Grahams history/background and how this
influenced her technique and ideologies. Proof read your
work Hannah.