Martha Graham Company Continues to Shine

After being a sophomore dance major, living in this city, and ending this semester at Marymount Manhattan by performing Martha Graham repertory, you’d think that I’d have seen the actual company in action! But iDANZERS, you’d be wrong! I have long awaited the chance to see them live and now….. I have finally experienced the magic that is Graham!

 Featured at the Skirball Center for the performing arts from May 12^th – 16^th, The Graham Company offered two heart-stopping programs. Program A, the evening length epic, Clytemnestra and Program B, a variety of Graham works and a recent variation on a classic solo. Wednesday I had the pleasure of seeing program B.

 Company Director Janet Eilbert proudly introduces each piece and begins the evening with Lamentation Variations, a moving and relevant development of the Lamentation solo Martha Graham presented in 1930. Based on the film that featured Martha performing Lamentation, the variations are movement studies derived from four choreographer’s reactions to this historic film. The work culminated within an event to memorialize the anniversary of 9/11.

Lamentation Variations choreographers Aszure Barton, Richard Move, Larry Keigwin, and Bulareyaung Pagarlava comprise this fantastic four… causing the piece to stand out of the program in contrast to the other pieces in the show, all choreographed by Miss Martha. I especially was moved by Richard Moves work, which featured the entire company in Lamentation Variations. Every dancer was costumed in what appeared to be funeral wear, (dark, muted, and business casual). The dancers moved about solitarily and rarely related to each other onstage, creating an emotional portrayal of the feelings of grief and loss.

Sketches from ‘CHRONICLE’ boasts three pieces, each one depicting three aspects of war, with Graham’s choreography moving through her depiction of human reaction to mass devastation. The company’s beautiful, genuinely human performance covers universal and timeless issues starting with a call-to-war solo danced by Jennifer DePalo. The second piece is a vision of devastation and homelessness, and finally in the third piece, we see unity emerging from the darkness. Sketches from ‘CHRONICLE’ which has a clear climax and resolution brings me on an emotional rollercoaster moving though wartime that is truly exhilarating. 

Errand Into the Maze is another Graham classic, originally choreographed by Martha Graham and Mark Ryder and premiered in 1947. The pas de deux is a take on the myth of Theseus, who takes a trip into a labyrinth to conquer a half-man half-beast minotaur, which represents his fears (in some versions of the tale). It’s a violent method, but a good message. Martha retells this story with Ariadne, the heroine, who in this case conquers the monster. The pas stars Miki Orihara and Tadej Brdnik bolt and tear across the stage full of passionate moments. Tadej, who never stutters, quivers, or stumbles through movement is solid as a rock, and a stable platform for Miss Orihara. 

Maple Leaf Rag is an exuberant roast of the dramatic language that is Graham. Using a noticeably satirical perspective, Martha creates the type of piece that most major companies currently have in their repertory- the satirical parody. Like Jerome Robbins’s humorous poke at the over-serious ballerinas and theatergoers of New York in The Concert, Martha says it’s ok to laugh, as she openly mocks the dramatic motifs of her own works.

The piece includes a section of duets that are beautiful, athletic, and measurably funny, although melodramatic and vaudevillian pantomime just doesn’t intrigue me, whether Robbins or Graham. Luckily the choreographic one-liners are not the only things offered by the pas de deux – the two principals Blakely White-McGuire and Marizio Nardi exemplify sheer strength and joy. They are truly two jewels of the company. Offering an array of over the top facial expressions fit for a Greek comedy, the duet weaves though the piece moving as one, bold and briskly mastering Joplin’s syncopated master work.

This company is a unique and distinctive part of American culture. Their staying power is evident in their mind-bending strength as trained dancers. Martha Graham has pioneered though performance art with her company, which continues to maintain the integrity and passion of the Graham Technique. The evening overall was a success, and I finally can say I saw it live! The company is a true culmination of universal beauty – a great success. 

 

IDANZ Critix Corner

Official Dance Review by Antoine Lee

Editor:  Sheena DiMatteo

Performance: Martha Graham Dance Company

Choreography: Aszure Barton, Richard Move, Larry Keigwin, Bulareyaung Pagarlava and Martha Graham

Venue: New York University’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts 

Performance Date:  May 13 , 2009

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