Martha Graham was known as the mother of American dance. She was born on May 11,1894 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. At fourteen she moved with her family to California andbegan dancing. The first dance recital she saw was in Los Angeles, California bychoreographer and dance pioneer, Ruth St. Denis. When Graham was twenty-two yearsold she joined the Denishawn school and dance troupe. The school of Ruth St. Denis andTed Shawn had a great impact on Grahams idea of dance. Graham used different dance traditions in her works to create a Neo-classicaldance style. She believed that movement originated in the tension of a contracted muscleand continued in the flow of energy released from the body as the muscle relaxed. Grahams dancers appeared to look rigid and it was not popular at first. However, thestyle started a new trend in the dance industry. Eventually Grahams audience got used tothe style being used in the performances. Her first masterpiece was Primitive Mysteries. This got attention around theworld, because of her style of dancing in this piece. This dance was about religious rightsof American Indians, pagans, and Catholics. In this, she played a virgin, who representedthe independent woman. She danced in Primitive Mysteries after she visited the AmericanSouthwest in 1931. Grahams interest in the American theme began after the dance. AfterPrimitive Mysteries she continued to stick with the American theme. The most influential American themed dances were Appalachian Spring, AmericanDocument and Frontier. The American Document was a dance that used the Bible as wellas the Declaration of Independence as inspiration. There was more speaking in this showthan in any other. The narrator spoke alternate lines from the sermons of the Bible. Thenarrator also spoke about American History including passages from The Declaration ofIndependence. Appalachian Spring was one of her most famous shows. The American Theme isportraye...
