February 2008 - The Parklander Magazine

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENTby Janet Lynn Roseman, PhDTHIS MONTH, THE MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY WILL BE PERFORMING FOR ONENIGHT ONLY AT THE KRAVIS CENTER ON FEBRUARY 10TH. IT IS A PERFORMANCE NOT TOBE MISSED AND AUDIENCES IN SOUTH FLORIDA ARE IN FOR A RARE OPPORTUNITY TOUNDERSTAND THE CREATIVE MIND OF MARTHA GRAHAM.CONSIDERED THE PIONEER OF MODERN DANCE, MARTHA GRAHAM WAS A GENIUS,PHYSICALLY AND CREATIVELY, ANDTRULYWASASPIRITUALPHILOSOPHEROFTHEHIGHEST ORDER. SHE CREATED MOVEMENT TECHNIQUES AND THEORIES ABOUT THEBODY THAT DEFIED THE DANCE CONVENTIONS OF HER TIME,YET THROUGHOUT HER LONG LIFE, SHE CONTINUED TOADHERE TO HER UNIQUE AND AMAZINGLY DIVERSECHOREOGRAPHIC IMPULSES.One of her glories of movement was herutilization and belief that the pelvic girdle wasthe form for seats of emotion. She ferventlybelieved that it was the birthplace and the necessarylink between the world of Above (Heaven) and Below(Earth). Graham understood that inside the architectureof her “technique” (in it’s original form), thatthese forms would directly telegraph states of emotion tothe audience but would not be “descriptions” of that emotion.Tadej Brdnikand Miki Orihara inMartha Graham’s“Appalachian Spring.”Photo by John Deane“The way I try to illuminate or disturb or tell the truth as I see it isthrough dancing. Dancing to me is the revelation of the human being,good or bad, through movement. I try to explore the areas, the body andthe soul of the human being. I am not a propagandist; I am an explorer; I amnot a prophet; I hope I am a messenger.”Complete sincerity of the body was her dictum from the early days of her dancing career. It wasnot only a belief; it was her commandment. In her first newspaper interview, she told a reporter,68 FEBRUARY 2008