Martha Graham - An American Original in Performance

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DVD details

Actor: Bertram Ross, Martha Graham, Paul Taylor, Robert Cohan
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 93 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-07-30
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Kultur Video

DVD Reviews of Martha Graham - An American Original in Performance

DVD Review: A great Resource
Summary: 5 Stars

This video is a great resource for all dance teachers, especially if you are in a public school setting. I am a dance teacher at an elementary school where I teach using dance standards, but I also go into the regualar classroom to teach their standards through dance. I have used this video for lessons on Drawing conclusions, westward expansion, and myths. This is a great video!

DVD Review: Great! 3 Wonderful Performances.
Summary: 5 Stars

If you are looking for examples of Martha Graham's works, this DVD gives you 3 lovely performances. However, if you want these performances explained and have a desire to have more background information about Graham and her company etc. I would recommend purchasing the 2 DVD set called "Martha Graham Dance on Film" which includes all 3 of these performances plus more.

DVD Review: an American classic
Summary: 4 Stars

This should be a staple for dance educators/dance history classes. The 30 minute intro shows Martha Graham speaking passionately about her work and shows her dancers in a studio setting. It really captures the era of early Modern dance.

DVD Review: Martha Graham documentary
Summary: 5 Stars

This is one ofa few realy good dance documentaries ever made. I wish all dance documentaries would be so useful. I think every dancer should have this in the library.

DVD Review: Taut economy and passion
Summary: 4 Stars

I should first declare an interest. Despite having been turned on to dance in the first place by the London Contemporary Dance Theatre, Martha Graham's British offshoot in the 1970s and 80s, I'm not a great Graham fan. Most of my objections I guess relate to the technique: I struggled with it for several years, but only really learned to dance once I threw Graham out of the window.

Having said that, the three films on this DVD offer a really fascinating insight into Graham's work from a particular moment in time (the late 1950s). At this time Graham's company did not have the international acclaim that came in the 1960s and 70s. Graham was still dancing major roles, but she was not at the height of her powers (she was in her early 60s).

The first work on the DVD is a film about the Company, in which Graham talks about her work (while getting ready for the role of Jocasta in Night Journey, the next piece on the DVD). It's interesting to hear Graham talk, to hear her ideas about theatre and dance, but otherwise this film is just a rather extended demonstration class.

Night Journey, the second piece, is more interesting. Here, Graham's age fits quite well with the role she plays - Jocasta, mother (and wife) of Oedipus in her final moments, just before she kills herself. I have always disliked the fact that Graham technique doesn't really allow a dancer to let movement flow through their body: the movement is first bottled up and then released in a great burst. However, when you see the technique used in Graham's own work, with its incredible economy, intensity and focus, you can see exactly why she danced like this.

The final piece on the DVD is Appalachian Spring, Graham's hymn to American freedom and the pioneer spirit with music by Aaron Copeland. This has always been one of my favourite Graham pieces, and this 1950s performance is great. Graham plays the young pioneer bride, which is slightly bizarre, but despite her age the performance is nothing short of astonishing. After Graham stopped dancing, her company changed somewhat in style, and the movement became softer and more fluid. However, in this performance, and in Night Journey, you can still see the angularity and jagged energy of her work, and how radically it differed from ballet. Appalachian Spring has all the taut economy and intensity of Night Journey, but it has less angst, more expansiveness, and quite a bit of humour. A wonderful finish to this fascinating DVD.

Description of Martha Graham - An American Original in Performance

A true pioneer in the world of dance, Martha Graham became an American legend. She was a fearless explorer and a passionate artist, and she exemplified the American spirit in it's truest form. The program is in three parts. In a Dancer's World, Miss Graham and her company demonstrate the challenge and beauty of expression through movement. Developed during her European and Oriental tours, the format of the film - "exercises de style," as the French call it - takes us into her dressing room, the studio, and the spirit of dance itself. Directed and filmed by Peter Glushanok. (Filmed in 1957) Night Journey is Martha Graham's retelling of the legend of Oedipus, danced by Miss Graham as Jocasta, Paul Taylor as Tiresais, and Bertram Ross as Oedipus. This work has a score by William Schumann and set design by Isamu Noguchi, the internationally renowned sculptor and designer. "This film contains the essence of Graham and is among the two or three successful dance films ever made" (Clive Barnes). Directed by Alexander Hammid. (Filmed in 1961) Appalachian Spring is an American folk tale of a young pioneer, his bride, and a wandering revivalist preacher with a band of followers. The dance tells of the couple's wedding, the building of their home, the preacher's dire sermon, and the woman's gentle blessing as the couple begins a life in the wilderness. The Pulitzer Prize-winning score was composed by Aaron Copeland, and the sets were designed by Isamu Noguchi. Directed and photographed by Peter Glushanok. (Filmed in 1958)

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