Dance Final

graham and humphrey

Martha Graham

Focused on principles of contract and release

Dorris Humphrey

focused on techniques of fall and recovery

Both

Techniques developed based off the fundamental life force of breath.

Martha graham years

1894-1991

Martha graham facts

• moved to New York and joined variety/follies show

• while trying to teach ted Shawn sued her for use of Denishawn’s intellectual property, resulting in a unique method of devising a technique for dance

• formed her own company and performed into her 70s

• choreographed over 180 dance

• favored subject matter that dealt with human emotions and conflict, often referencing greek mythology

Doris Humphrey life

1895-1958

Doris Humphrey facts

• left the denishawn company with her partner, Charles weidman in 1928

• desired to create a dance style that was distinctly “american”

• formed the Humphrey/weidman studio and company where she created many dances following her belief that “movement creates meaning”

• many of her works spanned from those without music, water study, works of great complexity and gravity

• passacaglia and fugue (1938) inspired by the need for love, tolerance and nobility in a world given more and more to the denial of these things

Martha graham

• 1912: begin studying at denishawn.

• next seven years became one of the company’s best known performers

• often worked as ted Shawn’s partner

• became co-star of Xochital, the famous duet about an Indian girl and an aztec empire

• in the late 1920’s graham worked with Louis Horst

• horst introduced graham to the work of Mary wigman, German model dancer

• by 1930 graham has identified a new system of movement she called contraction and release, which was based on her own interpretation of the delsartean principle of tension and relaxation

doris humphrey

• creator of the technique known as fall and recovery

• studied at the denishawn school in LA

• 1928 left denishawn and gave her first independent concert with Charles weidman with who she formed the studio with in New York

• her work demonstrated an unerring sense of form as well as an interest in large scale-abstract works

• has a book called the art of making dances (1959) based on her theories about dance composition