One of the foremost American choreographers of the twentieth century, a modern dance pioneer, and the creator of an important technique for training dancers, Martha Graham (1894-1991) studied at the Denishawn School in Los Angeles. There she was inspired by Ruth St. Denis and mentored by Ted Shawn, performing with Denishawn until 1923. Her own company, founded in 1926, became a breeding ground for seminal artists such as Erick Hawkins, Merce Cunningham, and Paul Taylor. Although Shawn made many attempts to bring the Graham Company to the Pillow, the only formal appearance during his lifetime was a 1960 lecture-demonstration. The Company’s official Pillow debut in 1984 was an emotional homecoming for Graham, who enjoyed viewing some of her Denishawn costumes in the Pillow’s archives. One of her longtime leading dancers seen here, Terese Capucilli, was a Pillow student in 1976. In more recent appearances, the Company presented Graham’s The Rite of Spring and Chronicle as well as works by Nacho Duato and Mats Ek.
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