After eight decades, Martha Graham arrives in Beijing

Modern dance came of age in the United States because of the work and legacy of Martha Graham. In the post-war days of the ‘40s and ‘50s, the angular forms from this doyenne of contemporary dance took to the stage–the physical contortions and deeply personal sensuality–were revolutionary. Graham choreographed until her death in 1991 at the age of 96, and ever since, her peers have tried to reinterpret her unique style. When the dance company comes to Beijing for a series of four nightly performances, guest speakers will provide a spoken introduction in Chinese to each body of work.

“It does not change the art itself, but it gives the audience another way to understand the art,” says Janet Eilber, artistic director of the company. Eilber describes the format as the company’s version of a museum’s audio tour or an opera’s subtitles. If anyone can interpret Graham’s works, it is her. Eilber started performing with the dance company over 35 years ago. “Martha’s work is about human to human communication,” says Eilber. “It doesn’t matter what country you are from or language you speak.”

The two programs at the National Center for the Performing Arts have been carefully selected to reflect an intrinsic message contained in Graham’s works and are designed to carry on Graham’s tradition of challenging both the performers and those who come to watch them. “Even though the dances we present are decades old, we strive to make their impact current and powerful,” says Eilber. “Many choreographers are controversial, jagged, and extravagant, but very few are able to also send a deeply moving message as Martha did.”

In particular, Martha Graham felt a deep connection to Greek-themed work because “they contain the most basic human emotions.” Instead, American audiences were often perplexed by stories exploring the pursuits of mythological women because, as has been conjectured, few liked to confront the raw emotions of lust, jealousy and hatred in dance.

Eilber, in turn, believes times have changed, and that audiences in China are mature enough to appreciate Graham’s emotional message. ‘’Martha based her revolutionary style of dancing on natural human gesture–body language. The Graham style may be new to Chinese audiences, but I believe they will recognize it in a deeply intuitive way.”

Kam Razavi

What: Martha Graham Dance Company