As one of the most influential choreographers of modern dance, Martha Graham's impact can be seen not only in all major types of dance theater, but also through the work of the Martha Graham Dance Ensemble.
The group performed a program at University at Buffalo's Center for the Arts on Saturday, worthy of the name it bears. Her breakthrough style of dancing revolutionized the dance theater and earned her the title "mother of modern dance."
As an artist, Graham was modest and admirably tipped her hat to her predecessors. Her determination was not without purpose. Many of her dances expressed her political standings against imperialism and oppression, while exploring the depths of human emotion.
Clips shown during Saturday night's pre-performance talk of Graham's career showed her gradual development as a groundbreaking choreographer. Her pieces become more floor-oriented, the movements less sudden and more fluid.
One of her early pieces had a very methodical layout, starting with a single dancer sitting on the floor, continuing to an upright position, followed by several other dancers that appear and surround, thus finding conformity and shifting the focal point from the floor, to eye level, to a gradual picture of the whole set.
The Martha Graham Ensemble continues her tradition of individuality and expressiveness, and honors her work by reenacting many of the legend's canon.
The program began with "Adorations," a piece best described as a glorification of the body. The dancers stayed mostly on the floor, resembling a dance recital preparing dancers early in their career. Graham utilized floor spacing as another dimension in which to work. A Japanese sculptor named Isamu Naguchi influenced her attention to detail heavily.
The dancers showed Graham's theory of contraction, or breathing, nicely in this piece. Graham considered contraction a very natural movement, starting from the hips with every breath. The dancers accentuated each of their movements in a graceful yet powerful pattern that draws oxygen and life with every breath.
"Lament, From Acts of Light" featured four males wrapped in black garments surrounding a woman all in white, resembling light. She wistfully pulled herself away from one man to the other, as each performed an impressive display of technique in succession. Graham studied and displayed human concepts and emotions, and this piece explored the recurrent themes of love, death and rebirth, as represented by light and darkness.
"El Penitente" followed as a grave but remarkable dance alluding to the Penitents of the American Southwest, in which sin was cleansed only through self-punishment. The piece went as far as to reenact the crucifixion of Christ, often viewed as the ultimate portrayal of human sacrifice and suffering.
The last piece was Graham's ode to love, "Diversions of Angels." It portrays love using the colors of red for eroticism, white for mature love, and yellow for adolescent love. It is beautiful in its elegance and descriptiveness, resembling all the intricacies of love through fast, frantic parts with the "red" dancers, and peaceful and slow movements for the "white" dancers. Graham successfully utilized contrast in the piece to show the many faces love can take.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
