19/08/2020
The Martha Graham technique is important in the training of modern dancers and part of the vocabulary dancers all over the world have in common.
The warming up is influenced by Asian culture and Yoga. Then follow standing exercises and movement studies through space. Martha Graham experimented endlessly with basic human movement, beginning with the most elemental movements of “contraction” and “release” . The contraction is the most basic use of the centre of the body, it engages the interior abdominal muscles that react as in a cough, a sob or a laugh. In the Martha Graham technique all the movements start in the centre of the body and move out to the extremities. In the release the movement continues through the energy that is flowing from the body when the muscles relax. Equally important elements of the Martha Graham technique are : the breathing, the “spirals” and “high arches” of the torso, the shift of the weight of the body through space. This technique is challenging and prepares the body for many different choreographic demands. It makes the modern dancer conscious of the power and the mystery of the human body.
“Every dance is a kind of fever chart, a graph of the heart… the instrument through which the dance speaks is also the instrument through which life is lived… the human body.”
Enjoy this beautiful video I found!
The Martha Graham Technique (excerpts) performed by The Martha Graham Dance Company filmed under the supervision of Martha Graham assisted by Ross Parkes Fil...