Martha Graham: Dance on Film DVD a Well-Rounded Portrait of the Artist
“I’ve spent all my life with dance and being a dancer. It’s permitting life to use you in a very intense way. Sometimes it’s not pleasant. Sometimes it’s fearful, but nonetheless it’s inevitable.”
~Martha Graham
Martha Graham: Dance on Film, a recent DVD release from The Criterion Collection, recounts the life and work of an extraordinary dancer and choreographer. (http://www.criterion.com/asp/release.asp?id=406) Including films of two of her most well-known pieces, a visual essay and a documentary produced by PBS’s American Masters series, the DVD is a sure delight for modern dance lovers.
Disc one begins with A Dancer’s World, a speech given by Graham in which she demonstrates the life of a dancer in her company. But Graham does not just talk to the camera like a talking head; the glamour queen that she was, she speaks into a mirror while putting on makeup before performing Night Journey. As is evident in the rest of the DVD, Graham demanded to be thought of as a dancer first and foremost.
This disc also includes films of Graham’s famous works Appalachian Spring and Night Journey. Appalachian Spring, performed to music by Aaron Copland, is a pioneer story filled with fear and joy of the vastness of the unknown country. Graham, performing the lead female role, plays a wife that is both loving and humble, but at times fearful and anxious. Known for her dark modern themes, she was also innovative for her nonlinear narratives. As in other pieces, Appalachian Spring jumps between past, present and future with emotional changes moving just as fast.
Copland remarked in an interview that Graham had “such a special marked personality of her own that it really was easy to put it into musical terms.”
Night Journey, a take on the Oedipus myth, shows a much darker, more tender side of Graham. Dancing the part of Jocasta, the mother and wife of King Oedipus, Graham’s movements are full of her signature contractions and tensions. Intensely sexual and tragic, Night Journey conveys some of Graham’s own vulnerability.
For a more in-depth look at her life story, disc two provides a documentary put together by PBS’s American Masters series (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/). The film tells of Graham’s childhood, beginnings in dance and extensive career. Always intense, always demanding, always dramatic, Graham was clearly revered by dancers and other artists alike.
“[Martha] broke custom. She broke through barriers. She presented new ideas, “said Agnes de Mille, dancer and longtime friend of Graham.
The documentary also discusses Martha’s marriage to her principal dancer Erick Hawkins and how the relationship affected her work. Like many other interests, Graham became completely enveloped with Hawkins and fell in love with him. Hawkins appears on the documentary to talk about this relationship and the profound impact it had on both their careers.
Documentaries, film performances, a lecture and other goodies make this DVD a treat for Martha Graham admirers. For a woman who spoke with her body, this DVD allows us to experience not only her performance but also her philosophy and lifelong passion for dance.