{"id":243007,"date":"2026-05-25T12:42:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T12:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/243007\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T12:42:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T12:42:07","slug":"now-at-lincoln-center-honoring-martha-graham-a-titan-of-modern-dance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/243007\/","title":{"rendered":"Now at Lincoln Center: Honoring Martha Graham, a Titan of Modern Dance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A new exhibit at Lincoln Center\u2019s New York Public Library for the Performing Arts features items from the library\u2019s Martha Graham collection. Photo by Steve Holt<\/p>\n

By Steve Holt<\/p>\n

Year in and year out, Lincoln Center celebrates the titans of the performing arts. Next up on the \u201ctitans\u201d list is a colossus of the world of dance, now showcased at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in its new exhibit, \u201cMartha Graham: The Mother of Psychological Dance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Often also called \u201cthe mother of modern dance,\u201d for her dancing, choreography, and teaching, Graham \u00a0left an indelible impression on 20th century dance; her monumental influence lives on through countless dancers, students, and teachers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Portrait of Martha Graham, ca. 1940s. Photo \u00a9 George Platt Lynes. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts<\/p>\n

Drawing on the rich treasures in its Martha Graham archive, the library\u2019s exhibit is a brilliantly choreographed display of costumes, props, photographs (both iconic and rare), as well as videos, and even silent film.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Graham designed the pioneer woman\u2019s dress for \u201cFrontier.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0Photo by Steve Holt<\/p>\n

One display in particular gives an idea of the presentation\u2019s scope. A simple pink pioneer woman\u2019s dress is posed before a rustic railing. A silent film plays on a screen, showing Graham soloing in \u201cFrontier,\u201d a work she choreographed in 1935 (it was the first of her \u201cAmerican\u201d dance works, which culminated in 1944\u2019s \u201cAppalachian Spring,\u201d with the beloved music by Aaron Copland). The \u201cFrontier\u201d set design was by Isamu Noguchi, an example of Graham\u2019s collaborations with the 20th century\u2019s greatest artists. And that pioneer dress? Graham herself designed it. The assembled exhibit is meant to draw the viewer into Graham\u2019s world, to imagine being in the theater with Graham herself on stage.<\/p>\n

Linda Murray, curator of the library\u2019s Jerome Robbins Dance Division, calls Graham \u201ca giant to whom we all owe a debt. We can never repay her, but it\u2019s important that we don\u2019t forget all that she gave. My hope is that this exhibition is a reminder of what made Graham so special.\u201d<\/p>\n

The curator of the exhibit, Jack Ferver, a renowned dancer, choreographer, and teacher, says that Graham\u2019s accomplishments were achieved by staying true to herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe believed that when you find that true vision, stick to it, yield to no one,\u201d said Ferver. \u201cShe didn\u2019t yield.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Al Hirschfeld\u2019s drawing of Graham in \u201cLamentation\u201d from 1930. Photo by Steve Holt<\/p>\n

Janet Eilber, the artistic director of the Martha Graham Dance Company, joined the ensemble while still a student at Juilliard. She was directed by Graham herself in most of the company\u2019s major roles. She also enjoyed success on Broadway, as well as acting in film and television.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully, this exhibit communicates that marriage of physicality and emotionality that Martha was after,\u201d said Eilber. \u201cThat\u2019s the essence of her theater. It\u2019s not physical tricks or melodramatic acting, it\u2019s the emotion being revealed through movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

The exhibit runs from now through November 7. More information is available at http:\/\/nypl.org\/marthagraham<\/a>, including details on several special programs about the lasting legacy of Martha Graham.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to West Side Rag\u2019s FREE email newsletter\u00a0here<\/a>. And you can Support the Rag\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new exhibit at Lincoln Center\u2019s New York Public Library for the Performing Arts features items from the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":243008,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,47030,9,24,94943,63],"class_list":["post-243007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-martha-graham","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-public-library-for-the-performing-arts","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243007\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}