'Movement never lies': 100 years of the Martha Graham Dance Company

""Decorative, escapist, imaginary princesses and swans and flowers," said Janet Eilber, a former member of the company and its current artistic director. "And she wanted to dance about real human beings, real human challenges." Graham wanted to use dance to tell American stories, which at the time was a revolutionary idea, when so much of American cultural life was focused on Europe."

"Graham knew the landscape well, having grown up in Pennsylvania coal country, which she described as "completely bleak" in her autobiography. She had to wear veils over her clothes to keep off the coal dust. When she was 14, she and her family moved to California, traveling across the country by train. Graham was thrilled. She wrote in her book that her years there "became a time of light and freedom.""

"Legendary dance artist Martha Graham lived by these rules, which she learned from her father when she was a little girl: "Movement never lies" and "Look for the truth." She used them to create the Martha Graham Dance Company, which this year celebrates its 100th anniversary. Graham was a force in the dance world: a choreographer, founder of a school in addition to her renowned company, and a leading dancer herself."

Martha Graham, a legendary dance artist, founded the Martha Graham Dance Company, which celebrates its 100th anniversary with an international tour. Operating by the principles "movement never lies" and "look for the truth," Graham was a choreographer, school founder, dancer, and cultural diplomat. In the early 20th century, she revolutionized dance by moving away from European classical ballet focused on escapist themes like Swan Lake toward creating works about real American people and experiences. Her piece Appalachian Spring, created in the 1940s with composer Aaron Copland, depicts Pennsylvania pioneers and reflects her childhood in Pennsylvania coal country. Graham's contrasting experiences between bleak coal country and the light and freedom of California profoundly influenced her artistic vision throughout her career.

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