Kanopy Dance: Celebrating the Legacy of Martha Graham

Who Pablo Picasso was for painting, who Igor Stravinsky was for classical music, who Frank Lloyd Wright was for architecture – this is who Martha Graham was for modern dance. “A primal artistic force of the 20^th century,” Graham (1894-1991) founded a dance technique that created a ripple effect across an entire fine arts culture, from theater to visual art, from music to fashion. 

Thanks to Kanopy Dance Company, one of Overture’s resident companies, Graham’s influence has reached Madison, Wis. Artistic director Lisa Thurrell had the privilege to train at the Martha Graham Company in New York City, performing as a company dancer from 1987-1995. She came to Madison to assume a leadership role at Kanopy Dance in 1995 along with her partner Robert Cleary.

Graham’s Modernist approach, distinct from the pre-existing ballet tradition, employed intentional breathing coordinated with movement (“contraction and release” technique), along with the gravity of the human body to “increase the emotional activity of the dancer’s body.” It embodies the human experience, incorporating sharper, more direct expressive movements.

“While Kanopy ‘informs’ its works through its roots in the Martha Graham tradition, Kanopy has developed its own brand, shaping an exciting new dimension and visual language to advance American modern dance,” says Thurrell.

From March 1-3, in honor of the 100^th anniversary of the Martha Graham Dance Company, Kanopy will present “Graham: In HER Voice” in Overture’s Promenade Hall. The performance celebrates a historically significant collaboration—Graham’s remarkable choreography of the unforgettable “Suite from Appalachian Spring” by American composer Aaron Copland, which tells the story of a young frontier couple on their wedding day.

“Kanopy is among a handful of dance companies worldwide vetted to perform Graham’s iconic masterpiece,” says Thurrell.

The only company in the Midwest to be granted this honor, Kanopy will be joined by distinguished guest artists Sandra Kaufmann and Miki Orihara, both regisseurs of the Martha Graham Company, who direct the production in Madison.

“Outside of the Martha Graham Dance Company in New York City (from which many principal artists have come to Madison to work with Kanopy), I cannot think of another company in the world who could present this stunning work in the manner in which it requires,” says Kaufmann. “Kanopy dancers not only master the technical difficulties of the work with aplomb, their artistic interpretation gives voice to the true intentions of the work.”

A forward thinker of her time, Graham founded her company and school in 1926 in the wake of women’s suffrage. Her works celebrate strong women figures, challenge gender roles and embrace multiculturalism, evidence that her choreography was by no means on an island. She conceived each production as a wholistic work of art, from the set design to the costumes to the music.

“That is an integral part of the ‘Modernist’ approach, expressionistically weaving dance, visual art, music, poetry, physical theater, costuming, etc., into our vocabulary on the stage,” says Susanne Voeltz, associate director of Kanopy Dance.

Graham’s 181 ballets involved countless interdisciplinary collaborations with contemporaries such as fashion icon Calvin Klein and sculptor Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988), in addition to roles she created for ballet stars Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov. She trained numerous performers, including Liza Minnelli, Gregory Peck and Madonna, in how to use their bodies as expressive instruments.

Thurrell speaks to Graham’s strength of presence and character, even in her later years.

“She was direct, masterful—she could be very intimidating, but also invigorating. She loved dancers who were open, passionate and had an honesty when they danced. It brought mastery, excellence, musicality and strength of spirit,” says Thurrell.

One particular memory remains etched in Thurrell’s mind, a time when Graham visited a class unexpectedly. At a frailer, more advanced stage of life, she came walking in on the arm of her assistant.

Thurrell recalls the moment: “I felt the hair standing up on the back of my neck. We had no idea she was coming, but we felt her presence as she walked in, before even seeing her. Armgard Von Bardeleben (a noted Graham dancer and faculty member for decades) was teaching. They conferred. Martha watched—intently, fiercely. The men in the end of the line were dancing across the floor and were jumping very high up in the air—maybe anxious to impress—but not on the music. Martha said simply ‘not quite’ as she looked keenly at them…a poignant and enduring learning moment.”

Graham’s impact cannot be overstated, and she was recognized in 1976 with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Gerald Ford and in 1985 with the National Medal of Arts by Ronald Reagan.

Want to channel some Graham’s pioneer spirit? Join Kanopy Dance for “Graham: In HER Voice” for a virtuosic celebration of American modernism bottled in the intimate space of Overture’s Promenade Hall.

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