After viewing the PBS version of Clytemnestra I was astounded by the technique of the dancers and the performance they each displayed. It occurred to me the next day in class how important every class is for a Graham dancer. Almost every step that was in the piece came from one of the basic combinations we use for class each day. I didn’t understand how important the movement was or how vital class is for any Martha Graham piece. I was always surprised by the choreography because all the movement was based from the core of the body and portrayed an emotion or action. Martha Graham created not only a technique but a language that is universal.
My second viewing of Clytemnestra was company rehearsal in the studios and there was such a difference between a live performance and a video. Being able to watch the whole company dance and not just a highlighted section of the piece was astounding, there were so many details that I missed out on in the video version. The emotion and energy that was presented, even at a rehearsal, was only an indication of how powerful a real performance of this dance could be. Also being able to watch the rehearsal process and see what goes into a video showing sheds new light on the difficulty of reconstructing her works for video. The one guarantee video has is the performance will never change, where as a live performance is new every night.
