Regards to all of you who were part of the Skidmore residency! Even though the Graham Company’s schedule was beyond full in the weeks following Skidmore, we have missed you and our time together. Many of us have commented on the remarkable synergy created at Skidmore — a combination of hard work, concentration, discovery, accomplishment and above all, creativity. This was all simmered in a wonderful connection between different levels of artistry — students, emerging artists, professional artists. Everyone involved in the residency fit under each of these categories at one point or another, and we were surrounded by this amazing creative energy and exchange.
Our work at Skidmore has inspired us to find new ways to connect with young artists and develop new possibilities with university students. We’re currently planning a residency at New York University — the next step in the Clytemnestra Project — and exploring ideas to involve students and audiences at other campuses. In the next few weeks, we’ll be alerting you to Clytemnestra ReMashed, an online competition that is based on your Name-calling projects (!)
We’d love to hear more about you and “Life After Skidmore” — what’s your perspective on your Graham experience now that you’ve had a few weeks to think about it? Has it inspired any changes in the way you dance, the way you think, the way you live? Do you miss us at all?
Also: Do you have any ideas for us about staying connected? Is anybody interested in participating in a Q&A with company members? Any projects that we might initiate online that would engage you and others? A live chat of some kind?
While we wait for the answers to roll in, check out some of your colleagues in this new video posted on YouTube and Carly’s blog for Dance Spirit
This Tuesday, we will be streaming LIVE during our Open Rehearsals at Skidmore College. For those who cannot make it to Skidmore in Saratoga Spring, check back at 7:30pm for a live feed of our rehearsals.
Starting at 7:30pm, you’ll be able to watch the video Live on this website, or here
Clytemnestra Prologue
While you’re waiting for the stream to start, you can watch some of our other videos here.
UPDATE : The performances were fantastic, and we had a full house in the theater! We had a few audio issues, but resolved them for upcoming live streaming events. Thanks to all who came + watched!
Tonight, students and company members arrived at the spacious SPAC for our technical rehearsal. Students ran Panorama, while company members did Maple Leaf Rag.
While everyone was performing onstage, I took some video of the company members performing Maple Leaf Rag. You can watch the entirevideo of Maple Leaf Rag here. The night really flew by - before I knew it, we were back home. I believe the performance captured on video reflects that swift quality.
Feel free to add your own thoughts on tech rehearsals! Looking forward to a great evening of performances!
As part of Peter Sparling’s Composition class, students have been devising their own personal Movement ID’s. During class, Peter looked out the window, saw a field, and had the inspiration to videotape everyone’s Movement ID’s at the same time - in the field.
We took 2 cameras, 37 dancers, and just had a blast. The video below features original choreography from each individual dancer.
During the showing last night I was astounded by the ability of the dancers technique. I’d say the “norm” is that through history the newer generations, as Janet explained last evening, were always the ones who can jump higher and have better extensions. What surprised me so much last night watching the dancers is how minimal the change is. I’m not saying that the dancers themselves aren’t getting better, because they are, but I’m suggesting how ahead of its time Martha’s work really is. Clytemnestra like many Graham masterworks is age-less and no matter how dated the particular costumes are the movement will always remain the most relate able work out there.
I am so grateful that we had the opportunity to meet with company members and discuss the characters and themes involved with Clytemnestra before we viewed the full performance. I think the discussions we had with Peter Sparling and Janet Eibler and especially the work we did with individual company members involved with the Name-Calling, was invaluable to my viewing experience. It showed me how to watch Clytemnestra and see beyond the surface of the choreography and the storyline and see deeper into the emotions and tension and dynamics of the entire piece. Even more so it was invaluable to me as a dancer. My group worked with Miki on the character of Iphigenia. Miki spoke about how the choreography of Iphigenia was rather simple. But just because we had simple choreography didn’t mean we were off the hook. The simple choreography was there so that the complicated and intense emotions that Iphigenia experiences could be expressed fully. We had to reach into a place deep inside ourselves, past the movement and into the abstract to embody Iphigenia so that even standing still our energy and emotions could identify us as Iphigenia. Though I have never been murdered by my own father, it was still easy to identify with Iphigenia who is young and innocent and completely beside herself when she finds her whole wold turned upside down. Iphigenia along with many other characters in Clytemnestra and the dance itself will continue to remain timeless because the underlying emotions are part of the universal human experience.
As an aspiring dancer, and more specifically as a student participant of the 2008 Martha Graham summer intensive, viewing the film of Clytemnestra was absolutely awe-inspiring. Furthermore, viewing it in the presence of two of the principle dancers of that very screening was what struck me the deepest. Having the tremendous opportunity to work with Janet Eilber and Peter Sparling this week, I was already well aware that they were major long-standing influences in the Martha Graham School and Company. However, watching them dance in their prime, seeing them portray the timeless imagination of one of the greatest dance visionaries of the twentieth century, really inspired me. These two individuals have an astounding amount of experience and knowledge that they are so graciously willing to share, as direct dance descendants of Martha herself. The same goes for the rest of the company members. It is absolutely incredible in my opinion. Thus far, even before the completion of the first week of this intensive, I have realized that the opportunity to be completely immersed in this environment will yield far greater rewards than I could have ever anticipated.
Watching the Clytemnestra film last night was an incredible experience that helped me better understand both the characters and the story as a whole. The differences between the characters and their relationships to each other was obvious through the commitment of each dancer’s role. I have been learning the role of Cassandra in repertory. Seeing the relationship of Clytemnestra and Cassandra on video brings a whole new dimension to the way I have been performing Cassandra’s movement. I have new insight into the anger and inner pain that is the motivation for her movement.
In reflecting on the discussion we had in composition today, I know that Clytemnestra will always be relevant and powerful to people of the present and future. The themes and certain characteristics of each character can certainly relate to many different types of communities and circumstances. The way this story has been told through movement is so powerful in both the way the performance is executed and how the choreography has been crafted. As was already stated in a previous post, it truly is a masterpiece that will continue to be performed far into the future.
I was very inspired to watch the video of Cytemnestra last night as a student of the Martha Graham Company Workshop at Skidmore College. In repertory class, we are learning Name Calling sections of Cytemnestra, and I have been working on the character of Cassandra. The performance of Janet Eilber as Cassandra truly showed the power of a dancer’s strong development of character. Graham’s choreography demands not only solid technical skills but also intense commitment to each character. Watching Janet’s performance, as well as the entire work of Cytemnestra, helped me better understand the depth of each character and see potential ways to physically express the intentions of each character. During the “talk-back session” after the video, Janet and Peter Sparling discussed that Martha often spoke about the muscular connections between the body and the facial muscles. This comment truly helped drive me to work out of my comfort zone and explore the possibilities of expression within the choreography and technique of Martha Graham.
This site aims to show the Martha Graham Dance Company at work. This site will be a resource in illuminating Martha Graham’s work, aesthetic, and ideas. Using the paradigms of the social web, our work will be open, shareable, creative, and responsive.
As part of Peter Sparling’s Composition class, students have been devising their own personal Movement ID’s. During class, Peter looked out the window, saw a field, and had the inspiration to videotape everyone’s Movement ID’s at the same time - in the field.
