Full Name | Martha Graham |
Date of Birth | May 11, 1894 |
Place of Birth | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Date of Death | April 1, 1991 (aged 96) |
Place of Death | New York City, U.S. |
Known for | Dance and choreography |
Movement | Modern dance |
Spouse | Erick Hawkins (m. 1948–1954) |
Awards | Kennedy Center Honors (1979), Presidential Medal of Freedom (1976), National Medal of Arts (1985) |
Significance | Reshaped American dance with the Graham technique, still taught worldwide |
Firsts | The first dancer to perform at the White House and travel abroad as a cultural ambassador |
Honors | Received the highest civilian award of the US, the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction |
Legacy | Martha Graham School founded in 1926, oldest school of dance in the United States |
Quote | “I have spent all my life with dance and being a dancer. It’s permitting life to use you in a very intense way. Sometimes it is not pleasant. Sometimes it is fearful. Nevertheless, it is inevitable.” |
Career | Danced and taught for over seventy years, performed one of Ted Shawn’s Egyptian dances in a short silent film in 1922 |
Influence | Had honors ranging from the Key to the City of Paris to Japan’s Imperial Order of the Precious Crown |
School | Martha Graham School is the oldest school of dance in the United States, founded in 1926 |
Film | Appeared in a short silent film in 1922 attempting to synchronize a dance routine on film with a live orchestra |