Martha Graham Movement Never Lies

“The body says what the words cannot” this was a quote often said by Martha Graham. She firmly believed that human emotions should be displayed through dance. Graham was heavily influenced by her farther who often stated, “Movement never lies”. Throughout her dances her goal was to create an emotional connection among the audiences. She anticipated that although her audience might not understand the overall message in her dance, they could at least feel/see its essence.

Graham used her torso all throughout her dances in order to express herself. She initiated that the movement of the torso must demonstrate strength and must be the focal point. An example, would be in Graham’s dance performance, Appalachian Spring performance, there is a

scene when the male dancers keep their body position straight and tall, while the women twist their torso. The twisting of the upper body encouraged a sense of femininity. As we can see Graham used her torso not only to create new moves, but express her deepest emotions.
Graham felt that the use of contraction and release was significant. Her technique required her students to create tension by contracting their muscles and then using the flow of energy when the muscle is relaxed. The goal here was to channel inner emotions through the movement of the body. The effect of this technique was to express a person’s feelings. Graham stated that the contraction and the curving of the chest and the release of the movement represented the dichotomies in life. This repetition of movement creates a rhythmic energy that flows from the center of the body to the outside.
The mood that this technique created was a form of rebellion against ballet. Although Graham’s dancing style combined ballet moves. The contraction and release movement created an aggressive stance. It made the dancers look as if they were to attack. Graham’s main focus was to emote inner feeling through her body. For example, in her dance performance “Deaths and Entrances,” there is a moment when Graham stands fiercely tall, but suddenly bends her knees and falls backward in a way her torso is parallel to the floor. She later clarified that this movement meant that it was just a demonstration on how a woman felt when she sees a man she once loved across the room.
I actually enjoyed seeing her dance the way she did in the video.

It was a new experience for me, something I have never seen before. I liked how she made her performances personal. I also loved how she would just loose herself during her performance. It was as if she was dancing with her mind and heart. Although, I never heard of this type of philosophy, I can fairly say I agree with it. Graham thought that movement was spawned from three places: the pelvis, contraction and release, and human emotions. She also felt that everything involved space and gravity. Her theory between space and gravity was that the fall is the power of gravity. Therefore, she encouraged her students to fall to the left, because falling was not just a physical thing but it was a mental one. She explained that falling was a way to explore the unknown.

Of course her movement and philosophy is relevant in today’s society. According to Lihs, “Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, won a court decision that allowed it to continue to teach her unique technique” (pg.67). As we know people still admire her work and want to learn her techniques. Throughout her dance journey she has inspired many dancers and music artists. An example, would be a dancer named Maddy Zieglar which she has adopted Graham’s dancing style. In conclusion, I think Graham’s movement/philosophy is still important in our

generation.