The renowned Martha Graham Dance Company will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 16, at the Heymann Performing Arts Center in Lafayette. It’s the only Louisiana stop on the Company’s celebratory 100th Anniversary tour. The performance is part of the PASA (Performing Arts Serving Acadiana) season. Tickets are available at pasaonline.org and the Heymann Center Box Office.
The 17 dancers of the Martha Graham Dance Company comprise the oldest dance company in the United States and one of the most celebrated in the world. Whether performing the masterworks of Martha Graham or new works from some of today’s top choreographers, these versatile dancers are exemplars of contemporary dance. Under the artistic direction of Janet Eilber since 2005, the Company is made up of extraordinarily athletic, expressive dancers of unmatched virtuosity.
The Washington Post called the Graham Company “One of the seven wonders of the artistic universe.”
The evening's program is packed with imaginative dance pieces, including Errand into the Maze, Diversion of Angels, Steps in the Street, Lamentation, and We the People.
Martha Graham is recognized as a primal artistic force of the 20th century, alongside Picasso, James Joyce, Stravinsky, and Frank Lloyd Wright.
Actors like Bette Davis and Gregory Peck trained with her. So did Mikhail Baryshnikov and Madonna. Graham represented the United States overseas, performed at the White House, and received a Kennedy Center Honor.
TIME magazine named Martha Graham “Dancer of the Century,” and People magazine named her among the female “Icons of the Century.” As a choreographer, she was as prolific as she was complex. Graham created 181 ballets and a dance technique comparable to ballet in scope and magnitude. Her approach to dance and theater revolutionized the art form, and her innovative physical vocabulary has irrevocably influenced dance worldwide.
Martha Graham’s dancing and choreography exposed the depths of human emotion through movements that were sharp, angular, jagged, and direct. The dance world was forever altered by Martha Graham’s vision, which has been and continues to be a source of inspiration for generations of dance and theatre artists.
“Having the Martha Graham Dance Company perform here is a landmark event for dance lovers as well as for those who enjoy theater, music, and other live entertainment,” says PASA Executive Director Jackie Lyle. While we’ve brought outstanding modern dance companies to our community for decades, bringing this company to celebrate Martha Graham’s founding of modern dance is beyond exciting.”
A variety of activities lead up to the October 16 performance:
· 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 6: PASA and the Acadiana Center for the Arts team up to screen the PBS Documentary, Martha Graham Dance Company: We Are Our Time. Free event.
· 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 14: Graham Technique Dance Workshop led by Blakeley White-McGuire, the Graham Company’s rehearsal director. The workshop takes place at McLaurin Hall on the UL Lafayette campus. Registration required. Call PASA at 337-769-3231.
· 5:30 p.m. Thursday, October 15 at Wild Child, 210 E. Vermilion in downtown Lafayette. Book chat with Blakeley White-McGuire, who authored the book The Martha Graham Dance Company: The House of the Pelvic Truth. Clare Cook, founder and director of Basin Arts, moderates the discussion.
· 6:30 p.m. Thursday, October 15 at Wild Child, 210 E. Vermilion in downtown Lafayette. Meet the Graham Dancers.
The Martha Graham Dance Company’s PASA engagement is supported generously by Darrellyn & Don Burts, The Haynie Family Foundation, Lee Michaels, and LFT Fiber.
For more information, to purchase tickets, or to learn about PASA’s outreach programs, visit www.pasaonline.org.
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