GrahamDeconstructed Series Presents CLYTEMNESTRA (ACT 2)

The GrahamDeconstructed series brings audiences behind the scenes for an intimate view of Martha Graham's masterworks. On October 4 and 5 the Martha Graham Dance Company will present a rehearsal showing of Clytemnestra (Act 2),from Graham's 1958 full-evening masterwork.

A masterpiece of contemporary dance-theater and Graham's only full-evening work, Clytemnestra is a powerful retelling of the Greek myth, using the reviled Queen as a protagonist. With this work, Graham tells the story of familial tragedy during the Trojan War from Clytemnestra's point of view. Called "a dazzling and complex psychological study in evil and madness" (Anna Kisselgoff, The New York Times), Clytemnestra's underlying themes of power, revenge, and redemption still resonate today. Act 2 takes place in Clytemnestra's chambers with haunting scenes that shift from dream world to reality and culminate in murder. Music is by Halim El Dahm, with a set by Isamu Noguchi, and costumes by Graham and Helen McGehee.

The cast includes PeiJu Chien-Pott (Clytemnestra), Ben Shultz (Ghost of Agamemnon), Xin Ying (Electra), Abdiel Jacobsen (Orestes),Lorenzo Pagano (Agisthus), and Anne O'Donnell, Anne Souder, and Leslie Williams (Furies).

In addition to the rehearsal showing, which will use the set pieces by Noguchi, the evening will include archival footage of Graham as Clytemnestra and a discussion with Artistic Director Janet Eilber.

GrahamDeconstructed will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 4-5, at 7pm, at the Martha Graham Studio Theater, 55 Bethune Street, 11th floor, in Manhattan. Tickets are $25 in advance/$30 at the door. Advance tickets are available through October 3, and can be purchased online at http://marthagraham.org/Clytemnestra/. Subscription packages for the 2016-17 Graham Studio Series events are also available. For more information, visit www.marthagraham.org/studioseries.

The 2016-17 Graham Studio Series includes two New@Graham events featuring in-progress showings of new commissions by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Annie-B Parson, a launch event for NYC Dance Project's photography book, and three GrahamDeconstructed events: Dark Meadow Suite, Clytemnestra (Act 2), and Sacred and Profane Project.

About the Graham Studio Series

The Graham Studio Series offers performances and discussions in the intimate setting of the Martha Graham Dance Company's West Village studios. The series includes GrahamDeconstructed, New@Graham, and Shoot the Dancers. GrahamDeconstructed offers audiences an opportunity to view the great Graham works up close and to hear about the artistic and historical context of their creation from Artistic Director Janet Eilber. The program offers a glimpse of the artistic labor that goes on every day at the studio to preserve and augment Graham's legacy. New@Graham provides audiences with a look inside the creative process of new works commissioned by the Company, and Shoot the Dancers features conversations with leading dance photographers followed by an informal performance by the Graham Company. Audience members are invited to photograph the dancers in action. A reception follows each event.

City Winery is the Graham Studio Series wine sponsor.

About the Martha Graham Dance Company

The Martha Graham Dance Company has been a leader in the development of contemporary dance since its founding in 1926. Today, the Company is embracing a new programming vision that showcases masterpieces by Graham alongside newly commissioned works by contemporary artists. With programs that unite the work of choreographers across time within a rich historical and thematic narrative, the Company is actively working to create new platforms for contemporary dance and multiple points of access for audiences.

Since its inception, the Martha Graham Dance Company has received international acclaim from audiences in more than 50 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The Company has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, the Paris Opera House, Covent Garden, and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as at the base of the Great Pyramids in Egypt and in the ancient Herod Atticus Theatre on the Acropolis in Athens. In addition, the Company has also produced several award-winning films broadcast on PBS and around the world.

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