Martha Graham Dance Company Announces 2018–19 Studio Series
By: Stephi Wild Aug. 01, 2018
The Martha Graham Dance Company announces the 2018-19 season of its popular Studio Series, which offers audiences a behind-the-scenes look at the work of the Company in the intimate setting of the Martha Graham Studio Theater. The events in this season's Studio Series revolve around the Company's EVE Project, a two-year initiative featuring new works by female choreographers and classic Graham repertory focused on heroines and anti-heroines-all with an underlying statement about female power.
Three GrahamDeconstructed events will be presented, offering audiences an opportunity to view Graham's dances up-close and to hear about the artistic and historical context of their creation from Artistic Director Janet Eilber. This season, Secular Games, Herodiade, and El Penitente will be featured. Two NEW@Graham programs-one with Pam Tanowitz and another with Maxine Doyle and Bobbi Jene Smith-provide a look inside the creative process of new works commissioned by the Company. The Studio Series also includes a special holiday event featuring Graham 2 in Graham's beloved masterwork Appalachian Spring, and the third annual NEXT@Graham festival, which showcases the work of emerging choreographers. Audiences are invited to come early and enjoy a glass of wine before each event.
Single tickets for Studio Series events start at $25 / $15 for students. Full-Season and Half-Season subscription packages are available. Tickets and subscriptions can be purchased at www.marthagraham.org/studioseries. The Martha Graham Studio Theater is located at 55 Bethune Street (11th Floor), in Manhattan.
2018-19 Season Schedule
GrahamDeconstructed: Martha's Men
Tuesday, November 13 and Wednesday, November 14, 7pm
The Studio Series opens with Martha's Men, a look at Graham's use of men and the masculine in her works. The men of the Company will perform iconic solos and group sections from such Graham classics as Cave of the Heart, Night Journey, The Rite of Spring, and El Penitente. The evening will conclude with a run-through of the witty male competition section of Secular Games, which is being revived as part of The EVE Project.
Graham 2 Holiday Event
Saturday, December 8, 1pm and 6pm, Sunday, December 9, 2pm
Graham 2, the celebrated second company, will perform Graham's acclaimed masterwork Appalachian Spring. The event will feature a full performance of the work including costumes, lighting, and the historic set by Isamu Noguchi. For the Saturday family matinee, there will be Americana crafts, snacks, family friendly beverages, and a chance to try some of the moves from the dance and be photographed with the dancers.
NEW@Graham with Maxine Doyle and Bobbi Jene Smith
Tuesday, December 18 and Wednesday, December 19, 7pm
This evening offers a chance to meet Maxine Doyle and Bobbi Jene Smith, two of today's most sought-after dance makers, as they talk about the process to create a new work for the women of the Graham Company. The dancers will perform this work-in-progress, which is set to an original score by Lesley Flanigan. The dance will premiere at the Joyce Theater in April.
GrahamDeconstructed: Noguchi/Graham: Herodiade and El Penitente
Tuesday, January 15 and Wednesday, January 16, 7pm
This event focuses on the extraordinary partnership between Martha Graham and Isamu Noguchi in two of their collaborations, Herodiade and El Penitente. The dancers will perform excerpts from both works, introduced by a conversation about Graham's integration of the Noguchi sets and props into her work. Following the presentation, the audience will have a chance to explore and photograph these iconic sculptures.
NEW@Graham with Pam Tanowitz
Tuesday, February 5 and Wednesday, February 6, 7pm
Pam Tanowitz will take us inside the process of the new dance she is creating for the Graham dancers with music by composer Caroline Shaw. Renown for her stunning manipulation of movement, Tanowitz has borrowed some of Graham's famed dance vocabulary as a basis for her new work. Audiences will be the first to see the Graham dancers in this work-in-progress before its premiere in early March in California and in April in New York.
GrahamDeconstructed: Secular Games
Tuesday, March 19 and Wednesday, March 20, 7pm
Secular Games, with music created for Graham by Robert Starer, presents a wry look at sexual stereotypes. The original choreography has not been seen for several decades. This revival as part of The EVE Project will be seen through the lens of today's complex sexual politics. The evening will include archival footage, commentary, and a rehearsal run-through by the Graham dancers just prior to the New York performances.
NEXT@Graham
Tuesday, May 7 and Wednesday, May 8, 7pm
This is the third annual festival of works by choreographers selected through a competitive application process. Curated by Tadej Brdnik and Amanda Hameline with Janet Eilber, NEXT@Graham presents dances by rising stars and is headlined by a notable established choreographer. Works presented in this year's showcase will relate thematically to The EVE Project. Artists TBA.
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 offer a rich thematic narrative, the Company creates 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. For more information about the Company, visit: www.marthagraham.org.
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