In the dancer’s body, we, the audience, should not seek an imitation of everyday gestures, nor spectacles of nature, nor strange beings from another world, but rather a glimpse of the miracle that is the human being motivated, disciplined, and focused.
Martha Graham, quoted by Paul Bourcier, Histoire de la danse en Occident, Paris, Le Seuil, “Points”, translated in English by Samuel Young.
Choreographers Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, and Twyla Tharp were her students, while performers Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov sought her out to help improve their practice, as did Kirk Douglas, Liza Minelli, and Madonna… The American dancer and choreographer Martha Graham, born in 1894, founded her first company nearly a century ago, in 1926. It is this anniversary that is being celebrated this season, with two programs paying tribute to the work of the woman who was named “Dancer of the Century” by Time Magazine in 1998. Over the course of her long career, Martha Graham created 181 works, and her company –the oldest in the United States– continues to thrive by inviting contemporary choreographers, such as Aszure Barton, Lucinda Childs, or Mats Ek, to create works for its 18 dancers, who hail from all over the world.
Two programmes, presented alternately, illustrate the dialogue that has gradually developed between repertoire works and devised pieces. The first, emblematic of Martha Graham’s research into the myths of ancient Greece, is composed of Cave of the Heart and Errand into the Maze. In contrast, Cave by Hofesh Shechter questions the contemporary ritual of raves, set to techno music. The second programme, made up of Diversion of Angels and Chronicle, explores themes of love and war. In response, a recent creation by Jamar Roberts, We the People, depicts both American folklore and the American people.
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SECRETS OF A WORK
To learn more about Graham 100, a presentation of the show will take place 45 minutes before the performance, in the Salon Diaghilev. Animated by Pasqualina Noël, on Thursday, 6 and 13 November 2025, at 7.15 pm (free access, reserved for ticket holders for that evening’s performance).
POST-SHOW CHAT
A post-show chat (between the artists and the audience after the performance to exchange thoughts on the show) will take place following the performance on Friday, 7 November 2025 (free access, reserved for ticket holders for that evening’s performance).
