Born: 11 May 1894, United States
Died: 1 April 1991
Country most active: United States
Also known as: NA
The following is republished from the Library of Congress. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
1894, May 11 Born, Allegheny, Pennsylvania
1916 Began studies with Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis at their Denishawn School
1918 Began teaching at the Denishawn School
1919-1923 Danced with Denishawn, appearing in title roles such as Xochitl
1923-1925 Appeared in John Murray Anderson’s Greenwich Village Follies, dancing Ted Shawn’s Serenata Morisca and Michio Ito’s The Garden of Kama
1925 Established her first dance company and began to develop her specialized dance technique
1926 Presented her first independent concert at the 48th Street Theater in New York City, assisted by the Martha Graham Concert Group. The New York Herald Tribune noted, “Miss Graham gave a successful performance, showing ability to present a mood or a picture, with the assets of grace, agility, effective poses and well chosen costumes”
1927 In a review of a program at New York City’s Little Theatre, the New York American said “Slender, sinuous and supple, and ever with a definite command of grace, Miss Graham may have many competitors in Terpsichore’s guild, but few rivals”
1928 Began an association with the Neighborhood Playhouse and, in conjunction with the Cleveland Orchestra, she performed in Nuages and Fetes (music by Debussy) with dancer/choreographer Michio Ito
1929 Presented a concert which included her first group masterpiece, Heretic
1930 Began a seven-year relationship with Washington Irving High School in New York City and presented yearly concerts. She performed in Léonide Massine’s Rite of Spring with the Philadelphia Orchestra
1932 First dancer to receive a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship
1936 Toured the United States in a solo program. Was invited, but rejected, an offer to represent the U.S. at the International Dance Festival, held in conjunction with the Berlin Olympics. She stated: “so many artists have been persecuted that I refuse to identify myself with the regime that made it possible”
1937 At the invitation of President and Mrs. Roosevelt, Graham was the first dancer to appear at the White House. Graham and her company made their first transcontinental tour
1938-1941 Began a relationship with Bennington College in Vermont where she taught each summer. Erick Hawkins became the first man to join her dance company. Merce Cunningham joined in 1939
1944 Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge commissioned three works: Imagined Wing (music by Darius Milhaud), Hérodiade (music by Paul Hindemith), and Appalachian Spring (music by Aaron Copland). The works are premiered in the Library of Congress Coolidge Auditorium. Writing about Appalachian Spring for the New York Times, critic John Martin stated, “nothing Miss Graham has done before has had such deep joyousness about it”
1948 Married dancer/choreographer Erick Hawkins (divorced 1954)
1950 Louisville Symphony Orchestra commissioned Graham to choreograph a new work (Judith to music by William Schuman). The Columbus [Ohio] Dispatch declared the work to be “a dance of smashing impact”
1951 Graham’s second commission by the Louisville Symphony Orchestra resulted in The Triumph of St. Joan (music by Norman Dello Joio)
1954 Graham company toured Europe, sponsored by the U.S. State Department
1955 Graham company toured Asia, sponsored by the U.S. State Department
1957 Received a Dance Magazine Award
1960 Recipient of a Capezio Award
1965 Received an Aspen Award in Humanities
1966 Received honorary doctorate from Harvard
1968 Graham choreographed last new dance in which she appeared (The Lady of the House of Sleep with music by Robert Starer). The Washington Post reported that it is “one of the most tangled and troubled of Graham dances”
1969, Apr. 20 Danced for the last time and retired from the stage
1971 Received honorary doctorates from Yale and Wesleyan
1976 President Gerald Ford presented the Medal of Freedom to Graham
1978 Choreographed Frescoes (music by Samuel Barber) for the dedication ceremonies of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Sackler Wing
1979 Received a Kennedy Center Honors Award, Washington, DC and the Royal Medal of Jordan
1981 Received the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award
1982 Accepted the Algur H. Meadows Award for Excellence in the Arts, from Southern Methodist University
1984 Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur presented to Graham by President François Mitterand
1985 Received National Medal of Arts awarded by President Ronald Reagan and the Carina Ari Medal, presented by Princess Christina of Sweden
1991, Apr. 1 Died, New York City