Graham101: What you need to know about Martha Graham

As the Company prepares to perform a Martha Graham’s work for the first time, learn how the legendary choreographer has inspired generations of artists around the world, and how her ground-breaking movement has been honoured through Martha Graham Dance Company – the oldest dance troupe in the United States celebrating its centenary in April 2026.

Martha Graham: Finding Her Own Voice 

Martha Graham was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, in 1894. She didn’t begin dancing until she was 22, a late start by traditional standards. Graham joined the pioneering Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts in Los Angeles,  the first U.S. dance academy to form a professional dance company. Known for blending ballet with experimental modern styles, Denishawn left a lasting impact on dance education and performance.

Initially, Graham’s teachers dismissed her for being too old, but the school’s co-founder, Ted Shawn, saw her strong potential and invited her to tour with him. This marked the beginning of a transformative career that turned the female artist into one of the pivotal figures in American modern dance.

After years of performing and teaching with Denishawn, Martha Graham decided to found her own dance company in 1926 at New York’s Carnegie Hall. She spent the next seven decades crafting her own movement language, and a body of work that would redefine the artform.

Her Body of Work

Known for her fierce stage presence, she often choreographed works on herself – originating roles that demanded physical power and emotional truth. A great example is her signature solo Lamentation (1930), choreographed to Zoltán Kodály’s 1910 piano piece, where the shapes and tensions in the dancer’s body create a moving sculpture portraying grief. Other relevant works showcasing powerful emotions are Chronicle (1936), a piece that used abstract movement to convey the emotional devastation of war and serves as a universal warning against the rise of fascism; or Deaths and Entrances (1943), a haunting exploration of the emotional struggles of the Brontë sisters and the broader female experience, capturing themes of inner conflict, memory, and resilience through symbolic movement and deeply personal imagery.

Many of her creations were inspired by American themes – Frontier (1935), El Penitente (1940) and Appalachian Spring (1944) – or were dramatic works based on myths, such as Cave of the Heart (1946, from the story of Medea) and Clytemnestra (1958).

Another key work is Errand into the Maze (1947), inspired by the Greek myth of Theseus, Ariadne and the Minotaur. Graham reimagined the story as a psychological journey with a woman at its centre who confronts a Creature of Fear. The piece draws on Jungian psychology to explore fear and self-discovery through Graham’s expressive movement language. This October, English National Ballet will perform Errand Into the Maze as part of our R:Evolution mixed bill at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, the first time that the Company performs a work by Martha Graham.

Over her prolific career, Martha Graham created 181 works for stage and screen, collaborating with visionary artists like sculptor Isamu Noguchi and composers including Gian Carlo Menotti and Aaron Copland. She performed well into her seventies, only stepping off the stage when her body could no longer meet the demands of her choreography. Following Graham’s death in 1991, her company has continued to showcase her legacy.

Dance is the hidden language of the soul.

Martha Graham 

Contraction and Release: Introducing Graham Technique

Martha Graham didn’t just choreograph – she created a whole new movement language. At the heart of her vocabulary lies the principle of contraction and release. Derived from the natural rhythm of breathing, these two actions form the foundation of the Graham Technique.

Her technique also emphasises grounded movement, spirals through the torso, and an often stark, angular aesthetic. It stood in deliberate contrast to the ethereal elegance of ballet, opening up the possibilities of what dance can be. This revolutionary movement has inspired dancers around the world, and many schools and companies still teach the Graham Technique today. This physicality is deeply tied to emotional truth. Graham’s father was a psychiatrist, and she often quoted his words: “Movement never lies.” Inspired by that belief, she sought to expose real, visceral emotions through movement, embodying primal feelings from despair to euphoria.

She is famous for saying that “every dance is a kind of fever chart, a graph of the heart”.  And truly, her choreography asked dancers to battle their inner worlds, to wrestle with feelings, identity, myth, and memory.

Moreover, Martha Graham further reflected on the role of women in society and in the arts. She crafted roles that showed women as powerful figures capable of commanding the stage, contrasting with the often submissive roles in the early 20^th century. Through her work, she empowered her female dancers to express strength, resilience, and independence.

Martha Graham didn’t create movement to escape life – she created it to confront it. Her work chews on the raw bone of human emotion, giving physical form to feelings such as rage, fear or love. For dancers performing Graham’s work, the greatest challenge isn’t just technique: it’s revealing something deeply personal on stage without ever saying a word. She didn’t want carbon copies; she wanted dancers to carry the structure of her work and then layer their own truth on top.

Masha Dashkina Maddux, former principal dancer at Martha Graham Dance Company and currently staging Errand Into the Maze for English National Ballet

A Century in Motion: Martha Graham Dance Company

Founded in 1926, the Martha Graham Dance Company is considered the oldest dance company in the United States. Over seven decades, Martha Graham developed a company at the forefront of modern dance and the wider 20^th century arts sector. Her impact reverberates across generations of choreographers, dancers, and creatives around the world.

Now, nearly 100 years since its founding, the Martha Graham Dance Company continues to perform, teach and inspire globally. Her legacy lives beyond the stage in studios where dancers continue to study the Graham Technique. The company’s wide repertoire has been performed by some of the world’s leading dance companies, reaching global audiences.

The Graham Company has been preserving Martha’s original works while also inviting contemporary choreographers to create within the Graham ethos. Her influence is found in the work of countless choreographers—from Pina Bausch to Paul Taylor or Crystal Pite. Even Balanchine, considered the father of American ballet, acknowledged her impact on his work.

To mark its centenary, the company launched GRAHAM100, a three-season global celebration (2023–2026). Under the Artistic Director Janet Eilber, the company is touring internationally with iconic Graham masterworks including Appalachian Spring, Night Journey, Chronicle, Cave of the Heart, Errand into the Maze, or even Diversion of Angels.

Catch Martha Graham’s Errand into the Maze performed by English National Ballet as part of the R:Evolution mixed bill at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London, from 1-11 October 2025.