Martha Graham
Martha Graham
Martha Grahamwas an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence of Picasso on modern visual arts, the influence of Stravinsky on music, and the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright on architecture...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionChoreographer
Date of Birth11 May 1894
CityPittsburgh, PA
CountryUnited States of America
life dance education
We learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same. One becomes in some area an athlete of God.
dance believe firsts
First we have to believe, and then we believe.
animal ugly body
No animal ever has an ugly body until it is domesticated. It is the same with the human body.
powerful artist missing
In 1980, a well-meaning fundraiser came to see me and said, "Miss Graham, the most powerful thing you have going for you to raise money is your respectability." I wanted to spit. Respectable! Show me any artist who wants to be respectable.
dance dancing messengers
Dancers are the messengers of the gods.
art breathing dancing
In the end, it all comes down to the art of breathing.
dance mean practice
Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired.
stage
The center of the stage is where I am.
art thinking moments
I don't think in Art there is ever a precedent; each moment is a new one & terrifying & threatening & bursting with hope.
magic world reason
The reason dance has held such an ageless magic for the world is that it has been the symbol of the performance of living.
paris dancing ballet
At the time I started in ballet they were dancing 'The Spirit of Champagne' on pointe, in Paris. I thought, 'I don't want to dance the spirit of champagne, I want to drink it!
dance lying passion
A dancer must listen to his body and pay homage to it. Behind the movement lies this terrible, driving passion, this necessity. I won't settle for anything less.
inspirational dance heart
Every dance is a kind of fever chart, a graph of the heart.
dance dancer chosen
I did not choose to be a dancer. I was chosen.