Martha Graham Dance Company: Virtual Programming for December 2020
Company:
Martha Graham Dance Company
The Martha Graham Dance Company continues its online programming on Patreon, bringing subscribers new levels of access to its dancers, studios, archives, educational programs, and performances. The Company’s all-digital 95th season offers unprecedented ways of stepping inside the work of the Company, the groundbreaking, iconic choreographies of Martha Graham, and the dances commissioned from some of today’s top choreographers.
This season, the Company’s digital offerings are curated thematically by month. The December programming will focus on elements of humor in the Graham repertory in a new Martha Matinee, Studio Series event, dancer mini-videos inspired by this theme, and a Zoom Q&A with Graham experts.
All offerings and events are available starting at $3 per month via Patreon. Membership packages are available at patreon.com/marthagrahamdance.
Saturday, December 5, 2:30pm
Martha Matinee
A streamed series featuring gems from the archives and performances from the Company’s extensive repertory, Martha Matinees are hosted by Artistic Director Janet Eilber and include a live chat with Eilber and special guests. The December matinee will feature clips from Graham’s comedic Punch and the Judy (1941) starring Graham, Erick Hawkins, and Merce Cunningham alongside Annie-B Parson’s multidisciplinary work I used to love you. Inspired by Graham’s Punch, I used to love you premiered at the Joyce Theater in 2017.
Tuesday, December 8, 7pm
Holiday Program – She Had a Sense of Humor
A performance of Graham’s witty 1932 solo Satyric Festival Song, performed by Company star Xin Ying, will be streamed live from the Graham Studio. Moments of humor in Graham’s career illustrated through photos and film clips of Graham beside Sally Rand, Robin Williams, Danny Kaye, and others will also be presented. The program will close with a 2016 performance by the Company in Maple Leaf Rag, the last work that Graham choreographed.
Wednesday, December 16, 5pm
Ask Us Anything
Zoom wrap-up of the month’s events focused on Graham’s humor with a Q&A.
About the Martha Graham Dance Company
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 unite the work of choreographers across time within a rich historical and thematic narrative, the Company is actively working to create 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.
Photo: Martha Graham, Erick Hawkins and Company in "Punch and the Judy." © 2010 Estate of Eric Schaal / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Share Your Audience Review. Your Words Are Valuable to Dance.
Are you going to see this show, or have you seen it? Share "your" review here on The Dance Enthusiast. Your words are valuable. They help artists, educate audiences, and support the dance field in general. There is no need to be a professional critic. Just click through to our Audience Review Section and you will have the option to write free-form, or answer our helpful Enthusiast Review Questionnaire, or if you feel creative, even write a haiku review. So join the conversation.
