Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T11:15:42.304Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Visions of Landscape in Martha Graham's Errand into the Maze

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 August 2016

Abstract

Martha Graham cultivated a dual awareness of self and environment through the use of Earth-based imagery in her technique and repertory. Her Greek dramas are situated in landscapes created by Isamu Noguchi that suggest both geological and topographical landscapes as well as landscapes of the mind and body. In bridging the connection between body and Earth, the characters from these ballets have a dynamic relationship to these terrains that contain, embolden, and empower them. So what happens to the meanings and understandings of these works when they are stripped of their Noguchi habitats? This research investigates Martha Graham's Errand into the Maze (1947) in relationship to a stripped down version of the dance called Errand that premiered in the Graham Company's 2013 season after Hurricane Sandy destroyed the sets.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Jennifer L. Conley 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Works Cited

Alliance for Response, NYC. 2012. “AFR/AIC-CERT Response at Martha Graham Dance Company—Hurricane Sandy.” http://www.afrnyc.org/emergency-response-martha-graham-dance-company. Accessed May 26, 2015.Google Scholar
Barnes, Clive. 1986. “Dance: ‘Errand Into the Maze’ Returns.” New York Times, October 26. 89Google Scholar
Campbell, Joseph. 1968. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Eilber, Janet. 2015. Interview by the author, New York, NY, March 17.Google Scholar
Eilber, Janet, Printz, Neil, and Rychlak, Bonnie. 2004. Noguchi: Selected Works for Dance, Graham. New York: The Noguchi Museum.Google Scholar
Errand . 2013. Original choreography by Martha Graham and new staging by Luca Veggetti. Archival footage from Martha Graham Resources, New York, NY, February.Google Scholar
Graves, Robert. 1960. The Greek Myths, Vol. II. Middlesex, England: Penguin Books.Google Scholar
Hodes, Stuart. 2015. Interview by the author. New York, NY, March 17.Google Scholar
Kastendieck, Miles. 1947. “La Graham at Ziegfeld.” New York Journal American, March 1. 36Google Scholar
Kirk, G. S. 1985. The Nature of Greek Myths. Middlesex, England: Penguin Books.Google Scholar
Martha Graham Dance Company. 2013. New York, NY: Joyce Theater, February 22.Google Scholar
Orihara, Miki. 2015. Interview by the author. New York, NY, March 19.Google Scholar
Printz, Neil. 2004. “A Nearer Function than that of the Eye: Noguchi, Graham, and the Physicality of the Dance.” In Noguchi: Selected Works for Dance, Graham, edited by Eilber, Janet, Printz, Neil, and Rychlak, Bonnie. New York: The Noguchi Museum. 3057 Google Scholar
S. Hurok Presents Martha Graham with Erick Hawkins, May O'Donnell, Pearl Lang and Dance Company with Orchestra (concert program). 1947. Ziegfeld Theatre, New York City, February 24.Google Scholar
Schonberg, Harold C. 1968. “Isamu Noguchi, a Kind of Throwback.” New York Times, April 14. 78Google Scholar
Seibert, Brian. 2013. “After the Flood, Drying Off the Classics and Letting Them Fly.” New York Times, February 27. http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/02/27/arts/dance/martha-graham-dance-company-at-joyce-theater.html?_r=0. Accessed April 4, 2016 Google Scholar
Siegel, Marcia B. 2001. “Dancing in the Dust.” Hudson Review 54(3): 455463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Cecil. 1947. “The Maze of the Heart.” Theatre Arts: 29–32.Google Scholar
Terry, Walter. 1947. “The Dance.” New York Herald Tribune, March 1. 67Google Scholar