Martha Graham Dance Company

The Martha Graham Dance Company, born in New York City in April 1926, celebrates its centennial at The Pocantico Center with GRAHAM100. The dance company, now the oldest in the United States, will present two works of 20th- and 21st-century Americana, each rooted in the social and political atmosphere of its era.

The program opens with the solo Immediate Tragedy, created by Martha Graham in 1937 in response to the rise of fascism in Europe and the Spanish Civil War. The piece speaks of determination and resilience. As one review of the original performance noted, “This will be a moving dance long after the tragic situation in Spain has been brought to a conclusion, for it has completely universalized its materials.”

The program will then move into the 21st century with En Masse, choreographed by Hope Boykin and commissioned to mark both the company’s 100th anniversary and the country’s 250th. A cast of seven Graham dancers brings Boykin’s joyous choreography to life in an uplifting and universal dance about finding community.

En Masse is set to a remarkable new score with music by Leonard Bernstein, including excerpts from Bernstein’s MASS arranged by composer Christopher Rountree. The final section features a never-before-heard, recently discovered piece of music believed to have been composed by Bernstein for Martha Graham in the 1980s.

This event will be followed by a reception in the DR Center Gallery, now showing Woven Wonders: Kykuit’s Picasso Tapestries. 

Guests may arrive 45 minutes prior to the event start time to enjoy the new Sculpture Walk outside the DR Center. Please note that events will begin promptly at their scheduled start time. Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of staff.

Presented in partnership with the RBF Culpeper Arts & Culture program as part of the Culpeper Summer Performance Series.

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