- Father was a nervous disorder doctor. He was the most impactful figure that influenced Martha's view of the world and how she related life to movement.
- He believed the "body could express the inner senses." This lead Martha to be known for her famous philosophy "movement never lies."
- Had three siblings: Mary, Georgia, and William. William died of meningitis 18 months after being born
- Lizzie was the families Irish nanny that supported Martha throughout her life.
Died: April 1st, 1991 in New York City, NY
- Died of heart failure in her New York City home at the age of 96
Education: Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts
- At the age of seventeen, she saw a performance of Ruth St. Denis and was inspired to dance
- Despite popular belief, Martha's parents never told her she could not dance because of her Presbyterian religion. In fact, it was Martha's minister who shunned her for wanting to dance; this caused Martha to not associate herself with a particular religion.
- Her mother loved looking at her bare feet and imagining her daughter dancing.
- Ruth St. Denis shunned Martha because she was too old and too short 5'2" to become a dancer, yet Martha still worshiped her.
- Martha would sneak into the dance studio at 2 am to practice dance so that when her time came to shine she would be ready. During these 2 am rehearsals, she would invent creative,unique, odd yet beautiful movement that would be seen later on her technique.
- Ted Shawn adore Martha after she proved her worth in his company. One day in rehearsals the lead soloist became ill and could not perform. He stated "Too bad Martha doesn't know a dance or she could replace her." Martha proceeded to stand up and perform the solo perfectly without ever training with Ted.
Spouse: Erick Hawkins
- Martha was 15 years older than Erick Hawkins
- Erick caused a rift between Martha and her longtime collaborator Louis Horst. This caused Horst and Graham to spilt ways artistically because she was madly in love with Erick
- The presence of Erick in her life developed her technique into more balletic tricks such as leaps and turns. Also, he encouraged her to explore Grecian themes.
- On September 20, 1948, Erick came into Martha’s room and announced that they were going to wed that day. Martha told him no because she was too vain to change her last name, yet later that day they ended up driving to Santa Fe and was wed in a Presbyterian church. Sadly, six years later in 1954, Erick and Martha divorced. Their last fight began with Erick cancelling a performance in their European tour because Martha had torn her cartilage in her knee; Martha was furious and yelled at her husband saying that she was no used to him anymore if she could not dance. Erick ended up boarding the first plane back to the United States which ultimately ended their marriage.
“People have asked me why I chose to be a dancer. I did not choose. I was chosen to be a dancer, and with that, you live all your life. ”
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