Career

• Greenwich Village Follies
• After eight years of studying with the Denishawn School, Martha moved to New York City and joined the Greeenwich Village Follies at age 29.
• Was seen as art and not  a sleazy vaudeville dancer
• Was paid a fortune, $350 a week

• Martha Graham Company
• Established 1926
• Developed her own technique 
• Created 181 choreographic works
• Danced for 75 years
• She performed in each piece in her company until she could no longer dance
• The students that she trained were dancers, singers, as well as actors
• Famous students:
• Modern dancers: Merce Cunningham, Erick Hawkins, May O'Donnell, Paul Taylor, Jane Dudley, and Jane Erdman <-- these dancers broke of the Graham technique and ended up creating their own technique and companies or keeping Martha's repertory alive
• Ballet dancers: Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolf Nureyev, and argo Fonteyn
• Singers: Madonna and Liza Minnelli
• Actors: Kirk Douglas, Bette Davis, Gregory Peck, Eli Wallach, and Anne Jackson <-- taught them to portray emotions through body language

• End of Career:
• At age 74, Martha performed her last performance. She performed as herself watching an artistic director teaching her choreographic works and the torture this brought to her. This piece recieved harsh criticism.
• Martha developed arthritis and could no longer articulate/ move her joints in her hands and feet hence ending her dance performance career.
• This depressed Martha and she turned to alcohol. Earlier in her career, Martha would show up to rehearsal without one hair out of place, organized, passionate, and ready to work. When she aged, she would show up to rehearsals drunk, uninterested, and often would cut rehearsal short because she was so tortured to watch the dancers.
• Pearl Lange, the first dancer, to perform a Martha Graham role, was lectured before curtain call by a drunk Martha where she stated that "Today is the worst day of my life."
• At age 79, Martha finally realized that her time on this Earth was going to be ending soon. So, she abstained from alcohol, created 29 new ballets, and revived many pieces for her company. She wanted to leave a legacy. She danced until the day she died.