Martha Graham and Paul Taylor are regarded among some of the most influential American dancers and choreographers in history. They made a mark in the world of dance and the world at large. Our generation of dancers is descendant from them in ways.
What I really appreciate about Graham and what I think I can apply to my ideas about choreography is her process of exploration, assimilation, and transformation. She used this process especially in her early works about cultures and rituals. It is a way of approaching something unfamiliar, learning about it, to then make something of it that is unique to the individual/choreographer. I think it is much less of a copy or interpretation, but rather an embodied experience or expression.
I appreciate from Taylor's work his blend of balletic form and grace with pedestrian moment to tell stories about humanity or human experience. The content and aesthetic of his work give that audience clear images to relate to.
Graham and Taylor's work are very different, but both lend very valid and important.
By Tori Diny
