“Fast forward, rewind, pause, hit that position…NO, wait, go back a little tiny bit, more, THERE, okay…STOP!” The Martha Graham dancers, busily rehearsing, acknowledge a single TV set with eyes furrowed in concentration. They are attempting to bring to life Graham’s Every Soul is a Circus, 47 years after it was created. How can this older choreography be seen as fresh and modern today? Blakeley White-McGuire, who will take on Graham’s original role, shares how she manages: “Well I approach the choreography from the characters viewpoint [asking], what are her emotions, her intentions…?”
It begins as a Circus Ringmaster (originally Eric Hawkins) follows and calls out to his Female Empress (originally Martha Graham) to perform all sorts of odd gestures and movements. She really can’t help but return mocking, flirty glances. Graham played with humorous themes to, not only create memorable characters, but also to reveal, as a 1986 New York Times article points out, that the stage is “an arena of everyday life.”
The artists of the Martha Graham Dance Company dance out loud as if that were the only way they’d truly recognize and embody their characters, and later find themselves incorporating their own qualities into the role. With the feverish mingling of mind with body, body with mind, breath with soul, rhythm with actor we can truly tell this upcoming season will be one nobody should miss.
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