Martha Graham's Greek Myth-Based Dances and Her Collaboration with Isamu Noguchi

Illuminating an understudied avenue of classical reception in the performing arts, this book considers how the long artistic collaboration between one of the greatest dancers and choreographers of recent times and the set designer with whom she worked extensively, can inform a deeper understanding of how artists today refashion their audience's appreciation of classical antiquity.In her many classically-inspired dances, all of which are discussed in this book, Martha Graham transformed Greek myth, creating a “woman-centered” reception of antiquity. In “Night Journey,” her dance based on the Oedipus myth, Jocasta is the central figure, not Oedipus. In "Errand into the Maze," Ariadne takes center stage. It is Clytemnestra, not Agamemnon, who dominates Graham's retelling of theOresteia, while in “Cave of the Heart,” Medea eclipses Jason. Graham’s interpretations provide a provocative view of Greek myth that counters the traditional privileging of the “male,” and result in a special resonance for contemporary audiences. But these transformations of Greek mythology are also shaped by the influential set designs of Japanese-American sculptor and designer, Isamu Noguchi. Ronnie Ancona therefore considers each dance through the lens of their collaboration, considering how Noguchi’s objects actively participate in the creation of Graham's interpretations. Informed by classical research as well as research in dance and the visual arts, this is a vital work of interdisciplinary scholarship that introduces the classicist to a rich new chapter in classical reception, while informing dance specialists about the classical background of Graham’s use of Greek myth. This book examines the Greek myth-based dances of Martha Graham, renowned dancer and choreographer of the twentieth century, and her collaboration with the sculptor and set designer Isamu Noguchi. Their decades-long interdisciplinary work produced dances that reshaped Greek myth centering a female perspective. This study combines traditional classical scholarship, dance research, and personal voices from art practitioners who curate the legacy of these dances. Graham produced many Greek-influenced dances from 1926–1987, and each receives mention in this book. This study gives special attention to those on which Graham collaborated with Noguchi in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Four particularly noteworthy dances from that collaboration, Cave of the Heart, Errand into the Maze, Night Journey, and Clytemnestra, are discussed in detail. This book advances the field of classical reception by expanding scholarly discussion of non-verbal reception, that is, dance. Specifically, it argues that Noguchi’s contribution to Graham’s Greek myth-based dances is more important than often acknowledged and that his approach to objects complicates—in a highly provocative way—how bodies and things affect each other in the environment of the performance stage. The collaboration of Graham and Noguchi drew on their separate, but complementary artistic talents to create engaging and moving reinterpretations of Greek myth. This book will introduce the general classicist to a rich new chapter in classical reception, while informing dance scholars and the public, more generally, about the Greco-Roman background to Graham’s use of myth. Students and scholars in classics, dance studies, performance studies, visual arts, and women’s studies will find this book of interest, as will general readers interested in the arts.