Quotes and anectdotes from the wise to the foolish, and the courageous to the drunk

Martha Graham Choreographer

  • Gender: Female
  • Citizenship: United States
  • Born: May 11, 1894
  • Died: Apr 1, 1991

Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on the modern visual arts, Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.

She danced and choreographed for over seventy years. Graham was the first dancer ever to perform at the White House, travel abroad as a cultural ambassador, and receive the highest civilian award of the USA: the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In her lifetime she received honors ranging from the Key to the City of Paris to Japan's Imperial Order of the Precious Crown. She said, in the 1994 documentary "The Dancer Revealed", "I have spent all my life with dance and being a dancer. It's permitting life to use you in a very intense way. Sometimes it is not pleasant. Sometimes it is fearful. But nevertheless it is inevitable."

To me, a building - if it's beautiful - is the love of one man, he's made it out of his love for space, materials, things like that. architecture

'Age' is the acceptance of a term of years. But maturity is the glory of years. age

The body is your instrument in dance, but your art is outside that creature, the body. art

The body is a sacred garment. health

Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion. great