Martha Graham: A Dancer's Life [Hardcover]

Russell Freedman (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Martha Graham, the American dancer, teacher, and choreographer, revolutionized the world of modern dance. She possessed a great gift for revealing emotion through dance, expressing beliefs and telling stories in an utterly new way. Newbery Medalist Russell Freedman documents Martha Graham's life from her birth in 1894 to her final dance performance at the age of seventy-five and continued career as a choreographer until her death in 1991. Graham's own recollections as well as those of her dancers, students, friends, and lovers reveal Graham's unwavering dedication, her extraordinary sense of artistry, and the fierce intensity that left an impression on all who saw her perform. Original research based on interviews and a remarkable collection of photographs not widely reproduced give this biography a rare and unparalleled depth. Includes notes,a bibliography, and an index.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Martha Graham (1894-1991) referred to her dancers as "acrobats of God," but in truth it was she who seemed divinely inspired. Graham was a dancer, choreographer, and teacher for more than 70 years, and during that time she changed the landscape of dance forever. An unlikely candidate for a dance diva, she was shorter and more muscular than the principal ballet dancers of her time and she didn't start dancing until age 22--a flower long past her bloom in the eyes of most choreographers. Nonetheless, Graham managed to turn the dance world on its tutu with her innovative approach to movement and teaching and her clear understanding that feelings are not always graceful, but always intense.

Russell Freedman, who won the Newbery Medal in 1988 for Lincoln: A Photobiography and Newbery Honors for The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane (1992) and Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery (1994), has once again crafted a beautiful, intriguing biography. He traces Graham's remarkable life from a childhood filled with imaginative play, to her decision to attend dance school instead of college, through her departure from the Broadway Follies to pursue her own dance style, and onward through her late life, when she continued teaching and creating distinctive performance pieces. The fascinating biography is complemented by exquisite black-and-white photographs that reveal Graham's sense of beauty and her remarkable ability to translate pure, raw emotions into expressive movement. Freedman's lovely tribute makes us fully believe Graham when she says, "I did not choose to be a dancer, I was chosen." (Young Adult/Adult) --Brangien Davis

From Publishers Weekly

Freedman (Lincoln; Eleanor Roosevelt; Franklin Delano Roosevelt) once again animates American history through biography; here he adds culture to the mix as he chronicles the inspiring life of legendary dancer Martha Graham. The venerable author hooks readers in immediately with his description of young Martha learning to move her body by watching a lion pace from one side of its cage to the other. Freedman then seamlessly charts the fiery, passionate Graham's rise from a 19-year-old "homely, overweight" dance student to principal dancer to teacher to the creator of modern dance. The biography points up Graham's commitment to a "uniquely American style of dance," focusing on such works as Frontier, an homage to her ancestral roots, and Appalachian Spring, for which she collaborated with composer Aaron Copland. Freedman acknowledges that the dancer's sources of inspiration and consolation came from other American artists: writer Emily Dickinson (the source of Graham's work Acts of Light) and composer Scott Joplin (Maple Leaf Rag was her last complete work), among them. Her passions were not circumscribed to her work; she also took stands on tough political issues, both in her dance (e.g., Deep Song, 1937, which "expressed her anguish over the brutal Spanish Civil War") and in her life?she refused to perform at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin ("How could I dance in Nazi Germany?"). But Freedman does not paint an unblemished picture. His abundant sources, including unpublished transcripts of an interview with Graham's longtime companion Louis Horst, as well as his own interviews with Graham's former dancers, colleagues and friends, make clear the shadow side of her passionate nature. What emerges from these pages is a multilayered view of a genius who danced and choreographed, and designed her own costumes and lighting, but who was also human?a woman who laughed and cried, hoped and feared, and who unflinchingly followed her dream. Stunning photographs, arrayed chronologically, demonstrate the dramatic changes Graham wrought upon dance as a discipline. Four at the close of the volume, showing Graham in what appear to be a dance sequence, are particularly spectacular. This outstanding biography speaks not only to dancers but to anyone interested in the arts, history or the American entrepreneurial spirit. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books; First Edition edition (April 20, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395746558
• ISBN-13: 978-0395746554
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 7.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,119 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > Children's Books > Biographies > Performing Arts
  • #67 in Books > Children's Books > Arts, Crafts & Music > Performing Arts > Dance

More About the Author

Russell Freedman received the Newbery Medal for LINCOLN: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY. He is also the recipient of three Newbery Honors, a National Humanities Medal, the Sibert Medal, the Orbis Pictus Award, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, and was selected to give the 2006 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture. Mr. Freedman lives in New York City and travels widely to research his books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple, and clear..., August 8, 2000

By 

Sebastien Sabatier Curial (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Martha Graham: A Dancer's Life (Hardcover)

I am a former Graham Dancer, and when I saw this book, I had some very intense emotions, it shows Martha in her best years, the pictures are beautiful, some of them are very rare to see, and if you want to see the beauty, or the drama, of that Incredible American Woman, this is the book you need to own. As a Graham Based Dance Teacher, I use this book to show some intentions in the movement, or I simply quote her, I wish you a wonderful Journey in the world of Martha Graham...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Martha Graham, a dancers life, April 25, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Martha Graham: A Dancer's Life (Hardcover)

It's a great book, I read it for my book report book, and i just absolutely loved it! It's great for kids over 9+. It teaches you the whole life story, and some people she worked with, including Liza Minnely, and Madonna. And her whole family, to her dad, mom, sisters, to her nanny, look inside this book for another persons life, that you just get lost in, when i read it, i thought i was there.
Hope Ya Read It!!!!!
Thanks.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Elegant Trio of Words, Pictures and Feelings, July 20, 2003

By 

Julie Jordan Scott "Writer, Life Coach - Owne... (Bakersfield, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Martha Graham: A Dancer's Life (Hardcover)

This book is a beautiful, concise study of her life. Studying Martha Graham's life is an awakening experience. Reading Graham's memoir "Blood Memory" simultaneously provides a beautiful counterpoint, knowing the subject will not observe herself in the same way as her biographer.

I dance away from this book with a definite appreciation for Graham's brilliance in creativity and willingness to navigate the many rough patches she encountered AND give such a gift to humanity at the same time.

The numbers of influential people she touched is amazing and enlightening.

I suggest this book for any creative thinker: there are applications for all of us.