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Essay Subject:
Critically analyzes Garry Will's description of how dancer Martha Graham was an innovator and ...... More...
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2 Pages / 450 Words
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Paper Abstract: Critically analyzes Garry Will's description of how dancer/choreographer Martha Graham was an innovator and leader in advancing modern dance in America. Graham's early training, her creativity and leadersnip style.
Paper Introduction: Garry Wills on Martha Graham Garry Wills notes that an artist can be successful importantand influential without being a leader Talent alone even when coupledwith drive ambition and determination to succeed does not necessarilyresult in leadership In the case of dancer choreographer and innovatorMartha Graham a veteran of a Los Angeles dance school called Denishawn which was founded by Ruth St Denis and Ted Shawn Wills As a dancerGraham took from this school her understanding of the sacredness of thebody and a
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"Martha Graham." Certain Trumpets. She was, as Wills (2 4) states, "an artistic leader" who "promotedthe cause of modern dance in ways that would not subvert its seriousaspirations." This seems more like the commentary that one would expect ofa loyal fan rather than the scholarly analysis of a student of leadership.Perhaps the most significant thing that Wills (2 4) says about Graham as aleader is that she was the first to create a truly "American" form ofcontemporary dance. This is not to denigrate Graham's very real contributions to herfield. The argument advanced by Wills (2 4) is that while Graham was "anartist fully of her time and place," she nevertheless defied many of thecanons of her art and "led the way in dance as an integrator of Orientaland African-American dancers into her troupe." In examining and analyzing Wills' (2 4) description of Graham'sleadership style, one becomes aware that he is writing as a devoted fan ofdance in general and Graham's approach to ballet in particular. The question remains of whether Graham perceivedherself as a leader or simply as a driven artist with a particular visionof what cold be accomplished via dance. Garry Wills on Martha Graham Garry Wills (197) notes that an "artist can be successful, importantand influential without being a leader." Talent alone, even when coupledwith drive, ambition and determination to succeed, does not necessarilyresult in leadership. Denis and Ted Shawn (Wills, 198). As described by Wills (199 -2 ), Graham was a willing student of the Denishawn ideology who was alsohighly motivated to create her own dance troupe and to develop newapproaches to modern dance that would resonate with dancers and audiencesalike. Pages 197 - 21 . It would be years before the American public andthe dance establishment accepted Graham's style and her inclusiveness. WhileWills (2 ) makes the case that in her early career Graham struggled toearn sufficient funds to pursue her vision and create her own troupe, andthat she was successful in this effort as well as in the effort tointegrate both different ethnic and racial groups and culture, he does notmake the case that she was a was an exceptional leader so much as a drivenartist with a social conscience. That she was innovative cannot be denied;that she undertook a form of social activism via dance is also undeniable.However, Graham's leadership was confined to her own small sphere ofactivity and, for the most part in terms of the success of her socialactivism, to her troupe. In the case of dancer, choreographer and innovatorMartha Graham, a veteran of a Los Angeles dance school called "Denishawn"which was founded by Ruth St. Work CitedWills, Garry. As a dancerGraham took from this school her understanding of the sacredness of thebody and a sense of social mobilization.
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