Imagined Wing

Last updated

Imagined Wing is a ballet choreographed by Martha Graham to Jeux de Printemps by composer Darius Milhaud. The piece was first presented on October 30, 1944, in the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Auditorium at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Costumes were designed by Edythe Gilfond; the set was created by Isamu Noguchi. Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge commissioned the work, along with two other Graham dances, and musical scores for all three dances. Also on the program were Mirror Before Me set to music by Paul Hindemith (later renamed Herodiade) and Appalachian Spring performed to music by Aaron Copland. [1] Imagined Wing's initial showing was also its last. Following tepid reviews, the piece was never performed again. [2]

Martha Graham American dancer and choreographer

Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide.

Darius Milhaud French composer and teacher

Darius Milhaud was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and Brazilian music and make extensive use of polytonality. Milhaud is considered one of the key modernist composers.

Isamu Noguchi artist

Isamu Noguchi was a Japanese American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public works, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces, some of which are still manufactured and sold.

Contents

Theme, structure and original cast

Described in program notes as "a fantasy of theater with several characters in various imagined places." The Prompter sets the stage with a phrase from William Shakespeare. The subsequent spoken passages are also excerpted from his writings. [3] Most details of Imagined Wing's structure have been lost, but one reviewer jotted down a few of the various settings: the woods, the market place, the castle hall, as well as the name of the castle hall scene, The Lady Distracted in Her Dream. [4]

William Shakespeare English playwright and poet

William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His extant works, including collaborations, consist of approximately 39 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Graham did not appear in the work, which was danced by the Martha Graham Dance Company. The original cast members were:

Martha Graham Dance Company

The Martha Graham Dance Company, founded in 1926, is known for being the oldest American dance company. Founded by Martha Graham as a contemporary dance company, it continued to perform pieces, revive classics, and train dancers even after Graham's death in 1991. The company is critically acclaimed in the artistic world and has been recognized as "one of the great dance companies of the world" by the New York Times and as "one of the seven wonders of the artistic universe" by the Washington Post.

Yuriko Kikuchi, known to audiences by her stage name Yuriko, is an American dancer and choreographer. She is best known for her work with the Martha Graham Dance Company.

Erick Hawkins American dancer

Frederick Hawkins, known as Erick Hawkins, was an American modern-dance choreographer and dancer.

Merce Cunningham American dancer

Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He is also notable for his frequent collaborations with artists of other disciplines, including musicians John Cage, David Tudor, Brian Eno, Radiohead, artists Robert Rauschenberg, Bruce Nauman, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella, Jasper Johns, and costume designer Rei Kawakubo. Works that he produced with these artists had a profound impact on avant-garde art beyond the world of dance.

Critical reception

The fact Imagined Wing premiered alongside two now-acknowledged Graham masterpieces likely contributed to its poor reception. New York Times critic John Martin thought the piece the weakest of the three works on the program. Despite having "bits of amusing stage directions," as a dance composition, "it lacks body and point." [6] The Dance Observer 's reviewer made similar observations, "Some of the sketches were ingenious," but as a whole the work was "rather slight and improvisational." [7] Theatre Arts Magazine's reporter expressed puzzlement and the conclusion that perhaps the work would reveal its importance during subsequent viewings. [8]

Milhaud's score was also generally disparaged, "pleasant, but trivial," according to one critic; "pretty far removed from Miss Graham's style," wrote another. [6] Only Noguchi's set was spared unfavorable review. [4]

Backstory

Three years after the piece debuted, Graham dancer Marjorie Mazia Guthrie spoke with dance educator/author Ted Dalbotten about Imagined Wing's origins. According to Mazia, Graham disliked Milhaud's score and kept postponing the ballet's creation. One week before the performance, Graham gathered her troupe and doled out the various sections, solos, duets and trios, for the dancers to choreograph on their own. Two or three days before the premiere, Graham reportedly viewed the dancers' efforts and quickly composed transitional entrances and exits. To Dalbotten, Mazia's revelation also explained the work's title, which he viewed as a private joke on Graham's part.

Thus with imagined wing our swift scene flies
In motion of no less celerity
Than that of thought.
(William Shakespeare, Henry V, Prologue, Act III) [8]

Related Research Articles

Harry Horner American art director

Harry Horner was an Austro-Hungarian-born American art director who made a successful career in Hollywood as an Oscar-winning art director and as a feature film and television director.

Philip Phile (c.1734–1793) was a German-American composer and violinist. His year of birth is uncertain, but believed to be approximately 1734. His works include a lost Violin Concerto (1787), but he is best known for "The President's March", written and performed at the inauguration of President George Washington.

Zoltán Bonta is a Hungarian filmmaker and videographer. From 1985 to 1987, he was member of Directory in Béla Balázs Studio (BBS). Since 1979 assistant to Gábor Bódy among other filmdirectors, az Ferenc András, Ferenc Kardos, Sándor Simó, Lajos Koltay, Pál Sándor, János Dömölky, Tamás Sas, Fabio Carpi, Gary Jones, Rakesh Mehra. Collaborating since 2004 with Professor Géza Bethlenfalvy tibetologist, indologist on promoting in books and films the Indian-Hungarian historical and cultural relations. Founder of the Oriental Film Association.

<i>The Waning Sex</i> 1926 film by Robert Zigler Leonard

The Waning Sex is a 1926 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. Based on the 1923 play of the same name by Fanny and Frederic Hatton, the film starred Norma Shearer and Conrad Nagel. The film currently exists in archives.

Hérodiade de Stéphane Mallarmé: Recitation orchestrale is a composition by Paul Hindemith written in June 1944 on commission from Martha Graham, supported by funds from the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation. The ballet premiered under the title of Herodiade in the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Auditorium at the Library of Congress in Washington DC. The premiere took place on 30 October 1944, sharing the program with Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring and Darius Milhaud's Jeux du printemps, with Martha Graham and May O'Donnell in the leading roles. The choreography was by Martha Graham, stage design was by the Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi, and costumes by Edythe Gilfond.

Cave of the Heart is a one-act ballet choreographed by Martha Graham to music by Samuel Barber. It was first performed on May 10, 1946, with the title Serpent Heart, at the second annual Festival of Contemporary American Music in the McMillin Theater of Columbia University. Serpent Heart was commissioned by the festival sponsor, The Alice M. Ditson Fund.

Errand into the Maze is a Martha Graham ballet based on a poem by Ben Belitt set to music by Gian Carlo Menotti. The surrealistic set was designed by Isamu Noguchi, the costumes by Graham herself. The dance uses the Greek myth of Ariadne and the Minotaur to explore the theme of conquering one’s inner demons, more specifically the fear of sexual intimacy. The piece premiered at the Ziegfeld Theatre on February 28, 1947, with Graham as the protagonist, a sort of female Theseus, and Mark Ryder as the Minotaur-like character.

<i>Every Soul is a Circus</i> ballet

Every Soul Is a Circus is a comedic ballet choreographed by Martha Graham. The dance premiered on December 27, 1939, at the St. James Theatre in New York City. The original score was composed by Paul Nordoff. Philip Stapp created the set. Edythe Gilfond designed the costumes. The production marked the first appearance of Merce Cunningham with the Martha Graham Dance Company.

Chorale is a modern dance work choreographed by Martha Graham to music by César Franck. The piece premiered on April 18, 1926 at New York's 48 Street Theater in the first independent concert presented by Graham. Members of the newly formed Martha Graham Concert Group, Thelma Biracree, Evelyn Sabin and Betty Macdonald, also appeared in the piece. A critic for The Democrat-Chronicle reported the dance was "subtle" with a "dark, emotional mood."

Deaths and Entrances is a ballet choreographed by Martha Graham performed to music by Hunter Johnson. Arch Lauterer created the original set; Edythe Gilfond designed the costumes. The ballet was well-received from the first performance despite being labeled as one of Graham's most personal, least accessible works. Oscar de la Renta created new costumes for the ballet's 2005 revival. The piece premiered on July 18, 1943, at Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont. The first performance was an informal preview for which the dancers wore practice clothes although the set was in place.

Primitive Mysteries is a modern dance work choreographed by Martha Graham to music by Louis Horst. Graham also designed the original costumes. The piece premiered on February 2, 1931 at the Craig Theatre in New York City. From the first performance, critics hailed the ballet as a masterpiece and acknowledged Graham's rising role as a major force in American dance.

Punch and the Judy is a comic ballet about marital discord choreographed by Martha Graham to music by Robert McBride. Arch Lauterer designed the set, Charlotte Trowbridge, the costumes. Edward Gordon Craig provided text for the narrated portions. The piece premiered on August 10, 1941, at the Bennington College Theatre in Bennington, Vermont.

American Document is a modern dance work choreographed by Martha Graham in response to rising Fascism in 1930s Europe. The piece premiered on August 6, 1938 at the Vermont State Armory in Bennington, Vermont. The ballet features spoken word excerpts from the Declaration of Independence and Emancipation Proclamation, among other texts. The set was created by Arch Lauterer; the costumes were designed by Edythe Gilfond. The original music was written by Ray Green. Graham extensively reworked the choreography in 1989. John Corigliano's Oboe Concerto replaced Green's music for the revised version.

El Penitente is a modern dance work by Martha Graham performed to music by Louis Horst. It premiered on August 11, 1940, at the Bennington College Theater, Bennington, Vermont, with costumes by Edythe Gilfond and a set by Arch Lauterer. Isamu Noguchi later redesigned the set and created a new mask.

Land Be Bright is a modern dance work choreographed by Martha Graham to music by Arthur Kreutz with a set and costumes by Charlotte Trowbridge. The unabashedly patriotic piece premiered on March 14, 1942, at Chicago's Civic Opera House. The original cast included Graham and members of the Martha Graham Dance Company.

Lamentation is a modern dance solo choreographed by Martha Graham to Zoltán Kodály's 1910 Piano Piece, Op. 3, No. 2. One of Graham's signature works, it premiered on January 8, 1930 at Maxine Elliott's Theatre in New York City. The performance was part of a concert staged by the Dance Repertory Theatre, a group that included dancer/choreographers Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman and Helen Tamiris. Their stated goal was "to give annually a season of continuous dance programs which will be representative of the art of dance in America and will give native artists an outlet for their creative work."

Dolorosa is a modern dance solo choreographed by Martha Graham to music by Heitor Villa-Lobos. The work premiered on February 2, 1931, at New York's Craig Theatre. Dolorosa sometimes appeared in program notes with the subtitle from Primitive Cycle or from Primitive Cycle-Dance of Sorrow II.

Columbiad is a solo modern dance choreographed by Martha Graham to music by Louis Horst. Edythe Gilfond designed the costume; Philip Stapp created the set. The ballet premiered on December 27, 1939, at the St. James Theatre in New York City. Columbiad's debut was part of an event called the Holiday Dance Festival, which included four additional works by Graham and pieces by the American Ballet Caravan, Carmalita Maracci and Dance Group, and Korean modern dancer Sai Shoki.

Battle of Waterloo is a song for piano written by G. Anderson in the 1860s and dedicated to the Duke of Wellington. It was published by National Music Co. The sheet music can be found at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, as well as the Library of Congress and the University of Maine.

The Game of Chinese Chess engraving

The Game of Chinese Chess or The Game of Chinese Checkers is a drawing by the French artist François Boucher, showing an orientalised image of two people playing Xiangqi - actual Xiangqi pieces are all round, whereas the shapes of the pieces in the drawing are more varied.

References

  1. ↑ Imagined Wing (Ballet choreographed by Martha Graham), Performing Arts Encyclopedia, Library of Congress, http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200182840/default.html
  2. ↑ Alice Helpern, Martha Graham: A special issue of the journal Choreography and Dance (Choreography and Dance: An International Journal, Vol 5 Part 2), Psychology Press, 1999, p. 34
  3. ↑ John Martin, Announcement of previously unscheduled Martha Graham Performance at the Library of Congress, The New York Times, October 29, 1944 http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200153489/default.html
  4. 1 2 Patricia Simmons, Graham Group Dances Trio of New Works, Washington Star, October 31, 1944 http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200153477/default.html
  5. ↑ Program of the Tenth Festival of Chamber Music, The Library of Congress, October 28, 29 and 30, p. 11 1944 http://lcweb2.loc.gov/natlib/ihas/service/graham.1/200153473/200153473.pdf
  6. 1 2 John Martin, Graham Dancers in Festival Finale, The New York Times, November 1, 1944 http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200153478/pageturner.html
  7. ↑ Robert Sabin, Dance at the Coolidge Festival, Dance Observer, December 1944 http://lcweb2.loc.gov/natlib/ihas/service/graham.1/200153494/200153494.pdf
  8. 1 2 Ted Dalbotten, To Bear Witness, Xlibris Corporation, Jul 17, 2007, p. 89-92
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.