Primitive Mysteries

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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. [1]

Contents

Theme and structure

The stark, minimalistic piece is staged for a female soloist, garbed in white, and an ensemble of sixteen female dancers, dressed in blue. The title and theme reference religious rituals as performed by Native Americans of the Southwest U.S. Graham began work on the ballet shortly after she and Horst returned from a trip to New Mexico, her imagination sparked by ceremonial dances of the native peoples. [2]

The dance is divided into three sections: Hymn to the Virgin, Crucifixus and Hosannah. In the original staging, Graham danced the role of The Virgin with the other cast members as celebrants. [3]

In each section, the Virgin enters and leaves the stage with the women in blue. Each section ends with the chorus encircling the Mary figure. [2]

Dance critic John Martin described the ballet as "the ritual integrity of a religious people who have welcomed the young gods of the white people into the company of their own ageless Indian deities of earth and sky." [5] Some viewers thought the work's overtly religious nature groundbreaking for the era. [6]

When the ballet was revived in 1999, Graham provided further insight, saying the work was not intended to represent adorants worshiping The Virgin, but as a ceremonial rite of initiation celebrating the figure through one of their own. She also revealed the inspiration for her diaphanous organdy costume as the night-blooming Cereus that flowered outside her Santa Barbara window. [7]

Performance history

Primitive Mysteries is one of Graham's signature pieces, lauded from its debut as a masterwork. [8] Yuriko was the first dancer other than Graham to perform the lead role. [9] [10] Others who have appeared as the Virgin Mary include Takako Asakawa, [4] Christine Dakin [11] and Terese Capucilli. [12] The dance is frequently performed by the Graham company.

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References

  1. ↑ Sherwood, M. "Repertory". Martha Graham Dance Company. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Deborah Jowitt, Time and the Dancing Image, University of California Press, 1989, p. 182
  3. ↑ "The Dance". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  4. 1 2 3 Kisselgoff, Anna (1987-10-12). "Ballet: Graham's 'Primitive Mysteries' and 'Judith'". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  5. ↑ "Martha Graham Offers A Revival". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  6. ↑ Primitive Mysteries, The Oxford Dictionary of the Dance, Debra Craine and Judith Mackrell, Oxford University Press, 2010, p. 358
  7. ↑ "Martha Graham Explores Primitive Mysteries". archive.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  8. ↑ Susan Gillis Kruman, Martha Graham (1894-1991), Chapter 3: The Modern Dancers, Introduction to Dance, University of Pittsburgh, Web-based tutorial http://www.pitt.edu/~gillis/dance/martha.html
  9. ↑ Greskovic, Robert (2004-05-16). "DANCE: THIS WEEK; Martha Graham's One-Name Muse". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  10. ↑ Croce, Arlene. Writing in the Dark, Dancing in the New Yorker. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2005. Print. p.194-195.
  11. ↑ "Myth & Mystery in Graham's America". The New York Sun. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  12. ↑ Karim Ajania, Terese and Martha Graham, Teaching Dance, The Brick Project http://www.brickproject.com/teaching-dance/
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