Martha Graham- my reaction

Due to my incredibly artistic semester I've been exposed to a lot of new artists. My appreciation for art of all types has really exploded. Up until this year I've only really been exposed to the "old masters" of art, and I had almost no idea about artists in the 20th and 21st centuries. There are so many ground breaking artists who have done amazing things in the last 100 years. In class we learned about Martha Graham and her work with modern dance. I have to say I was a little skeptical at first. Her dances have a lot going on. Because I was so confused by her work, I went out of my way to expose myself to more of it. I decided to look at her work with a more open mind. Okay first of all, the sheer athleticism of her dancers is amazing. That is something to be admired at in itself. But the way she really captures emotion through movement is beautiful. It may seem a bit confusing at first but when you actually think about why she chose choreographed each movement, it seems to all make sense. Take this clip for example;

This dance is called Lamentation. I'll admit that I had to look up what lamentation meant.  To lament is a passionate expression of grief. Knowing that definition, you can absolutely see thats why Martha is trying to express through her dancing. Its chilling.

I admire her for breaking the norm of what dance is expected to be. Her vision has changed dance forever.