VOA慢速英语2012--PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Martha Graham, 1894-1991: The Mother of Modern Dance

 

PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Martha Graham, 1894-1991: The Mother of Modern Dance

STEVE EMBER: I'm Steve Ember.

BARBARA KLEIN: And I'm Barbara Klein with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. Today, we explore the life of dancer and choreographer² Martha Graham. She created almost two hundred dance pieces. She is often called the Mother of Modern Dance. Her influence on the world of dance continues today.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: In the beginning of the twentieth century, women like Isadora Duncan and Ruth Saint⁴ Denis wanted to create a new form of dance. Duncan and Saint Denis felt restricted by ballet. Modern dance was created as a revolt against ballet.

Martha Graham was one of the most famous dancers and creators of dance, called choreographers. She brought modern dance to a new level of popularity⁵ in American culture. She created a new language of movement that expressed powerful emotions.

She started traditions that are still used in modern dance today. They include expressive⁶ movements of the body to tell a dramatic story, special music, lighting⁷, stage design and costumes.

BARBARA KLEIN: Martha Graham was born in the small town of Allegheny, Pennsylvania in eighteen ninety-four. After Martha turned fourteen years old, her family moved to Santa Barbara, California. While traveling across the Midwest, Martha enjoyed the wide, open spaces of nature. She also enjoyed the beautiful flowers and plants in California. The free, expressive movements of modern dance were clearly influenced by the beauty of nature Graham observed.

STEVE EMBER: Earlier in her life, however, Martha did not know that she would become a dancer. Her father was a doctor and her family was very religious. They were members of the upper class and did not accept dance as an art form. Still, in nineteen ten, Martha's father took her to see a dance performance by Ruth Saint Denis, one of the first modern dancers in America. Martha was sixteen and she decided⁸ then that she wanted to become a dancer.

BARBARA KLEIN: Ruth Saint Denis and Isadora Duncan were at the center of attention in modern dance. They established some of the traditions we see today. For example, Duncan was famous for starting the tradition of not wearing dance shoes while performing. Saint Denis was famous for creating dances influenced by other cultures. She studied dance from countries such as Mexico and Egypt, instead of the European countries where ballet had started. Martha Graham took an immediate⁹ interest in this new art form.

STEVE EMBER: Martha's parents, however, did not approve of her sudden desire to dance. At this time, people saw American dance as a lower art form. Graham chose to follow her dream of dancing, even though she was considered too old to begin dancing. She was in her early twenties when she began studying dance in nineteen sixteen. She attended the school created by Ruth Saint Denis and her husband, Ted³ Shawn in Los Angeles, California.

At the Denishawn Dance School, Graham worked very hard to improve her ability to dance. She trained her body to become strong enough to meet the difficult demands of dance. She performed with the Denishawn dance company for several years before moving to New York City. There, Graham performed in shows but she wanted to make greater experiments with dance.

BARBARA KLEIN: Martha Graham started teaching dance at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Later she returned to New York City to teach at Carnegie Hall. She began to choreograph¹, or create the steps of dances. In order to express herself freely, she decided to establish her own dance company and school. In nineteen twenty-six she started the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance.

She enjoyed having her own company of students to perform her dances. Graham produced a dance called "Heretic" in nineteen twenty-nine. She wore all white and danced against a wall of dancers wearing all black. Graham began to work with music composer Louis Horst. She worked with him until he died in nineteen sixty-four. Graham once said that, without Horst, she would have felt lost.

STEVE EMBER: In nineteen thirty-six, Graham created "Chronicle," one of her most important dances. "Chronicle" was influenced by current events including the Great Depression and the Spanish Civil War. The dance expressed sadness and loneliness. At this time, showing strong emotions in dance was very rare. Graham also created dances based on ancient Greek tragic¹⁰ stories and famous female heroines.

At first, people did not react well to Graham's style of dancing. It was very different from European ballet, which was more commonly accepted. Graham's dances were powerful, with strong and sharp movements. Some of the movements involved contracting and releasing parts of the body, using the arms in dramatic movements and falling to the floor. These movements are still used in modern dance today.

BARBARA KLEIN: In nineteen thirty-eight, President Franklin Roosevelt's wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, invited Martha Graham to perform at the White House. She created a dance called "American Document." Graham later danced at the White House for seven other presidents.

In nineteen forty-four, Martha Graham created "Appalachian Spring," one of her most famous dances. It tells the story of a wedding among early American settlers. Aaron Copland composed this music for "Appalachian Spring."

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: In nineteen fifty-one, Graham was among the people who established the dance program at the Juilliard School in New York City. It is still one of the best arts schools in the country. Many famous artists have begun their careers by studying there. Graham created her largest dance in nineteen fifty-eight. She named it "Clytemnestra," and used music from the Egyptian composer Halim El-Dabh.

Graham worked with other famous and influential¹¹ people in the world of dance. Many of her students became famous dancers and choreographers. She also taught movement to famous people. including singer Madonna, actress Bette Davis and film director Woody Allen.

BARBARA KLEIN: Some of her dances were filmed and made into a DVD called "Martha Graham: Dance on Film." This is a collection of three programs Graham made for American public television in the nineteen fifties and sixties. "A Dancer's World" is an introduction to Graham and her work. She tells about her dances and her dance group shows some of their methods. The DVD also includes films of two of her dances, "Appalachian Spring" and "Night Journey."

STEVE EMBER: Graham continued to dance past the age of seventy. Once again, she was met with criticism from people who came to watch her shows. Younger people knew that Graham was an important influence but they did not understand the meaning behind her dances. Graham began to suffer emotionally. She began to drink too much alcohol.

She later wrote a book about herself, called "Blood Memory." In her book, she wrote that she performed for the last time in nineteen seventy, when she was seventy-six years old. Two years later Graham stopped drinking alcohol. She went back to her dance company to choreograph more dances. The final dance she completed was called "Maple¹² Leaf Rag," which she finished in nineteen ninety. Scott Joplin composed the music.

(MUSIC: "Maple Leaf Rag")

BARBARA KLEIN: Martha Graham received many awards during her lifetime, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in nineteen seventy-six. She was the first dancer to receive the country's highest civilian¹³ honor. She died in nineteen ninety-one at the age of ninety-six. In nineteen ninety-eight, Time magazine listed her as the "Dancer of the Century" and as one of the most important people of the twentieth century. The Martha Graham Dance Company still performs her dances in New York and around the world.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: This program was written by Elizabeth Stern¹⁴. It was produced by Lawan Davis. I'm Steve Ember.

BARBARA KLEIN: And I'm Barbara Klein. You can learn about other interesting Americans at our Web site, www.voanews.cn. Join us next week for PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 choreograph   

v.设计舞蹈动作

参考例句：

• Achim had choreographed the dance in Act II himself.阿希姆自己设计了第2幕的舞蹈动作。
• She has danced,choreographed,lectured and taught all over the world.她在世界各地跳过舞、编过舞、讲过学、也教过书。

2 choreographer   

n.编舞者

参考例句：

• She is a leading professional belly dancer, choreographer, and teacher. 她既是杰出的专业肚皮舞演员，也是舞蹈设计者和老师。 来自辞典例句
• It'stands aside, my choreographer of grace, and blesses each finger and toe. 它站在一旁，我优雅的舞蹈指导，并祝福每个指尖与脚尖。 来自互联网

3 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

4 saint   

n.圣徒；基督教徒；vt.成为圣徒，把...视为圣徒

参考例句：

• He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
• The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。

5 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。

6 expressive   

adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的

参考例句：

• Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
• He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的，富于表情的，生动活泼的脸。

7 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

10 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

11 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

12 maple   

n.槭树，枫树，槭木

参考例句：

• Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。

13 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

14 stern   

adj.严厉的，严格的，严峻的；n.船尾

参考例句：

• The ship was in a blaze from stem to stern.整艘船从头到尾都着火了。
• The headmaster ruled the school with a stern discipline.校长治校严谨。