Note from Stuart:<P>To speed up the latest Graham discussion thread, I have shifted the letter and the list of supporters to this new thread. So you may well have read this before.<P>We print below an open letter (together with a preamble and an addendum) from the dancers of The Martha Graham Company regarding the current emergency. In the posting below there is a list of the supporters - lots of them.<P><BR><u>Premable</u><P>I am sure you must be aware of the terrible situation that we at the Martha Graham Dance Company have found ourselves in. The dancers felt strongly that we could not just sit back and let this all fall apart without voicing a strong statement of how we view the crisis we find ourselves in. Too many years of saying nothing for the love of Martha's work and the fear of losing it. You both know what that means. Now that we have nothing and yet ALL to lose we have, since the Board's decision to 'suspend' operations and cancelled all engagements slated for the year, composed a letter to the public. <P>The letter follows and I believe will speak for itself. The letter will be sent to the dance community that includes dance companies and institutions that would be considering working with the Martha Graham Trust, as well as those dancers and professional staff that would be contacted to mount the work on the companies. Along with ours, we have gathered many names of Graham alumni and professional staff as well as those from the friends and colleagues who are in support of our efforts. It has taken since May 25th for the dancer's to come to this place in the letter as it has been very painful. <P><BR><u>The Letter</u><P>Dear Friends and Colleagues<P>The future of Martha Graham's body of work, universal in its scope is in grave danger, and faces the very real prospect of extinction. We, the dancers of the Martha Graham Dance Company and many of the dancers who preceded us, believe this tragedy is avoidable and that immediate, concerted action by the international artistic community is essential. Martha's work has been our life ? and her Company our livelihood. <P>We now ask for your support in our struggle to revive the Company and to rescue the precious legacy of Martha Graham. For that to happen, we believe certain issues must be understood and candidly addressed. On May 25, 2000 the Board of Trustees of the Martha Graham Center for Contemporary Dance voted to suspend operations of the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Martha Graham School and its Ensemble. Since the death of Martha Graham in 1991 a gulf has grown between The Center whose function it is to perform and teach the Graham works and Mr. Ron Protas who recently established the Martha Graham Trust to administer his rights to the works of Martha Graham. The May 25th decision was a direct consequence of the Board's inability to raise funds because of the intractable, longstanding conflict over artistic issues and finances between the Center and Mr. Protas. This and the failure of Mr. Protas to honor an agreement to step down as artistic director of the Company are at the core of the tragic situation imperiling the survival of the entire Center. <P>Mr. Protas inherited Martha Graham's works and it is apparent to us that his exploitation of this position has alienated presenters, sponsors and members of the philanthropic community thus preventing the Center from receiving the grants and funds necessary to ensure its survival. He also has a history of adversarial, contentious relationships with past and present dancers and staff that has produced a destructive working environment. In addition, he has now announced that he has withdrawn permission for the Martha Graham Dance Company to perform all the ballets she created on the Company ? while at the same time continuing to license those works to other companies. <P>These actions and his egregious behavior have created the untenable situation that undermines the Company and threatens the legacy of Martha Graham. We believe that renewed negotiations between the Trust and the Center to restructure the relationship between them are necessary. Such a restructuring must ensure a respectful, constructive, artistically driven working environment with complete autonomy for the Center and allow invaluable contributions of past and present artists of the Graham Company and School to be respected and utilized. If other companies are to license the ballets from the Trust WITHOUT the Company existing to set the standard for Martha Graham's works, the aesthetic values she devoted her life to will be gravely and forever diminished. <P>Throughout the Company's existence and its many generations of dancers, runs the deep commitment to the Martha Graham technique and theater necessary to the mastery of her work. This continuity and commitment makes the Martha Graham Dance Company the repository of the vast knowledge embodied in her work. It is imperative that the entire dance community, including Mr. Protas, realize that should this Company and School close, the world would be deprived of the home Martha Graham created nearly 75 years ago uniquely dedicated to the creation and continued performance of her work. <P>To preserve the integrity of Martha Graham's work until the Martha Graham Center can be revived, we ask all other dance companies and institutions to refrain from licensing and performing any Graham work. We ask all artists to refrain from participating in the mounting of any Graham work. We ask all dancers to refrain from accepting engagements to perform any Graham work. All of us know the cost of acting on this statement. We do so because our Company and its legacy face extinction. <P>It is our hope that this tragedy will give birth to a new and sustainable future for the Company and School uniquely dedicated to presenting the genius of Martha Graham. We acknowledge that Mr. Protas devoted a significant part of his life to Martha Graham and ask that he honor his commitment to Martha's work by negotiating a new licensing agreement with the Center to ensure the life of the Company and School. <P>Prominent individuals and organizations in the arts and cultural world have come forward to offer their support to the Company in this emergency. The American Guild of Musical Artists, representing 5,000 dance and operatic artists worldwide, the Martha Graham Center's professional staff and the Board of Trustees, support our efforts. We now call upon the international artistic community to stand with us to bring about these changes to preserve some of the most profound dance art created in the modern world. <P>The Dancers of the Martha Graham Dance Company:<BR>Elizabeth Auclair, Miriam Barbosa, Jennifer Binford, Ariel Bonilla, Tadej Brdnik, Terese Capucilli, Katherine Crockett, Christine Dakin, Erica Dankmeyer, Theresa DaSilva, Jennifer DePalo, Alyssa Dodson, Javier Dzul, Gary Galbraith, Christophe Jeannot, Nai-Yu Kuo, Kristin Lodoen, Martin Lofsnes, Virginie Mecene, Miki Orihara, Amy Piantaggini, Alessandra Prosperi, Fang-Yi Sheu <P>Former Company Members (current as of 7/10/00): Takako Asakawa, Chad Bantner, Thea Nerissa Barnes, Patricia Birch, David Brown, Kathy Buccelato, Jacqulyn Buglisi, Mario Camacho, David Chase, Mimi Cole, Daniel Cardoso, Duane Cyrus, Janet Eilber, Judy Garay, Stuart Hodes, Nina Fonaroff, Penny Frank, Sophie Giovanola, Diane Gray, Bonnie Oda Homsey, Sandra Kaufman, Yuriko Kimura, Elisa King, Pearl Lang, Lone Larsen, Donald McKayle, Theresa Maldonado Marchok, Daniel Maloney, Sophie Maslow, Susan McLain, Susan McGuire, Lucinda Mitchell, Elisa Monte, Anthony Morgan, Rika Okamoto, Carl Paris, Kevin Predmore, Peter Roel, Mathew Rose, Bertram Ross, Jeanne Ruddy, Susan Sentler, Gus Solomons Jr., Tancredo Tavares, Marnie Thomas, Ken Topping, Denise Vale, Dudley Williams, Ethel Winter, David Wood <P>Visit us at <A HREF="http://www.MarthaGrahamCenter.org" TARGET=_blank>www.MarthaGrahamCenter.org</A> <P><BR>ADDENDUM <P>The first of many presenters and audiences to suffer from the sudden suspension of operations of the Company was the American Dance Festival, which had planned to open its 2000 summer season with the Martha Graham Dance Company. We understood and appreciated the attempts of ADF directors Charles and Stephanie Reinhart to save their season by offering the dancers individual contracts to perform the works of Martha Graham not as the Martha Graham Dance Company, but as employees of ADF, which would be licensed by the Martha Graham Trust. As dancers, we live to dance and must pay bills like everyone else, and to this date are due considerable salary. So when we voted to refuse the ADF offer, one must ask why this sacrifice was made. The answer is simply that had we accepted, it would have set a precedent and sabotaged efforts of the Graham Board of Trustees to save the Company and re-establish its sound fiscal footing by attracting back its financial supporters. <P><BR>

With respect to the letter posted above, here is the list of supporters with a short preamble. It's an impresive list, including a large number of people associated with the Martha Graham legacy. Also included are Bill T Jones, Lucinda Childs, Claire Bloom and from the UK, Marion North, Director of the prestigeous Laban Centre. <P>Sorry that the formatting of the names has been lost. <P>These artists and colleagues support us in our efforts (current as of 7/10/00) We extend our gratitude to all who support us. Please add your name to our growing list by contacting us: <BR>The Dancers of the Martha Graham Dance Company The Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, Inc. One Citicorp Center 153 East 53rd St, Suite 5101 New York, NY 10022 Phone: 212-838-5886 Email us at MarthaGrahamCo@aol.com. <P>Visit us at <A HREF="http://www.MarthaGrahamCenter.org" TARGET=_blank>www.MarthaGrahamCenter.org</A> <P><BR>The Supporters<P>Yannis Adoniou (Dancer/Choreographer, Kunst-stoff) Dr. Elena Albano Russ Alley (Former Executive Director, Martha Graham Center) Bjorn Amelan (Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company) Dewey Anderson (General Manager, Florida International Festival) Judith Angelson (Writer/Actor) Eric Angelson (Producer) Mary Anthony (Artistic Director, Mary Anthony Dance Company) Christine M. Awe (Managing Director, Valencia Performing Arts Academy) Marianne Bachnann (Former Director & Dean of Students, Martha Graham School; Teacher, Martha Graham School) Michele Ballantini (Dance photographer) Brenda Banden-Semper (Teacher, Choreographer) Henrietta Bannerman (Lecturer/Supervisor, Laban Centre) Nolini Barretto (Formerly Administrative Director of the Martha Graham School; Presently Director of Marketing, Dance Theater Workshop) Barabara Kres Beach (Past President and Member of Board of Directors, Arts Council of Fairfax County; Founding Director, Dance Umbrella of Austin, Texas and Cleveland Modern Dance) Beate Becker (Past President, Westchester Dance Council; Dance Therapist and Psychoanalyst) Kathy Beckman (Kilgore College) Maher Benham (Faculty Martha Graham School and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; Founder and Artistic Director, Coyote Dancers) Chris Bergman (Dancer; Editor in Chief of High Ass - a dance-art-performance journal) Cynthia F. Berrol (Theater & Dance, California State Univ) Colleen Blair (NewDance) Claire Bloom Andrei Bourtsev (CEO, Atlantis Enterprises) Elaine Bowman (Artistic Director, Dancers' Studio West) Karen Brown (Artistic Director, Oakland Ballet) Martha Brassel (House Manager, Vilar Center for the Arts) Shaw Bronner (Physical Therapist, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; Director, Soar Research) Patty Bryan (Executive Director, DanceBrazil) Dr. Ramsay Burt (Senior Research Fellow in Dance, De Montfort University) Wally Cardona (Choreographer) Lucrezia Caricola (Lecturer of Graham technique, Laban Centre) Cherie Carson (Dancer/Choreographer) Sharon Chaiklin Quentin Chiappetta (Musician, Martha Graham Center) Lucinda Childs (Choreographer/Artistic Director, Lucinda Childs Dance Company) Gabri Christa (Artistic Director, Gabri Christa/The Dancers' Co-op) Sandi Combest (Chair of Dance, University of North Texas) Caitlin Corbett (Dance Program Coordinator, Salem State College) Andrea Corvino Ernesta Corvino Alfredo Corvino Sebastien Sabatier Curial (Martha Graham Ensemble) Sean Curran (Artistic Director, Sean Curran Dance) Judy Daitsman (Former Lighting Supervisor/Lighting Designer, Martha Graham Dance Company) Patrick Daugherty (Musician, Martha Graham Center) Rod DeJong (Owner, Resonance Therapy) Carmen De Lavallade (Dancer, Actress, Educator, Choreograper) Todd Dellinger (Former Executive Director, Martha Graham Center; Presently Executive Director, MonteBrown Dance) Justin Dello Joio (Composer) Penny Diamantopoulou (Martha Graham Ensemble) Elaine Dowling (Dancer/Choreographer/Teacher) Jenny Emerson (Martha Graham Ensemble) Beverly Emmons (Lighting Designer; Artistic Director, Lincoln Center Institute) William Esper (Master acting teacher, Neighborhood Playhouse and Esper studios) Daniel Ezralow (Choreographer) Arne Fagerholt (Artistic Director Designate, Carte Blanche Dance Company) Laura Faure (Director, Bates Dance Festival) Adria Ferrali (Formerly Martha Graham Ensemble) Ginger Folmer (Professor and Coordinator of Dance Program, Centenary College) Juliet Forrest (Choreographer and Professor, Goucher College) Scott Galbraith (Director of Marketing & Public Relations, Blue Jacket Drama) Alessandra Gallone (Writer, Dance Europe) Mimi Garrard (Artistic Director, Mimi Garrard Dance Company) Georgette Gebara (Founder and Director of the Lebanese School of Ballet; Secretary of the International Dance Committee of ITI - UNESCO; Founding member of the Lebanese Syndicate of Performing Artists; Dance Critic) Gina Gibney (Artistic Director, Gina Gibney Dance) Joseph Gifford (Professor Emeritus, School of the Arts, Boston University) Laura Glenn (Faculty, Juilliard Dance Faculty; Works and Ted Hershey Dance <BR>Marathon) Maxine Glorsky (Former Stage Manager, Martha Graham Dance Company) J.R. Glover (Education Programs Director, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival) Rachel Grisi (Martha Graham Ensemble) Amy Hagen (United Nations) John B. N. Hanks (Faculty Musician, American Dance Festival) Reed Hansen (Musician, Martha Graham Center, The Juilliard School) Benjamin Harkarvy (Artistic Director Dance Division, The Juilliard School) Amy Harrison (Former Administrative Director of the Martha Graham School) Austin Hartel (Choreographer, Director, Dancer, Dalton-Hartel Dance) Dana Hash (Former Principal Dancer, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; Presently Assistant Professor of Dance, Long Island University) Baird Hastings (Writer/Critic) Lesley Hendricks (Artistic Director, Byrne Miller Dance Theater) Patrizia Herminjard (Martha Graham Ensemble) Jonathan Hollander (Artistic Director, Battery Dance Company) Susan Hughes Gingrasso (Program Head of Dance, University of Wisconsin) Whitney Hunter (Martha Graham Ensemble) Ellen Highstein (Director, Tanglewood Music Center) Michael E. Hill (Director, The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts) Geoffrey Holder (Director, Choreographer) Nicola Iervasi (Martha Graham Ensemble) Kristina Isabelle (Stephen Petronio Dance Company) Judith Jamison (Artistic Director, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater) Denise Jefferson (Director, Alvin Ailey School) Betty Jones (Artistic Director, Dances We Dance) Bill T. Jones (Artistic Director, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company) Dennis Jones (Dreamcatcher Imaging) Øyvind Jørgensen (Formerly Martha Graham Ensemble; Presently Artistic Director, Ø. J. Productions) Dr. Luke Kahlich (Professor, Department of Dance, Temple University) Kathyrn Karipides (Professor Emerita of Dance, Case Western Reserve University) Bill Katz Elizabeth Keen (Choreographer/Teacher, Juilliard School) Elizabeth Kendall (Dance Critic) Linda Kent (Formerly Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Paul Taylor Dance Company; Currently teacher, Juilliard) Roger Kent (Development Office, The Martha Graham Center) Amy Kiehl (Former Stage Manager, Martha Graham Dance Company) Billie Kirpich (Florida Dance Association) David Kneuss (Executive Director of Stage Directors, Metropolitan Opera) Kari Knudson (Dancer/Rehearsal Director, Jump Rhythm Jazz Project) Dawn Kramer (Artistic Director, Boston Dance Collective) Dan Kwong (Performer; Board of Directors, Highways Performance Space) Lucinda Lavelli, (Director, School of Dance, Theatre, and Arts Administration, The University of Akron) Margot Lehman (Former Director of Dance, Marymount College-Tarrytown; Past President, Westchester Dance Council) Barry Leon (Professional Dancer) Glenn Leslie (Jump Rhythm Jazz Project) Joan M. Levine (The Dancing Path) Kun-Yang Lin (Artistic Director, Kylin's Garden/Dancers; Associate Artistic Director, Mary Anthony Dance Company) Sharon Luckman (Executive Director, Alvin Ailey Dance Theater Foundation, Inc.) Fritz Ludin (Dances We Dance) Maria Lindh (Executive Director, DansCentrum; Dance Critic) Gary Lindsey (Booking agent for the Martha Graham Dance Company and Ensemble) Mariah Malec (Dancer, hjw/Dimensions Dance Company; Teacher/Choreographer) Muriel Manings (Past President, American Dance Guild) Michele Mariotti (Martha Graham Ensemble) Leslie Martin (Vice President, American Dance Guild) Gesel Mason (Artistic Director, Mason/Rhynes Productions; Dancer, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange) Michelle Mathesius (Director of Dance, LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts) Doug Mau (Former General Manager, Martha Graham Center) Steve Mauer (Former Head Carpenter, Martha Graham Dance Company) Carla Maxwell (Artistic Director, Jose Limon Dance Foundation) Jim May (Choreographer; Formerly Jose Limon Dance Company) Melissa McCorkle (Martha Graham Ensemble) Tamara McDonald (PAC Series Coordinator, Western Washington University) Beth McGee (Theater Arts Faculty, Case Western Reserve University) Kathleen McNulty Cynthia G. Meiri (Certified Massage Therapist) Nan Melville (Photographer/Graham Archivist) Marilyn Miller (Assistant Company <BR>Manager, Martha Graham Dance Company) Autumn Mist Belk (Dancer/Choreographer) Cindy Mitchell Melissa A. Mitchell Gary Moore (Dance Director, BTW Dance Theatre) Myron Howard Nadel (Associate Dean for the Fine and Performing Arts, The University of Texas at El Paso) Patricia N Nanon (Founder Artistic Director, The Yard) Maurizio Nardi (Martha Graham Ensemble) Nelson Neal (President, National Dance Association) Walter Nicks (Teacher/Choreographer) Douglas Nielson (Associate Professor, University of California Long Beach) Marion North (Director, Laban Center) Kilian O'Callaghan (Dance Teacher; Previously Male Dance Tutor New Zealand School of Dance) Selma Odom (Professor of Dance, York University) Cynthia Oliver (Choreographer) Carrie Olsen (Formerly Martha Graham Ensemble) Hilary Ostlere (Arts Writer/Dance Critic) Norton Owen (Director of Preservation, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival; Institute Director, José Limón Dance Foundation) Carol Parker (Former Dancer, Pilobolus Dance Theatre, White Oak Dance Project, May O'Donnell Dance Company; Currently Faculty, ADF) Carla Peterson (Former managing director, National Performance Network, Dance Theater Workshop; Currently free-lance arts consultant) Brad Petot (Technical Director and Designer, Case Western Reserve University) Gaile Petursson-Hiley (Choreographer in Residence, Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers) Stephen Pier Elsa Piperno Marcia Plevin (American Dance Therapy Association, U.S.A.; Art Therapy Italiana, Bologna, Italy) Karen Potter (Director of Dance, Case Western Reserve University) Todd Rappaport (Formerly Marketing and Public Relations, Martha Graham Dance Company) Trista C. Redavid (Murray Louis and Nikolais Dance Company) Rebecca Rigert (Dancer, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company; formerly White Oak Dance Project, Elisa Monte) Carolyn Rosenfield (Dancer and Movement Educator) Daniel Roumain (Musician, Martha Graham School) David Sannella (Composer; Musician) Vernon Scott (Former dancer, White Oak Dance Project and Mark Morris Dance Group) Aaron Sherber (Conductor, Martha Graham Dance Company) Rima Sokoloff (Director of Dance, Molloy College; Past President, American Dance Guild) Robert Spano (Conductor, Brooklyn Philharmonic and Atlanta Symphony) LeAnne Smith Stedman (Artistic Director/Opening Door Dance Theatre; Chair/University Arts Committee, Southwest Texas State University) Ted Sothern (Professional Dancer) Risa Steinberg (Solo Artist; Teacher) Ernestine Stodelle (Writer/Dance Critic) Gretchen Stresemann (Freelance Writer) Yuko Suzuki (Martha Graham Ensemble) Paula Suozzi (Associate Artistic Director, Skylight Theater Opera) Linda Tarnay (Master Teacher, NYU Tisch School of the Arts) Clay Taliaferro (Dance Artist and Professor, Duke University) Alice Teirstein (Director, Young Dancemakers Company; Director, Fieldston School Dance Program) Henry Van Kuiken (Director of Dance, Barnard College, Columbia University) Jelon Viera (Artistic Director, DanceBrazil) Marietta Vrettou (Rehearsal Assistant, Martha Graham Dance Company) Carol K. Walker (Dean, Conservatory of Dance Purchase College, State University of New York) John Wallowitch (composer) Thomas Warfield (Director, PeaceArts; Professor of Dance, SUNY Rochester) Shelley Washington Angela Weile (Former International Student Advisor, Martha Graham School) Lillian E. Weisberg (DANCECleveland) Elizabeth Weil Bergmann (Dance Director, Office of the Arts, Harvard University) Susan Whelan (Former Stage Manager, Martha Graham Dance Company) Hannah C. Wiley (Professor of Dance, University of Washington; Director of the Dance Program, Chamber Dance Company, UW Summer Arts Festival) Allison Fay Winters Jeffrey Wirsing (Costumer, Martha Graham Dance Company) Judith Woodruff (Director, Tennessee Association of Dance) Colleen O'Leary Wright Lila York Melissa L. Wynn (Bebe Miller Dance Company) Karen Young (Costumer, Martha Graham Dance Company) Brian Zeger (Music Faculty, Juilliard School) Rochelle Zide-Booth (Associate Professor, Butler University) Alice Sachs Zimet (Former Executive Director, Martha Graham Center; Currently, Arts <BR>and Business Partnerships) Aimee Zygmonski (Former personal Assistant to Mr. Protas; Currently Press Agent, Public Theater) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- <BR>

Mellisa Mcorkle is cool!