<img src="http://www.csc.calpoly.edu/~rortizze/pics/graham.gif" alt="" /> i am starting this thread to take over where the other one left off, as that has become a little long and slow-loading. for the background to this story, please see http://forum.criticaldance.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=000054

to visit the new martha graham supporters website, please click on www.marthagrahamcenter.com

the Flash 4 intro at the site is excellent, but to avoid confusion, you may like to know that AFTER you've seen it, you have to click on the button that says 'Skip Intro" to go any further!

there is a petition to support the dancers, which you can add your name to by clicking to send an email.
<img src="http://www.noguchi.org/images/graham.gif" alt="" /> tadejny, coleandra, tmdell - all people with first-hand experience of this sad situation: please keep us up to date and advise of anything anyone can do. thank you!

[This message has been edited by grace (edited June 22, 2000).]

<font size = -2><center>(Edited by salzberg to fix link)</center></font>

<small>[ 08-11-2002, 16:03: Message edited by: salzberg ]</small>

some search results which may interest people, which i came across while looking for the photo.<P>this one is eerie! if you have speakers, you will hear martha's voice at the opening. it's a biography; there are also two video excerpts if you have Flash3: <A HREF="http://www.time.com/time/time100/artists/profile/graham.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.time.com/time/time100/artists/profile/graham.html</A> <P>student notes on her work and life: <A HREF="http://www.pitt.edu/~gillis/dance/martha.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.pitt.edu/~gillis/dance/martha.html</A> <P>a more detailed biography: <A HREF="http://www.gale.com/freresrc/womenhst/grahamm.htm" TARGET=_blank>http://www.gale.com/freresrc/womenhst/grahamm.htm</A> <P>

Thanks for creating this thread, grace.<P>And, tmdell, thank you for posting your "insider" thoughts and views. But I am a little confused about your stance. Continue the fight you say? But against whom?<P>Also, this may be a bit tacky but will those people (I don't know whom) who borrowed my Martha Graham videos, please return them...

well, maybe not so much 'tacky' as in the 'wrong' place...but i understand your attitude. having an excellent resource collection myself, i prefer for things to get USED, but boy am i sick of not getting stuff back, or of having to actively pursue, repeatedly, anything i DO manage to get back! fed up! <P>meanwhile, i second your question to tmdell - exactly WHAT can anyone do, other than sign the petition?

In response to Azlan's recent posting, and in general with regard to my stance and against whom the fight should be waged: I cannot be explicit in my responses, and would caution anyone addressing this issue, because the individual in question is vindictive, at best. <P>My inference to enabling the legacy to at last be free should speak volumes. It has been held down - driven down in the years since her death, and it seems pretty clear who is responsible, as Tadej had earlier pointed out. Were it not for people like Christine, Teri and dancers like Tadej, Martin, Miki, Elizabeth, etc. who put up with such degradation and madness - abuse, really - just so there might be a chance that Martha's life's work could be seen and felt with the integrity and passion it deserves, who knows what further damage would have been done? <P>What I can say is in whom I have believed and trusted and continue to hope might someday succeed in ensuring that the legacy lives as it should - every person who was banished from Martha's house, every dancer who had to swallow their pride during yet another tirade, every staff member who had to swallow their pride during yet another tutorial on how things are supposed to be done, every board member who was being wooed and cooed while made the brunt of jokes behind their back, every administrator who gave everything and saw it fall apart for no good reason, every student who had to suffer through an impromptu tirade, every assistant who had to open inappropriate mail sent inappropriately to the office - everyone, in short, who has directly or indirectly witnessed the legacy of one of our civilization's greatest minds, greatest artists, slowly but surely be torn asunder and disgraced until, finally, no-one would support it. <BR>

thanks tmdell - sounds like there has been a huge emotional cost to many people in this saga...

Many thanks tmdell for the additional insights and the positve approach of you and your colleagues. Having had the privilige of hearing Capucelli and Dakin talk about their preservation of the Graham heritage through dancing, setting and recreating works, I have no doubt who the real custodians of the legacy are. <P>Can I urge ALL those who visit these pages to read the dancers' petition and sign it, if you agree with the text. You have a chance to stand up and be counted on this key issue.<P>I'll check a few other performance dance websites to see if the word is getting around. <P><p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited June 23, 2000).]

tmdell, thank you for the clarification. I better appreciate the situation now. It is sad indeed that Graham made such a poor choice.

I wanted to share one of my favorite passages from Martha Graham’s autobiography, Blood Memory.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR> “I am absorbed in the magic of movement and light. Movement never lies. It is the magic of what I call the outer space of the imagination. There is a great deal of outer space, distant from our daily lives, where I feel our imagination wanders sometimes. It will find a planet or it will not find a planet, and that is what a dancer does.” <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><P>------------------<BR>Michael Goldbarth

Sad to read this, "Performances by the ... Martha Graham Dance Company on October 13 and 14 have been canceled" in the following announcement by Cal Performances in Berkeley:<P> <A HREF="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/06/27/DD22257.DTL" TARGET=_blank>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/06/27/DD22257.DTL</A>

wonderful quote, michael! thank you

Hi everyone,<BR>It is very hard to see articles like last one (cancellation of Graham fall performances)and still keep the head high. But we will all try,....<BR>Just an update:<BR>A little more than a week ago the Board of Trustees of the Martha Graham Center voted (with huge majority!) to oust Ron Protas as member of the Board . <BR>Due to conflicting reports it is unclear to me what is his current position on licensing the ballets to Martha Graham Dance Company (and even if I would be clear today, tomorrow he may change his mind !!!).<BR>Keep the fight!

thank you tadejny for the update. i will pray for the company

And here's from a story by Mike Salinas of Backstage.com, "The board of the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance-the umbrella organization that oversees the world-famous dance company, its school, and its junior troupe-has dismissed Artistic Director Ron Protas. That action has, for the moment, mollified the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), which filed a complaint against the dance company last month on behalf of the dancers":<P> <A HREF="http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/bpibs/20000629/en/_b_h1_head_rolls_at_graham_agma_holds_action_h1_b__1.html" TARGET=_blank>http://dailynews.yahoo.com</A> <P><BR>Pretty powerful stuff.<p>[This message has been edited by Azlan (edited July 01, 2000).]

----- Original Message -----<BR>From: Jayne-Mindspring seraphic@mindspring.com<BR>Subject: Martha Graham Center<P>Please visit marthagrahamcenter.org for a global alliance in support of the Martha Graham Center.<P>In answer to my own question re who jayne is:<P>Michael,<BR>I am on the Board of Trustees of the Martha Graham Center and am assisting in the administration of the center's site. The site was created on the eve of the crisis by a fantastic design group in NYC. <P>Thanks for your help, any suggestions are welcome. The site is intended to keep the crisis alive while we are temporarily homeless (aside from a skeleton staff housed in a Board members office space). <P>Please spread the word, this is a global effort. -Jayne<p>[This message has been edited by grace (edited July 09, 2000).]