Martha Graham Dance Company to Celebrate 100th Anniversary Season At The Auditorium
The program begins with Graham's Diversion of Angels, set to a romantic score by Norman Dello Joio and inspired by the paintings of Wassily Kandinsky.
The Auditorium will present the Martha Graham Dance Company in a one-night-only performance Saturday, January 24 at 7:30 PM. The oldest dance company in the U.S. and one of the most influential modern dance companies of all time, the Martha Graham Dance Company is celebrating its 100th Anniversary this season. Last in Chicago in 2007, the company will perform a program that juxtaposes works by its founder, the legendary America choreographer Martha Graham, alongside new work.
The program begins with Graham's Diversion of Angels. Set to a romantic score by Norman Dello Joio and inspired by the paintings of Wassily Kandinsky, Diversion of Angels features three couples that represent different stages of love. Later, the company will present the Chicago premiere of En Masse. Choreographed by Alvin Ailey alum Hope Boykin, En Masse is set to a recently discovered piece of music by Leonard Bernstein, believed to have been created for Martha Graham in the 1980s, combined with new arrangements of Bernstein's MASS arranged by conductor/composer Christopher Rountree.
The second half of the program features Graham's anti-fascist work Chronicle. In 1936, Graham refused to take part in the Olympics hosted in Nazi Germany. Later that year, Graham premiered Chronicle, one of the very few overtly political dances she ever choreographed. Rather than depicting realist events, the dance is meant to universalize the tragedy of war. The company will perform three of the original five movements in the work scored by Wallingford Riegger, “Spectre–1914,” “Steps in the Street” and “Prelude to Action.”
The Auditorium's 2025-26 Dance Season is dedicated to Celebrating Women Leaders in Dance. The women leading the Martha Graham Dance Company, Executive Director LaRue Allen and Artistic Director Janet Eilber at the helm since 2005, will be honored for their work to preserve Graham's legacy while pushing the boundaries of contemporary dance.
“We are excited to welcome the Martha Graham Dance Company to our stage as they celebrate their 100th anniversary,” said The Auditorium CEO Rich Regan. “For a dance company to last 100 years is a testament to not only the enduring legacy of Martha Graham, but also the careful shepherding of the company by the administration, especially LaRue and Janet who are currently at the helm. We're looking forward to our guests experiencing the lasting tradition and pioneering spirit of the Martha Graham Dance Company on our iconic stage.”
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