Martha Graham Dance Company Performs Full-Length Clytemnestra November 5
October 16, 2009
Choreographer, dancer and Pittsburgh-area native Martha Graham, who founded her iconic modern dance company in 1926, created 181 works. But only one—Clytemnestra—fills an evening’s program. Martha Graham Dance Company, called “one of the seven wonders of the artistic universe” by a Washington Post critic, performs the masterwork at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, in Penn State’s Eisenhower Auditorium.
Tickets for the Center for the Performing Arts presentation are $39 for an adult, $15 for a University Park student and $26 for a person 18 and younger. Buy tickets online at www.cpa.psu.edu or by phone at 814-863-0255. Outside the local calling area, dial 1-800-ARTS-TIX. Tickets are also available at four State College locations: Eisenhower Auditorium (weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), Penn State Tickets Downtown (weekdays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), HUB-Robeson Center (weekdays 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and Bryce Jordan Center (weekdays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). A grant from the University Park Allocation Committee makes Penn State student prices possible.
In Aeschylus’ Oresteia, the Greek classic from which the dance takes its inspiration, Clytemnestra is a femme fatale who kills her husband Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and the Trojan Princess Cassandra. Graham’s adaptation tells the story from Clytemnestra’s point of view, which gives the dance an unorthodox perspective. Although it relives a tragic past, Clytemnestra is ultimately about rebirth and redemption.
Originally performed in 1958 and performed to a score by Egyptian composer Halim el-Dabh, Clytemnestra features sets by longtime Graham collaborator Isamu Noguchi. Visit http://www.cpa.psu.edu/events/clytm.html to learn more about the company and the dance.
“I think Clytemnestra actually can be compared to an opera, even though, of course, it's a brilliant work of modern dance,” says Amy Dupain Vashaw, Center for the Performing Arts audience and program development director. "The scale of the drama, the involvement with the characters, the twisting plot and the sublime tragedy combine to bring to mind an opera.”
Graham, who died at age 96 in 1991, had a profound affect on modern dance. Her influence on 20th-century choreography has been likened to Igor Stravinsky’s impact on music, Pablo Picasso’s imprint on painting and Frank Lloyd Wright’s contribution to architecture.
Guided today by Artistic Director Janet Eilber, who danced alongside Graham, the company has toured to more than 50 countries on five continents and advanced the careers of some of the greatest names in modern dance, including Paul Taylor and Merce Cunningham.
Clytemnestra is made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts’ American Masterpieces: Dance initiative, administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts. Robert and Helen Harvey sponsor the presentation. WPSU-FM is the media sponsor. Foxdale Village, a Quaker-Directed Continuing Care Retirement Community, underwrites classics presentations at the Center for the Performing Arts.
Audio description, which is especially helpful to patrons with sight loss, is available for this performance at no extra charge to ticket holders. Artistic Viewpoints, an informal moderated discussion featuring Eilber, is offered in Eisenhower Auditorium one hour before the performance and is free for ticket holders. Artistic Viewpoints regularly fills to capacity. Seating is available on a first-arrival basis. The presentation also includes a post-performance discussion—also scheduled to feature Eilber—among company members and the audience.
Contact: Laura Sullivan, 814.863.6379