By Robert Israel

“Modern dance is not a secret club. Yes, we are presenting masterpieces by a visionary 20th-century artist, but we are communicating that through the greatest dancers today, and showing how that work continues to evolve.”

Flashback:

Some years ago, in the rare book room at my graduate school in Providence, I discovered a sheaf of black and white prints of Martha Graham (1894-1991), a pioneering American choreographer who founded her own dance troupe during the heady days following the end of World War I. Taken by Barbara Morgan (1900-1992), a pioneering American photographer who co-founded Aperture magazine, the black and white images dazzle: dancers leap into midair, defying gravity. There’s a portrait of Graham, bent forward, hand on forehead, leg thrown backwards, the fabric of her full-length gown forming an arc behind her as if carved from marble. Titled “Letter to the World,” Graham’s dance is inspired by a poem by Emily Dickinson: “This is my letter to the World/That never wrote to Me–/The simple News that Nature told/With tender Majesty/Her Message is committed/To Hands I cannot see–/For love of Her—Sweet—countrymen–/Judge tenderly—of Me.”

Flash forward:

I interviewed artistic director Janet Eilber in advance of the performances (presented by the Celebrity Series) of the Martha Graham Dance Company at the Cutler Majestic Theatre on November 22 and 23. She tells me that the program will be true to Graham’s original 20th-century sensibility, but that it will also reflect change, the ways her distinctly American sensibility has evolved in the 21st century.

Arts Fuse: What was Graham’s vision for founding the dance company?

Janet Elber, artistic director of the Martha Graham Dance Company. Photo: Hibbard Nash

Janet Eilber: Following World War I, there was a movement to present American self-expression. As a culture, we had borrowed from Europe and Asia. Now we wanted our own voice, to speak for ourselves. We won World War I. We emerged as a global power. This was an era of Gershwin, Copland, Hemingway, Faulkner. Martha Graham was looking for a way to express that individuality through dance. In 2026, the company will celebrate its centennial.

AF: Photographer Barbara Morgan called Graham’s work “life force in motion.”

Eilber: Martha Graham wanted to capture that “life force” in order to express deep emotions, the essence of who we are as human beings. That exploration is never dated; it continues to speak to us. Photographer Morgan was working in the ’30s with much slower lens speeds than we have today. Look at what she captured! Looking at these bodies reminds me of hieroglyphics, they are so precise. That’s how specific Graham’s dance movements were choreographed.

AF: The costumes, too, complement that vision.

Eilber: Martha Graham designed her own costumes. And she worked with lighting designers, too, to focus on how we see the flow of the fabric as the dancers moved about the stage. All of these elements were integral to what she was trying to create.

AF: Why has it taken almost two decades for the company to return to Boston?

Eilber: I’ve been trying to get us back to Boston for some time now. But we have to work with agents and programmers and schedules. That’s something we don’t have control over.

Martha Graham Dance Company in Dark Meadow Suite 3. Photo: Brigid Pierce

AF: In Boston, the company will be presenting works from Graham’s vast canon and new works, too.

Eilber: Yes, the company will perform four pieces, including the 1930 Graham work Lamentation, captured in a photo by Barbara Morgan that shows the use of angular movements inside a stretch-fabric cocoon. We will be presenting Dark Meadow Suite, from Graham’s 1946 work, and a piece of Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo, with music by Aaron Copland.

It’s important for any artistic endeavor to not just present works from the past but to continue to evolve. I’ve seen this in opera, for example, in the use of supertitles during shows, as well as embracing other digital aids to tell the story. We will be using a spoken narrative to introduce the works as a way to engage the audience.

We will also include new work commissioned by the company from choreographer Jamar Roberts. As a company, we are continually commissioning other works. We want there to be a dialogue between the 20th and 21st centuries: themes certainly overlap, but it is inevitable that new artistic voices emerge. My role is to curate the work of a visionary artist but — while not losing a sense of those roots — evolve that vision for today’s audiences.

AF: Ultimately, it’s about the audience — to bring them close to that vision.

Eilber: Audience access is pivotal. It’s my “North Star.” Modern dance is not a secret club. Yes, we are presenting masterpieces by a visionary 20th-century artist, but we are communicating that through today’s greatest dancers, and showing how that work continues to develop.

Robert Israel, an Arts Fuse contributor since 2013, can be reached at risrael_97@yahoo.com.