Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance is located in New York City and is the headquarter to the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance and the Martha Graham Dance Company, which is the oldest continually performing dance company in the world.
The center was founded in the 1926 by Martha Graham. Its first headquarters consisted of a small dance studio on Broadway. The center later moved to a two story building at 316 East 63rd Street, New York, right off of 2nd Avenue.
After Martha Graham's death in 1991, the center's true directorial direction was in debate. In her will, Martha Graham left heir Ron Protas as sole proprietor of her dances. For a time, Protas actually attempted to deny the Martha Graham Dance Company the right to perform Graham's work. After years of legal battles, the Martha Graham Dance Company was ruled the true owner of the Graham repertoire .
In 2005, the center was among 406 New York City arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.
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“We look at the dance to impart the sensation of living in an affirmation of life, to energize the spectator into keener awareness of the vigor, the mystery, the humor, the variety, and the wonder of life. This is the function of the American dance.”
—Martha Graham (1894–1991)
“For you alone I ride the ring,
For you I wear the blue;
For you alone I strive to sing,
O tell me how to woo!”
—Robert Graham (1735–1797)
“I don’t think America’s the center of the world anymore. I think African women will lead the way [in] ... women’s liberation ... The African woman, she’s got a country, she’s got the flag, she’s got her own army, got the navy. She doesn’t have a racism problem. She’s not afraid that if she speaks up, her man will say goodbye to her.”
—Faith Ringgold (b. 1934)
“Anyone who has invented a better mousetrap, or the contemporary equivalent, can expect to be harassed by strangers demanding that you read their unpublished manuscripts or undergo the humiliation of public speaking, usually on remote Midwestern campuses.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)
“The gentlemen [at a ball], as they passed and repassed, looked as if they thought we were quite at their disposal, and only waiting for the honour of their commands; and they sauntered about, in a careless indolent manner, as if with a view to keep us in suspense.... I thought it so provoking, that I determined in my own mind that, far from humouring such airs, I would rather not dance at all.”
—Frances Burney (1752–1840)