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.
Famous quotes containing the words martha graham, graham, center, contemporary and/or dance:
“Nothing is more revealing than movement.”
—Martha Graham (1894–1991)
“Scatter my ashes, strew them in the air:
Lord since thou know’st where all these atoms are,
I’m hopeful thou’lt recover once my dust,
And confident thou’lt raise me with the just.”
—James Graham Marquess of Montrose (1612–1650)
“It is written in the Book of Usable Minutes
That all things have their center in their dying....”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)
“The many faces of intimacy: the Victorians could experience it through correspondence, but not through cohabitation; contemporary men and women can experience it through fornication, but not through friendship.”
—Thomas Szasz (b. 1920)
“Caring for children is a dance between setting appropriate limits as caretakers and avoiding unnecessary power struggles that result in unhappiness.”
—Charlotte Davis Kasl (20th century)