Martha Graham

Martha Graham

Martha Graham constantly stressed the importance of women to be in charge of their sexuality.  In two pieces she truly explores this concept and contributes to the idea that women have their bodies to use and to have full control over instead of being dominated by a patriarchal society.

In her technique, as we know as "contract and release," we can start to see the origins of where this thinking comes from and in her 1994 documentary The Dancer Revealed she discusses the importance of this technique as to be "fulfilling and giving her dancers the control that they need both on stage and in life."

In her dance Diversion of Angels, Henrietta Lilliana Bannerman discusses the concept of the red silhouette (:54) in that this dancer is sexually provocative and the movement of the male dancers surrounding her conveys a more submissive tone suggesting that men become subservient to women as they feel confident enough to know their own bodies and be in charge of all decisions related to sexual encounters.

In her dance Night Journey presented in 1947, around the beginnings of the debate on abortion, Martha Graham presents a form of movement that allows the dancers to seem as if they choose to open their bodies or conceal them and be completely in control and grounded in their movement.