Graham Technique Floor Exercises

Graham technique is designed to make its dancers expressive and dramatic.

Graham technique floor exercises.

Here s a list of the basic vocabulary of the martha graham s dance technique. Breathings contraction and release spirals deep stretches turns around the back graham plies with contractions and s arms. Its movement vocabulary draws connections between the physical and emotional meanings of power control and vulnerability. Like a ballet class the work in a graham technique class is always in the same order.

The guidelines 2 dvd set offers exercises for 3 complete martha g. Evolved over 80 years of consistent practice and teaching at the martha graham center in new york city and at dance centers arts high schools and college and university dance departments globally the floor work grounds mobilizes and strengthens the body s core. This 12 min excerpt introduces guidelines in contemporary dance training dvd 1 84 min. Movement initiates from the core incorporating large back movements and dancing on the floor.

Pressing down against the floor as you extend adds stability and works in opposition to the lift of the abdominals and lower back to increase the stretch. The martha graham technique is one of the most thorough and systematic contemporary dance techniques to emerge from the 20th century. The feet on the other hand are used to anchor the weight. While the syllabus has a set order and structure of the exercises the number of repetitions and whether everything from the syllabus is included in a particular class is up to the individual instructor.

However the notions that are most commonly practiced in graham s floor work are the bounces breathings turns around the back and spirals. This intensive five day workshop reviews basic floor work standing and traveling exercises and highlights connections between them. Floor work breathing knees standing center work barre work traveling across the floor. While graham s is a codified technique with a set series of seated floor exercises standing exercises and across the floor sequences there are various ways of presenting material from the syllabus.

Floorwork martha graham technique practice with andrea raw alumni from the martha graham school of contemporary dance in new york. In these two positions the buttocks muscles work with the abdominals and lower back muscles to maximize the lift up from the floor.