Diversions of angles by Martha graham

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9LGVsKY1iQ (‘Diversion of Angels’ by Martha Graham, 2020)

The piece of work I have chosen by Martha graham is “diversions of angles” performed by the Martha graham company. The piece starts with two people on the stage and begins progressing into several ensemble segments with the introduction of another dancer who wears a red dress. Upon first reaction the audience can tell that there are three main dancers in this seeming to play out a narrative story. The initial interpretation is that the story and relations of the dancers in this piece recreate that of the religious symbol of the devil (red costume) and angel (white costume) both trying to divert the intentions of the dancer in the middle. The choreography between he first two on dancers really stood out to me. The dancer in white is almost being placed by the other dancer, almost doll like. It comes across as uneasy in the beginning for the dancer has almost no sense of realty in whilst the dancer who is placing them seems very infatuated and through the movements and choreography seems to be longing. However, this is very different to the choreography and style of the dancer in red, their choreography is consistent of mainly jumps, sharp movements and dancing around the other dancers rather than with them. The impact this has on the audience is that of an uneven relationship between all three dancers.

The choreography to me relates to the music. Where there is soft instrumental, the dancers seem to flow nicely to the music compared to where there are sharper and more dynamic parts. In this piece specifically Martha makes use of pauses, holds and suspension which fit the music and create sense of interest to draw the audience in. this is something I hope to achieve in my own choreographic process and have already begun working on.

* ‘Diversion of Angels’ by Martha Graham. (2020). YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9LGVsKY1iQ.