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Overview
This Web site, "A Dancer's Journal: Learning to Perform the Dances of Martha Graham" is a multimedia exploration designed for students in grades 5-12.
Suggested Use
This interactive site introduces students to the life and work of Martha Graham, known as "the mother of modern dance." Students will learn about specific Graham dances through the journals of Jordy Kandinsky, a (fictional) new member of the Martha Graham
Dance Company. In Jordy's journals, students will find letters, newspaper articles, checklists, photographs, video clips, and
music that illuminate various aspects of the dance Jordy is learning. Jordy's journals for four Graham dances—Lamentation, Appalachian Spring, Errand into the Maze and Diversion of Angels.
Invite students to work individually or in pairs to explore the items outside and inside the locker, as well as within one or more of the journals. Most students will quickly figure out that the content in the journals "zooms up" and is manipulated by moving the mouse around the screen. You may wish to give students this hint or allow them to discover how to navigate through the content on their own.
Ask students to respond (orally or in writing) to some of the following questions:
Based on information posted outside and inside the locker:
- What are the two ways dancers prepare for every role?
- What did Martha Graham want to show in her new type of dance? How was breathing related to this?
- Looking at the checklist for learning the dances, what items did you expect to see? What items surprised you?
Based on information provided inside a journal:
- What is the dance about?
- What might have inspired Graham to create this dance? What might be the dance's "message"?
- What term(s) did you encounter? What is its/their definition(s)?
- What are the challenges for Jordy in performing this role?
- What is unique or difficult about the costume Jordy must wear?
- In creating this dance, did Martha Graham collaborate with anyone? If so, with whom? What did each collaborator do? In
your experience, what makes a good collaboration?
- What are your favorite video clips? Why?
- How do the choices of instruments, rhythms, and melodies in the music help communicate the dance's emotion?
- Would you like to see this entire dance? Why?
Overall:
- What did you learn about the life of a dancer? How is it challenging?
- What questions would you like to ask Jordy?
Technical Requirements
This multimedia site is bandwidth-intensive, requiring a high-speed Internet connection. Users should be equipped with speakers (or headphones in a lab or classroom setting) and will need the Flash 7 player. It is highly recommended that users set their monitor display to 1024 x 768 (or 800 x 600) for the best viewing experience.
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