Lesson Overview:

This lesson immerses students in a study of Martha Graham's Appalachian Spring—a choreographic narrative of early American frontier life. Particular emphasis is given to specific elements that capture the flavor of place and time, as well as those that contribute to the complexity and dynamic artistry of this highly-valued work.

Length of Lesson:

Six 45-minute class periods

Instructional Objectives:

Students will:

• examine Appalachian Spring's narrative within the historical framework of the early American frontier (circa 1830).
• explore the relationship of Aaron Copland's music score to the work's choreographic text.
• analyze the relationship of Isamu Noguchi's stage set design to the narrative and choreographic development of Appalachian Spring.
• construct an explanation of structural and textural aspects of the choreography.
• consider specific aspects that contribute nonlinear layers to the choreography's structural development.
• distinguish specific ways Martha Graham achieves organic unity within the framework of the choreography.
• draw a comparative analysis of the handling of time in Appalachian Spring with T. S. Eliot's assertion about time in his poem, "Burnt Norton", a segment of Four Quartets.
• develop a series of written responses to assignments related to these instructional objectives.

Supplies:

• Videotape of Martha Graham's Appalachian Spring (The 1976 Nonesuch Dance in America tape of The Martha Graham Company's performance is a particularly good selection)
• CD or tape of Aaron Copland's music score for Appalachian Spring

Instructional Plan:

Begin the class with this stanza from T.S. Eliot's "Burnt Norton," the first poem in his Four Quartets:

"Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future,
And time future contained in time past.
If all time is eternally present
All time is unredeemable.
What might have been is an abstraction
Remaining a perpetual possibility
Only in a world of speculation."

Write the stanza on the board; have a student read it out loud.

Ask students to write about the poem's meaning. Collect their work.

At the end of this lesson, have them reread the poem and write a new explanation of the poem's meaning. Pass back their original essays and have them compare and contrast the two versions.

Have students share the reasons their views changed or remained the same.

Although the opening lines of T. S. Eliot's poem, "Burnt Norton", could be relevant to numerous Martha Graham dance compositions, it seems particularly helpful in finding ways to guide students through the intricate structural and textural beauty of Graham's Appalachian Spring. The ambiguity of the lines allow their statement to be realigned in different ways, helping to unlock the provocative complexities of Graham's creative vision.

To initiate the students' journey of understanding, it is important to begin simply—providing background exploration that will help them grasp the basic framework of the narrative.

Part I

The following activities will help ground students in key references that illuminate the Appalachian Spring's storyline.

• Ask students to develop a written commentary on their perception of early 19th century American frontier life.
• What were the frontier's geographical boundaries in the early 1830's?
• What were some of the specific reasons immigrants left the east to go west?
• What are some of the specific opportunities in the early west?
• What words and/or phrases can be used to describe the terms pioneer, pioneer woman and frontier spirit?
• How do the terms pioneer and frontier spirit equate with the American Dream?
Share some of the responses in a large group discussion.
• Pass out Assignment A: Background Information for Appalachian Spring.
• Ask for volunteers or split the class into small collaborative groups.
• Request that students develop a brief presentation on one of the background areas significant to Appalachian Spring's overall concepts.

Introduce Aaron Copland's music score. Tell students that the score received a Pulitzer Prize. Explain the significance of the award.

Share with students that Martha Graham created a series of choreographies related to periods in American history—American Document, American Provincials and Frontier.

Before playing the complete or partial musical score, initiate the following assignment.

Explain that Appalachian Spring is crafted around an American theme related to frontier life. It supports Graham's choreography about the wedding of a young couple, who are about to begin their married life settling the land and building a home in the untamed wilderness of the early American frontier.

• Ask students to listen carefully to the Copland score, noting such aspects as:
• the cadence and understated eloquence of the score's opening;
• vignettes of sustained tone qualities;
• changes in cadence and tone;
• repetition of phrases;
• shifting rhythms;
• the interplay of euphony (sweet, harmonious sounds) and cacophony (harsh, discordant sounds); and
• the tone quality of the ending.

Assign one of the following listening activities:

• Ask students to record any images, emotions, states of mind, scenes and/or actions evoked in their minds by the previously-listed variations in the music score.
• Consider placing the following list of images, emotions, states of mind, actions and scenes on the board. Give students a few minutes to study them.

1. early morning
2. valleys and hills
3. vast expansion of space
4. echoes of hills
5. working the land
6. anticipations
7. anxieties
8. high expectations
9. warnings
10. promise
11. people (type)
12. celebration
13. tenderness
14. meditation
15. Spring season
16. affirmations

• Ask students to consider the list as the music plays and jot down the number of the images, emotions, states of mind, actions and scenes that the music seems to be projecting.
• Explain that items on the list can be repeated more than once—whenever students feel there is a fit.
• At the end of the exercise, ask for a show of hands for each reference to determine which prevailed in the class' collective mindstream.
• Have students share details of mental visions of images, states of mind, action and scenes generated by the music.

• Follow with a discussion and some student demonstrations of how images, emotions, states of mind, actions or scenes could be projected in movement.
• Demonstrations could be as simple as walking, standing or using arms to project the individual references.
• More elaborate demonstrations could be encouraged—possibly by small groups projecting scenes.

Note: The idea is to engage students in a way that allows them to feel some ownership of the score, to experience how music can evoke creative response or support creative vision. Their own experimentation with movement could build some curiosity about how Martha Graham developed movement in relation to the Appalachian score.

Share with students the origin of the work's title.

It comes from a line of the "The Dance" segment of Hart Crane's long, panoramic poem, The Bridge. In the poem, Crane works to capture the myth of America through a metaphorical journey into the nation's past. He celebrates the freshness and vibrancy of the primal land and its native people and, through metaphor, chronicles the physical and psychological challenges of conquering the terrain.

Critics indicate that the poem, itself, had nothing to do with the development of the Appalachian choreography. Aaron Copland's comments reinforce this view. However, it is interesting to speculate that Crane's goal—to define America an unfolding of the heroic Dream quest, perseverance and optimism of early frontier life—may have spurred Graham's creativity, to some extent, beyond selection of the title.

Part II

Activities in this section are dedicated to helping students recognize specific elements, which, when woven together, build the dynamic artistry of Appalachian Spring.

• Pass out Assignment B: Analyzing the Basic Narrative of Appalachian Spring. The assignments in the worksheet will prepare students for viewing the film of Appalachian Spring, as well as for a close examination of various aspects of the text and the performance.
• Closely examine Noguchi's set design.
• Ask students to find a graphic representation of the Noguchi's set for the ballet either from the Web or print media.
• Assign the following in conjunction with the above research or as an alternative—Have a student develop a large sketch of the set. Place it in the front of the room to use for discussion.
• Have students closely examine the spare set, asking them to share their perceptions on statements about the design. Some samples:
  • What is the message of the wide-open skeletal frame and one exterior wall?
  • What is the message of the hard bench? The two steps from the exterior into the interior? The wooden rocker, whose back is a plow? The segment of open fence? The large boulder?
  • What will the platform be used for?
  
  
  Note: Encourage students to think in frontier terms as they interpret the subtext of the set:
  • vast open space;
  • isolation;
  • solitude;
  • independence;
  • new beginnings;
  • unfinished dreams;
  • challenges of clearing the land and finishing the structure —signifying hard work and hardship that with faith, determination and perseverance offers the joy and satisfaction of overcoming obstacles (etc.)
• Pass out Assignment C: Study Questions for Appalachian Spring prior to screening Appalachian Spring. You may wish to refer to the teacher edition, Assignment C: Study Questions and Answers for Appalachian Spring
• Advise students that the questions define ways to experience the performance—unlocking the secrets of its clarity, beauty and enduring magnetic draw. Give them time to read through the questions and ask for clarifications before viewing the film.
• Tell students that in order to formulate answers to the questions, they should give close attention to the:
• body contours of the dance movements;
• diverse rhythms and pace of the interlocking segments;
• way transitions are handled as the different scenes come to the foreground and fade out;
• way specific elements of the set are used;
• spatial alignments of the dancers; and
• integration of movements with the music score.
• Encourage students to take notes in preparation for discussion and/or writing assignments.
• After students have worked on the questions, align them in groups of three.
• Assign each threesome one of the study questions from Assignment C. Ask students in each group to share their individual responses and to negotiate a conclusion to be presented to the class.
• After each presentation, open up the topic for class-wide discussion.

Achieving Organic Unity

The following suggested activities might help students gain further insight into the creative devices used by Martha Graham to achieve organic unity in Appalachian Spring's choreography.

You might want to initiate this segment of the lesson by pointing out that much of the beauty and power of Appalachian Spring comes from the way Graham blends all aspects of the performance—set design, music, dance movements and spatial alignments together—not only to characterize and unfold the narrative, but also to build three dimensional layers that add magnitude to her tribute to the American frontier myth.

Help students gain insight into three dimensional aspects of choreography, by discussing the following points:

• Request that students define the term linear. Have them provide examples. (Cite illustrations—sequence of A to Z; 1 to 10; and/or a kinetic definition of a straight line)
• Ask students how they'd contour the alphabet, number sequence, or kinetic straight line to break the linear patterns into nonlinear projections? (For instance, ACLZ; 1-5-8, etc.)
• Seek out a volunteer. Have him/her give a quick review of the narrative thread of Appalachian Spring.
• Give students some time to jot down their ideas about other layers of development that emerge from and vertically extend the basic narrative.
Note: This is a challenging task and will depend on students' previous experience with modern form in literature and visual arts classes. Regardless, the assignment should still evoke interest in the topic, helping to engage students in nonlinear analysis.
• Through discussion and inductive probing, help students uncover the concentric levels of development—beyond the linear narrative—that add structural dimensions to Appalachian Spring.
• State that the choreographic development of Appalachian Spring is governed by three landscapes:
  • the landscape of the vast American wilderness;
  • the landscape of the actual narrative events of the wedding; and
  • the landscape of the mind —the inner thoughts and emotions of the Bride and the Husbandman.
• Note that the presence of the Pioneer Woman seems to encircle all three of these domains.
• Delineate some specific ways the three landscapes are articulated. This will help students grasp how these concentric layers govern and enrich the choreographic development.
• Review some previously-reached conclusions regarding the ways the set projects wide-open space, humbleness, isolation, hardship, promise and optimism.
• Encourage students to see how the connotative properties of the set provides extra dimensional nonlinear statements by underscoring the wilderness (as well as the real) landscape and by supporting the development of the joys, anticipations and anxieties of the inner landscapes of the mind (revealed in the dance soliloquies of the Bride and Husbandman).
• Call attention to how the Pioneer Woman is positioned on the set in relation to her participation in narrative's present action.
• Ask students to clarify how Graham achieves the sense of distancing the Pioneer figure into the wilderness landscape, while still making her an active presence in the real landscape.
• Also, how she makes the Pioneer Woman a force of influence in the soliloquies of the inner landscape.
• Review and further analyze the dance movements of the Bride and the Husbandman within the real landscape of the wedding.


Identify specific ways that their hand and arm gestures, footwork, body contours and spatial alignments:
• reinforce the connotative implications of vast space, isolation, new beginnings and the challenges projected in the set design;
• articulate the joy, anticipation and anxieties of the two figures' inner landscapes.
• Consider re-showing the Bride's and Husbandman's dance soliloquies and interactions to help students grasp the significance of the movements.
• Encourage students to take a position on the four Followers:
• Which landscape do they reinforce?
• Do they or don't they add a third dimension to one of the other three landscapes?
• Have students provide specifics to support their conclusions.
• Ask students if the traveling Revivalist preacher and his message—which are very much a part of the real wedding events landscape—also contribute to the two other landscapes.
• Point out to students that the Revivalist is an itinerant preacher, a reinforcement of the wilderness landscape. His Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"- type sermon exacerbates the anxieties of the Bride (her inner landscape) and, perhaps, reinforces the Husbandman's determination to succeed.

The artistic tensions built through various dichotomous elements are a second structural dynamic that contributes yet another layer of experience to the choreography, adding richness and complexity to the frontier myth theme. The set design and the music score especially reinforce this layer of experience.

Encourage students to explain ways the following points and counterpoints emerge in the choreography.

Pass out Assignment D: Points and Counterpoints in Choreography. Have the students use the worksheet during the discussion.

• Suggest that students review their earlier study about the ways that set design and music support and illuminate the choreography. Have them expand on earlier conclusions by considering specific ways the set design and music reinforce the dichotomous elements.


Note: Aspects of this third dimensional layer especially evokes audience identification with universal consciousness and heart.

Perhaps the most compelling third dimensional layer of Appalachian Spring is Graham's handling of time. It not only operates as a discrete layer, but also supports the development of the choreography's landscapes and dichotomous layers.

These activities can help students probe specific ways Graham manipulates time within the narrative structure.

• Ask students to close their eyes and concentrate fully on the environments of a past, present or anticipated experience:
• Eighth grade
• Twelfth birthday
• Present grade
• Sixteenth birthday
• Anticipation of college


Encourage students to let their mind roam over aspects, embedded in their consciousness, that relate to their selected environment-scenes, people, situations, geographical places.
• Ask students to share observations about the way their mind moved in and out of the past, present and future as they concentrated on their selected environment.
• Were there crosscurrents of experience? (How did the way things, people, and self were in the past compare with the way they are now?)
• Were there intrusions of thoughts about what could/should have been done differently in the past, or what should be done differently in the future?
• Were hopes and dreams about the future interrupted by present concerns or recognition of the unknown in the future?
• Were currents of thought about past, present and future running through their mind simultaneously?


Note: Remind students that the thoughts of their past and speculations about their future were taking place in the present.

Return to T. S. Eliot's poetry vignette from Four Quartets.

• Ask a student to read the segment aloud.
• Follow with a discussion
• How do students think the lines relate to the thinking exercise they just finished?
• Have them give particular attention to whether or not they find Eliot's assertion about time valid.

If possible, re-screen the film of Appalachian Spring.

• Ask students to rethink the development of the choreography using Eliot's assertion about how time operates within human consciousness.
• Have students prepare a brief written analysis, which either agrees or disagrees with the concept that Graham contours the choreography to project alignment with Eliot's assertion about time. Make clear that students must present specific evidence to back up their positions.
• Encourage students to note such aspects as:
• Where each dance persona positions him or herself on the set after entering in formal procession.
• The Pioneer Woman's position in the rocker, gazing out into the wilderness, seems to align her with time past
• The Husbandman's stopping to caress the wall as he enters and his positioning at fence segments suggests a savoring of time present and commitment to the future.
• The Revivalist's passive tableau stance on the boulder and the Followers' passive positioning against the wall seem to remove them from the present consciousness—but they are still there—until they emerge in the active consciousness of the present.
• In the dance soliloquies, future time is interjected into the consciousness of the Husbandman and Bride—articulated through dance movements that reflect anticipation, expectations and anxieties even though the two figures are in present time.
• The music score supports all of the above. It particularly helps articulate the optimistic dreams of future time that prevail in the young couple's consciousness in the denouement.
• The handling of transitions—as the figures fade in and out of the various segments of the narrative—also help signal the moving in and out, within the consciousness, of past, present and future time.

Suggestions for Special Projects

As a culminating assignment, ask students to write a summarizing profile of the vision that Graham projects of life in the early American frontier. Suggest that they base their essay on their analyses of specific aspects of the work.

• Ask students to develop a creative prose, poem or dramatic vignette about some aspect of early frontier life:
• a profile of a pioneer woman;
• a scene at a Revivalist meeting or camp gathering;
• a situation, such as a trek through the wilderness, a birth in the wilderness, or a dangerous encounter.

These various situations could be based on a person(s) in the narrative of Appalachian Spring.

• Encourage students interested in set design to make a replica of Noguchi's set. Or suggest that they reconfigure the original design into their own creative vision of a frontier setting that would support the narrative.
• Encourage students with backgrounds in dance to develop and perform vignettes of original choreography to the Appalachian Spring music score.
• Encourage students interested in costuming and fashion to research costumes used in various productions of Appalachian Spring, comparing them with historical American frontier dress of the 1830's.

Assessment:

Use the Assessment Rubric to determine each student's progress.

Extensions:

Compare form with selections of literature structured in stream-of consciousness mode (James Joyce, T.S. Eliot; William Faulkner, etc.)

Sample other works about early American frontier life. (Ex: James Fenimore Cooper's The Pioneers or The Last of the Mohicans.)

Direct your students' attention to the ARTSEDGE Mini-site: A Dancer's Journal: Learning to Perform the Dances of Martha Graham.

Sources:

Print:

• Au, Susan. Ballet and Modern Dance. New York: Thames & Hudson Inc (World of Art Series), 1988.
• Brinkley, A. et al, eds. American History. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc, 1991.
• Cohen, Selma Jeanne, ed. International Encyclopedia of Dance. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
• deMille, Agnes A. Martha: The Life and Works of Martha Graham. New York: Random House, 1991.
• Gardner, Howard. Creating Minds (chapter 8). New York: BasicBooks (a Division of HarperCollins Publishers), 1993.
• Graham, Martha. Blood Memory. New York: POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc.. 1991.
• Jowitt, Deborah. Time and the Dancing Image. Berkley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1989.

Videos:

• Aaron Copland. A Self-Portrait. Films for the Humanities, Inc: Princeton, NJ, 1987.
• Martha Graham Dance Company. Appalachian Spring. Nonsuch Thirteen/ Wnet:New York, 1976.

Web:

• The Noguchi Museum
  http://www.noguchi.org/graham.html

Authors:

• Jayne Karsten, English, Grades 9-12
  The Key School
  Annapolis, MD US