Performance Video from Martha Graham’s Appalachian Spring

I filmed Martha Graham Dance Company at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival years ago, and I’ve really wanted to film them again. I was so excited to have the opportunity to film the company in Vail this summer. It was a very special night to have Martha Graham Dance Company performing in the Gerald Ford Theater, because Betty Ford was a big, big fan of Martha Graham and was an apprentice with the company years ago. Hosting the company in that space was special for both the festival and the theater.

Before this season at Vail, I had only seen Appalachian Spring on video. Filming such an iconic work was very gratifying.

Carla Körbes in the re-creation of Elegie

Elegie has not been danced in 30 years. It was one of the last dances George Balanchine choreographed, and it was originally created for Suzanne Farrell. Vail International Dance Festival‘s director Damian Woetzel spent time with Carla Körbes re-staging the work. She told me she found it very exciting to bring this work back to the stage.

International Evenings II

More amazing artists graced the stage during the festival’s second International Evening. We gathered footage from the show with the intention that we would only show a few pieces from that evening in the video below, but all of us, including Damian, loved every part of the evening and so we used almost every performance!