Martha Graham (1894-1991) is among the most acclaimed choreographers of the 20th century. In October, the Performing Arts Department (PAD) in Arts & Sciences’ Dance Program will host a weeklong series of public events featuring Gary Galbraith and Bonnie Oda Homsey, both former principal dancers with the Martha Graham Dance Company.
The series begins at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, when Galbraith presents a lecture/demonstration titled “Dance and Technology a la carte” in the Annelise Mertz Dance Studio, Mallinckrodt Student Center. The event is free and open to the public.
Galbraith, who will be on campus Oct. 8-13, also will audition dance students for a reconstruction of Graham’s “Steps in the Street.” Those selected will continue to work with Homsey, a recognized master performance coach, who will be on campus Oct. 13-19. “Steps” then will be staged in December as part of the annual Washington University Dance Theatre concert.
Both Galbraith and Homsey will lead a variety of masterclasses in Graham modern dance technique.
In addition, Homsey will offer a repertory class titled “Legacy of Footsteps,” followed by a seminar-discussion on “Making the Cut,” from 3-5 p.m. Oct. 15 in the Mertz Dance Studio. Homsey also will lead a career-planning seminar, “Survival Tips for a Career in the Arts,” from 5:15-6:45 p.m. Oct. 17 in Edison Theatre. Pre-registration for both events is required. For more information, call the PAD at 935-5858.
At 4 p.m. Oct. 19, Homsey will be a featured guest in the panel discussion “Re-imagining Motion: Martha Graham and Barbara Morgan,” which takes place in the Women’s Building Formal Lounge. The presentation will explore the lives, careers and relationship between Graham and the pioneering photographer who, in the 1930s and ’40s, captured many iconic images of her work.
Other panelists will include Barbara Baumgartner, Ph.D., associate director and lecturer in the Women & Gender Studies program in Arts & Sciences; Angela L. Miller, Ph.D., professor of art history & archaeology in Arts & Sciences; and Patrick Renschen, senior lecturer in photography in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. Immediately following the discussion, the cast of “Steps in the Street” will present an informal showing next door in the Olin I Dance Studio.
At 5:30 p.m., Olin Library Special Collections will host an opening reception in the Ginkgo Reading Room for the exhibition “Caught! Modern Dance Photographs by Barbara Morgan.” Drawn largely from Homsey’s personal collection, the show will remain on view during regular library hours through Dec. 21.
Both “Re-imagining Motion” and “Caught” are free and open to the public. For more information about the discussion, call 935-5285 or go online to assemblyseries.wustl.edu. For more information about the exhibit, call 935-5495, or e-mail spec@wulib.wustl.edu.
Homsey was a principal dancer with Graham from 1973-78 and again in 1980, performing with guest artists such as Rudolph Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn. She also taught at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance from 1975-78 and again in 2002 and 2003.
From 1994-2004, Homsey directed the American Repertory Dance Company in California, during which time she designed arts education programs reaching 40,000 students in California, Nevada and Louisiana.
She currently serves as chair of the Dance and Arts Advisory Council for the Princess Grace Foundation-USA. Her many honors include several Lester Horton Awards and she has been interviewed for CNN’s “All About Women” and the “American Masters” profile on the Juilliard School.
Galbraith, associate professor of dance and artistic director of Mather Dance Center at Case Western Reserve University, has danced many of the prestigious principal male roles in the Graham repertory and has been featured in new ballets created for the Graham company by Robert Wilson, Susan Stroman and Lucinda Childs.
Galbraith also has performed with the companies of José Limón, Erick Hawkins, Pearl Lang, Pascal Rioult and others. He was the first American male modern dancer to teach and perform with Modern Dans Toplulugu, the modern dance company of the State Opera and Ballet of Turkey.