The Martha Graham Dance Company is back at The Joyce for its 99th season with a new dance concert titled Dances of the Mind, featuring 11 works across three programs through April 13, 2025. I saw Program C, and it was a moving, powerful experience. Janet Eilber, the exquisite Artistic Director of the dance company, introduced the program, starting with two of Graham’s masterworks, psychodramas as Eilber jokingly described them, that delve into the intricate minds of the protagonists: Deaths and Entrances (1943) and Errand Into the Maze (1947). Ending the program was a world premiere, Cortege.
Lloyd Knight, Xin Ying, and Richard Villaverde
in Martha Graham’s Deaths and Entrances; photo by Brian Pollock
Amanda Moreira, Devin Loh, and Meagan King
in Martha Graham’s Deaths and Entrances; photo by Brian Pollock
Ane Arrieta, Xin Ying, and So Young An
in Martha Graham’s Deaths and Entrances; photo by Brian Pollock
Inspired by the lives of the Brontë Sisters, Deaths and Entrances was presented for the first time since 2012. Set to a score by Hunter Johnson, featuring a bare set with symbolic props by Arch Lauterer, silky-smooth lighting by Judith M. Daitsman, and outstanding costumes by Oscar de la Renta (after Martha Graham’s original designs), it’s a voyage in the mind of the brilliant writers, Charlotte, Emily and Anne. Despite being lumped together like a literary girl rock band of the 1840s, each Brontë sister had her own personality, flair, and preferred method of emotionally devastating readers. They were performed by Xin Ying, who delighted the audience with a fusion of emotional intensity and physical precision; a passionate Ane Arieta, and a cooler, unruffled So Young An. Johnson’s music, an expressive counterpart to the choreography, stark, with tension-filled chords, punctuated each decisive jagged movement, every contraction or release.
Meagan King, Devin Loh, and Amanda Moreira played a younger version of the writers; they walked in and out of stage as a reminder of their easier past. Ethan Palma and Jai Perez as The Cavaliers, Richard Villaverde as The Poetic Beloved, and Lloyd Knight as The Dark Beloved, represented the male realm, each a different type of lover. The 10 gifted dancers used their bodies as a narrative tool and although the piece did not follow a linear narrative it successfully evoked a series of psychological states, possibly the complex human condition of a female artist in the 1800s.
Antonio Leone and So Young An in Errand into the Maze; photo by Isabella Pagano
The second masterpiece, Errand Into the Maze, with choreography and costumes by Martha Graham, draws on the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur but the hero is an heroine, and the beast represents our struggles and fears in the labyrinths of our minds. With music by Gian Carlo Menotti, set by Isamu Noguchi, and original lighting by Jean Rosenthal (adapted later by Beverly Emmons,) it felt like an even deeper dive into the internal battle of the human psyche, especially the fight-or-flight response, using movement to express first vulnerability and then empowerment. So Young An, our female Theseus, went through a journey of emotional and physical transformation to face her fears, her body continuously in motion, twisting, contracting, and expanding. Miss An completely embodied the intense psychological conflict the character faced as she navigated the labyrinth (restrained, tentative, tense,) and finally confronted the Minotaur, an excellent Antonio Leone who also exerted a high level of control and precision. The interplay between music and movement was seamless. The Minotaur held her captive until she conquered her fears and escaped the maze, ending this brilliant journey of self-discovery, struggle, and empowerment.
Martha Graham Dance Company in Baye & Asa’s Cortege; photo by Isabella Pagano
Cortege, choreographed by Baye & Asa, closed the show and it brought us out of personal suffering and fully into collective suffering. A voice over stating “In times of extreme violence, not even the most powerful or innocent may escape” set the tone, and violence, war, death followed. It draws inspiration from Graham’s 1967 Greek-themed Cortege of Eagles but is definitely a more modern piece, with music by Jack Grabow, costumes by Caleb Krieg, and stunning lighting design by Yi-Chung Chen. It’s an ensemble work that started and ended with the dancers walking on their knees under black drapery, symbolizing the cyclical nature of violence and mourning. Lloyd Knight, Xin Ying, Jai Perez and Richard Villaverde were joined by Laurel Dalley Smith, Zachary Jeppsen-Toy, Leslie Andrea Williams, and Anne Souder. Inside that cyclical nature of violence, there was only human misery and its chaos. At one point a floodlit circle served as a ring for all sorts of abuse, and Grabow’s pumping music underlined the absurdity of it all with even deeper repetitive beats. Cortege is part of the Martha Graham Dance Company’s commitment to embrace innovative collaboration and as all Graham’s dances, it was not an escape from life but a direct confrontation with it. A wonderful evening; after this run they will be on tour nationally and internationally; don’t miss their shows.
Martha Graham Dance Company in Baye & Asa’s Cortege; photo by Isabella Pagano
Laurel Dalley Smith, Leslie Andrea Williams, and Antonio Leone
in Baye & Asa’s Cortege; photo by Isabella Pagano
Jai Perez in Baye & Asa’s Cortege; photo by Isabella Pagano
