Country of Origin United States
Description The Martha Graham Dance Company appeared at BAM in 1968, the first season curated by Harvey Lichtenstein in his new position as Executive Director. Lichtenstein booked and promoted avant-garde artists, and that policy helped usher in a BAM renaissance. Both BAM and Lichtenstein already had a relationship with Graham. MGDC had appeared at BAM several times before, and, in Lichtenstein’s earlier life as a dancer, he had studied and performed with Graham. In fact, MGDC had introduced him to modern dance; theirs was the first modern dance concert he’d ever attended. During Lichtenstein’s first season at BAM (1968-69), he booked the company to kick off a Festival of Dance that included 11 other leading choreographers, including Twyla Tharp, José Limón, Merce Cunningham, and Paul Taylor. The New York Times proclaimed, “For the first time in history, modern dance will have a full season of performances." Photographer Jack Mitchell took a historic photo of the group that appeared in Times, and described it thus: “It was a tense picture session, with little or no speaking among the subjects. Everyone seemed aware of their present or future importance and the historic significance of being photographed together."
Identifier 1968f.01982
