GRAHAM100 — American Legacies

The nation’s oldest dance company turns 100 and launches its three-year centennial celebration at The Soraya on Saturday, September 30, a celebration that will subsequently travel to theaters around the nation and be celebrated worldwide. The early days of Graham’s life as a dancer were spent in Southern California, and so The Soraya ensures that Los Angeles plays a major role in the Martha Graham Dance Company’s centenary. While Graham herself is widely recognized as one of the most pivotal figures of the 20th century, the company is as vital as ever in the 21st century, cultivating an ongoing legacy of innovation and creativity that captures the spirit of our times.

For Opening Night, The Soraya presents a program that spans more than 100 years, from an early work Graham performed in 1915 Los Angeles, to a new rendering of Agnes de Mille’s groundbreaking Rodeo, with updated scenery and a new bluegrass adaptation of the original Aaron Copland score performed live by GRAMMY-Winner Gabe Witcher and a six-piece bluegrass ensemble. The Soraya premieres this new version, which will then tour during the centenary’s first year with an Americana theme.

The Soraya prioritizes providing live musical accompaniment for its dance performances, and this is especially so with the Martha Graham Dance Company (MGDC). Since 2015, the Company has made the Soraya its West Coast home — and keeping with the tradition of presenting the Company with live music, The Soraya invites Wild Up to join them for the fifth time, as well as fiddler Gabe Witcher (who makes his Soraya debut).