On Monday, May 11, Martha Graham’s birthday, the Library was thrilled to announce that the Jerome Robbins Dance Division is the new home of the trailblazing American choreographer’s archive. In the interview below, Janet Eilber, Artistic Director of the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, shares her thoughts about the archive and the Library.

Why do you feel that The Jerome Robbins Dance Division at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts is the best home for the Martha Graham Company archive?

For over a decade, the Graham Company’s work has been proactive, experimental, and almost entirely focused on creating new and varied points of access to the Graham legacy. The Dance Division not only provides state-of-the-art preservation of our materials, which is of great importance to us, but it has also demonstrated a forward-looking and creative approach to curation. We see this partnership as an exponential expansion of our own ongoing efforts and are delighted that the Library will connect our legacy with many more “audiences,” scholars, and artists—for generations to come.

Are there particular items in the archive that you're especially excited to share?

My own favorite things in the archives have to do with Martha’s process—the items that give us a glimpse into her thinking—such as her choreographic notes for American Document or Letter to the World. I find her 1946 letter to the composer, William Schuman, particularly moving. In it, she offers her scenario for a new work based on the Jocasta/Oedipus story, which eventually became her remarkable masterwork, Night Journey.  Martha's descriptions of Jocasta’s inner life—her state of mind—are shattering, and provide stunning direction for any dancer interpreting that role today.

How do you hope the archive will impact future generations of dance makers and scholars?

I hope the archive, through greater availability and the expert curation of the Dance Division, will allow future generations to discover how futuristic Martha was—how dedicated to the new, the untested, the astonishing, she was. I hope they take inspiration from her work and from her life as a revolutionary and innovator and, in that way, carry Martha into the future—just where she always wanted to be.

The Martha Graham Dance Company, the oldest dance company in the United States, celebrated its 94th anniversary on April 18. Its archive will provide valuable insight and context for American modern dance from its earliest days through decades of discovery. Spanning 40 linear feet and featuring over 400 audio and moving image items, the collection covers the life and work of the esteemed choreographer from her childhood days to her legendary career to her creative legacy and influence through the founding of her Company. 

Highlights of the collection include: 

• Film of iconic Graham works including Appalachian Spring, Frontier, Letter to the World and American Document

• Tintype family photographs from Graham's childhood

• An extensive photograph collection of Graham's canon by photographers including Barbara Morgan and Soichi Sunami

• Isamu Noguchi’s set drawings for Seraphic Dialogue, including handwritten notes by Noguchi

• Choreographic notes for American Document

The Library will process and catalog the Martha Graham archive over the next two years. It will then be available to users in the Jerome Robbins Dance Division at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in Lincoln Center.