Heretic (1929)

Photograph of Martha Graham and Dance Group in Heretic.

"To many people, I was a heretic. A heretic is a woman who is put upon in all she does, a woman who is frightened. Everyplace she goes she goes against the heavy beat and footsteps of those she opposes. Maybe she is a heretic in a religious way, maybe in a social way. I felt at the time that I was a heretic. I was outside the realm of women. I did not dance the way that people danced. I had what I called a contraction and a release. I used the floor. I used the flexed foot. I showed effort. My foot was bare. In many ways I showed onstage what most people came to the theatre to avoid." – Martha Graham

Premiere of Heretic: April 14, 1929 – Booth Theater, New York City
Choreography by Martha Graham
Costumes by Martha Graham
Music Arranged by Charles de Sivry

Photograph by Soichi Sunami