Martha Graham Dance Company in "Steps in the Street" from Chronicle (1936)

Film excerpt of the Martha Graham Dance Company in "Steps in the Street" from Chronicle (1936). The leader in "Steps in the Street" is danced by Carrie Ellmore-Tallitsch.

Performance: The Joyce Theater, 2015
Stage Design: Frank Gehry

“Steps in the Street” (1936) was a response to contemporary problems threatening the world, the rise of fascism in Europe. This dance required a new vocabulary, one that Graham had been developing over the previous decade. The female body is cast as an instrument of force; joints, muscles, and sinews at the ready. The dancers in “Steps in the Street” are prepared to speak out with an expressive vocabulary in order to make an impact upon a modern world.

Premiere of Chronicle: December 20, 1936 – Guild Theatre, New York City
Choreography by Martha Graham
Costumes by Martha Graham
Music by Wallingford Riegger