Martha Graham Teaching the Pleadings

Photograph of Martha Graham teaching the series known as the "Pleadings".

For the pleadings:

"It is a position with the body on the floor, a slight contraction in the body, with the breath in, the arms at the sides cupped open to the sky. Think of Michelangelo's Pietà, or that extraordinary Bernini Ecstasy of St. Theresa. I have seen a photograph of a rock singer with that same look of exaltation." – Martha Graham

Photographer Unknown