The Martha Graham Dance Company, the longest-running dance troupe in the United States, is commemorating its centennial this April with a series of Graham100 performances scheduled at City Center.

To honor this milestone, a new two-part documentary titled “We Are Our Time” is premiering on PBS. The film offers an intimate look inside the company, capturing moments from rehearsals, tour buses, and onstage performances.

Martha Graham's Enduring Legacy

Modern dance pioneer Martha Graham, whose career nearly spanned the entire 20th century, explored profound themes in her choreography, including Oedipal urges and the rise of fascism. Her innovative movement style was famously rooted in the torso’s contraction and release.

Graham collaborated with notable artists throughout her career. Isamu Noguchi designed spare, captivating sets, while designers like Halston and Calvin Klein later costumed her dancers. Graham viewed her work as deeply connected to the American experience.

Connecting Past and Present

In a note to composer Aaron Copland regarding their ballet Appalachian Spring, Graham expressed this connection: “Certain things are alive for all of us, although far in the actual past,” adding that American characters “walk with us in the present in a very real way.”

Thirty-five years after her death at age 96, Graham’s concepts are being revitalized by current company members. The company debuted its first show on April 18, 1926, at the now-closed 48th Street Theatre in New York.

The documentary emphasizes the power of individual connection in performance, echoing Graham’s belief: “You don’t dance for an audience of one thousand people. You dance for a thousand ones. There is always one to whom you speak.”

Focusing on the Contemporary Company

The title, “We Are Our Time,” rephrases a Graham quote, shifting the focus from the individual visionary to the collective present. Directors Peter Schnall and Cyndee Readdean focused primarily on the dancers over two and a half years, using archival footage sparingly.

One notable archival moment features a split-screen comparison of Graham performing Lamentation alongside principal dancer Leslie Andrea Williams embodying the role in their respective snug purple shrouds.

Meryl Streep Voices Graham

Graham’s words are voiced in the documentary by actress Meryl Streep, who stepped in when her schedule allowed. Schnall recounted that Streep chose to stand or sit based on how she had seen Graham perform, stating, “I’ve only seen Martha Graham sitting, so I’m going to sit.”

Streep’s initial recordings deeply impressed the production team. Schnall noted, “We all just went, ‘Wow, this is what we’ve been waiting for—and more.’”

New Works and Global Reach

Episode One: "American Spirit"

The first episode showcases choreographer Jamar Roberts rehearsing We the People, his initial work for the company, set to music by Rhiannon Giddens. Roberts, a former Alvin Ailey star familiar with the Graham technique, stressed the need for dancers to connect deeply with the ground.

The segment culminates with a generous five-minute excerpt of the finished work, featuring a solo by Lloyd Knight, who concludes bare-chested and face-down on the floor.

Artistic Direction and Novelty

Artistic Director Janet Eilber, who danced with Graham in the 1970s, guides the company into its second century by embracing new repertoire. Eilber stated in the film, “We’re not making sort of a sacred altar to Martha Graham. We’re honoring her appetite for the new.”

Episode Two: "Athletes of God"

The second episode follows the company on tour in China following the post-pandemic border reopening. Principal dancer Xin Ying experiences an emotional reunion with her mother there.

The filmmakers also incorporated historical context, including Graham’s refusal to perform at the 1936 Berlin Olympics under Nazi invitation. While touring Europe, Williams performed the solo Spectre-1914 in a Bologna piazza, a piece from the 1936 ballet Chronicle used to protest fascism.

Shifting Spaces and Enduring Connections

The documentary captures a period of transition for the company. Many scenes are set at the Martha Graham headquarters in Westbeth, a space they occupied since 2012, which was later flooded during Hurricane Sandy.

The company is scheduled to move to new Midtown studios in May. Eilber noted that the new space will allow for proper warmups to protect the dancers’ physical health, adding, “part joke, part scheme to shore up funding.”

The Meaning of 'We'

Eilber clarified that the centennial is not solely about Martha Graham, who died in 1994, but about the entire community. “It’s not Martha’s centennial,” she told the filmmakers, emphasizing that it honors the “almost 500 dancers who have now danced in the company.”

Former members, such as Peter London, who began his tenure in 1988, appear as interview subjects. London shared Graham’s directive: “Draw inside that sweet sacred place of your soul.” Eilber summarized Graham’s genius as the ability to “feel the human condition.”

Community Engagement

The centennial tour included a stop in Minneapolis, where Appalachian Spring was performed shortly after the murder of Alex Pretti. Despite concerns about protests, the 2,000-seat theater was full.

The company had previously engaged with a Minneapolis public high school, inviting students to create their own homage to Graham’s 1938 work, American Document. The students, many from immigrant families, presented a piece incorporating audio about their families’ arrivals and dances from their home countries, which Eilber described as “mind-blowing.”

Graham once noted that “The only record of a dancer’s art lies in the other arts.” Whether through film or photography, the work reveals what Barbara Morgan called the “common denominator of us all”: “the joys and sorrows, the hopes and fears, and the creative potentials of life.”