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There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique.

Martha Graham, to Agnes de Mille

ArtMind

The story behind the card

Martha Graham, the American dancer and choreographer who helped create modern dance, said this in 1943 to her fellow choreographer Agnes de Mille. De Mille had just had the biggest success of her life with the dances for the musical 'Oklahoma!' and was miserable about it: she thought the work only fairly good and no longer trusted her own judgement. Graham's reply was that an artist does not get to grade the work. The job is to keep the channel open, and no artist is ever satisfied; that restlessness, Graham said, is what keeps us marching. De Mille recorded the conversation in her 1991 biography of Graham.

Türkçe oku
Bir canlılık, bir yaşam gücü, bir enerji, bir kıpırtı vardır; senin içinden geçip eyleme dönüşür. Bütün zamanlar içinde senden yalnızca bir tane olduğu için de bu ifade eşsizdir.
Martha Graham, Agnes de Mille'e

Modern dansın kurucularından Amerikalı dansçı ve koreograf Martha Graham, bu sözleri 1943'te koreograf Agnes de Mille'e söyledi. De Mille, “Oklahoma!” müzikalinin danslarıyla hayatının en büyük başarısını yeni kazanmıştı, ama mutsuzdu: İşi yalnızca idare eder buluyor, artık kendi yargısına güvenemiyordu. Graham'a göre sanatçının görevi kendi işine not vermek değil, kanalı açık tutmaktı. Hiçbir sanatçı yaptığından tam memnun olmaz; insanı yürümeye devam ettiren de bu huzursuzluktur. De Mille bu konuşmayı 1991'de yayımlanan Graham biyografisinde anlattı.

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