''Imagined Wing'' is a ballet choreographed by Martha Graham to ''Jeux de Printemps'' by composer

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

. The piece was first presented on October 30, 1944, in the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Auditorium at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Costumes were designed by Edythe Gilfond; the set was created by

Isamu Noguchi was an American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and severa ...

Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge aka Liz Coolidge (30 October 1864 – 4 November 1953), born Elizabeth Penn Sprague, was an American pianist and patron of music, especially of chamber music. Biography Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge's father was a we ...

commissioned the work, along with two other Graham dances, and musical scores for all three dances. Also on the program were ''Mirror Before Me'' set to music by

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...

(later renamed ''Herodiade'') and ''

Appalachian Spring ''Appalachian Spring'' is a musical composition by Aaron Copland that was premiered in 1944 and has achieved widespread and enduring popularity as an orchestral suite. The music, scored for a thirteen-member chamber orchestra, was created upon c ...

'' performed to music by

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

. ''Imagined Wings initial showing was also its last. Following tepid reviews, the piece was never performed again.

Theme, structure and original cast

Described in program notes as "a fantasy of theater with several characters in various imagined places." The Prompter sets the stage with a phrase from

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. The subsequent spoken passages are also excerpted from his writings. Most details of ''Imagined Wings structure have been lost, but one reviewer jotted down a few of the various settings: the woods, the market place, the castle hall, as well as the name of the castle hall scene, ''The Lady Distracted in Her Dream''.Patricia Simmons, ''Graham Group Dances Trio of New Works'', ''Washington Star'', October 31, 1944 http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200153477/default.html Graham did not appear in the work, which was danced by the

Martha Graham Dance Company The Martha Graham Dance Company, founded in 1926, is known for being the oldest American dance company. Founded by Martha Graham as a contemporary dance company, it continued to perform pieces, revive classics, and train dancers even after Graham's ...

. The original cast members were: *The Prompter - Angela Kennedy *Chorus - Yuriko *The Performers:

Erick Hawkins Frederick "Erick" Hawkins (April 23, 1909November 23, 1994) was an American modern-dance choreographer and dancer. Early life Frederick Hawkins was born in Trinidad, Colorado, on April 23, 1909. He majored in Greek civilization at Harvard Univer ...

Merce Cunningham Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...

, May O'Donnell, Nina Fonoroff,

Pearl Lang Pearl Lang (May 29, 1921 – February 24, 2009) was an American dancer, choreographer and teacher renowned as an interpreter and propagator of the choreography style of Martha Graham, and also for her own longtime dance company, the Pearl Lang ...

, Marjorie Mazia

Critical reception

The fact ''Imagined Wing'' premiered alongside two now-acknowledged Graham masterpieces likely contributed to its poor reception. ''New York Times'' critic John Martin thought the piece the weakest of the three works on the program. Despite having "bits of amusing stage directions," as a dance composition, "it lacks body and point."John Martin, ''Graham Dancers in Festival Finale'', ''The New York Times'', November 1, 1944 http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200153478/pageturner.html The ''Dance Observer'' 's reviewer made similar observations, "Some of the sketches were ingenious," but as a whole the work was "rather slight and improvisational."Robert Sabin, ''Dance at the Coolidge Festival'', ''Dance Observer'', December 1944 http://lcweb2.loc.gov/natlib/ihas/service/graham.1/200153494/200153494.pdf ''Theatre Arts Magazines reporter expressed puzzlement and the conclusion that perhaps the work would reveal its importance during subsequent viewings.Ted Dalbotten, ''To Bear Witness'', Xlibris Corporation, Jul 17, 2007, p. 89-92 Milhaud's score was also generally disparaged, "pleasant, but trivial," according to one critic; "pretty far removed from Miss Graham's style," wrote another. Only Noguchi's set was spared unfavorable review.

Backstory

Three years after the piece debuted, Graham dancer Marjorie Mazia Guthrie spoke with dance educator/author Ted Dalbotten about ''Imagined Wings origins. According to Mazia, Graham disliked Milhaud's score and kept postponing the ballet's creation. One week before the performance, Graham gathered her troupe and doled out the various sections, solos, duets and trios, for the dancers to choreograph on their own. Two or three days before the premiere, Graham reportedly viewed the dancers' efforts and quickly composed transitional entrances and exits. To Dalbotten, Mazia's revelation also explained the work's title, which he viewed as a private joke on Graham's part.

References

{{reflist 1944 ballet premieres Ballets by Martha Graham Music commissioned by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge