7. Martha Graham
Martha Graham was an American dancer and choreographer regarded as one of the foremost pioneers of modern dance. She is widely considered one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. She created the only fully-codified modern dance technique, choreographed more than one hundred and fifty works during her lifetime, and has had a remarkable impact on the entire field of modern dance.
Graham invented a new language of movement, and used it to reveal the passion, the rage and the ecstasy common to human experience. She danced and choreographed for over seventy years, and during that time was the first dancer ever to perform at The White House, the first dancer ever to travel abroad as a cultural ambassador, and the first dancer ever to receive the highest civilian award, the Medal of Freedom. In her lifetime she received honors ranging from the key to the City of Paris to Japan’s Imperial Order of the Precious Crown. She said
“I have spent all my life with dance and being a dancer. It’s permitting life to use you in a very intense way. Sometimes it is not pleasant. Sometimes it is fearful. But nevertheless it is inevitable.”
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