Graham100: The Centennial Celebration

May 22, 2026
Graham 100: The Centennial Celebration Miriam Barbosa, ( former USC Dance Professor and former Graham Company member) Janet Eilber (Martha Graham company Artistic Director) and Jennifer DePalo, former Graham principal.

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This year marks the 100th Anniversary of the birth of the famed Martha Graham Dance Company, which is often considered the foundation for modern dance in  America. The Graham Company holds the distinction of being the oldest dance company in the U.S. It is also the oldest integrated company in the country, reflecting its longstanding commitment to both artistic innovation and inclusion.  

What is a more fitting celebration than having this renowned group highlighted at the 2026 SPOLETO FESTIVAL, USA! The program -- presented May 22-May 25 at Festival Hall -- will showcase three distinct works across generations. It will open with Chronicle, a Graham political masterpiece in intensity created during the rise of fascism in Europe. This piece with its themes of resistance, fear,  survival and collective humanity continues to resonate with audiences today. Next will be the stunning Errand Into the Maze, set to music by Graham collaborator and Festival Founder, Gian Carlo Menotti. The program will culminate with a contemporary work, We The People, choreographed  by Jamar Roberts with an evocative score by Rhiannon Giddons.  

If Chronicle rings a bell, it is because it is this work, reconstructed literally from bits and pieces, which was set on the University of South Carolina Dance Company as Sketches from Chronicle, in an historic partnership captured in a documentary by SCETV. Jennifer DePalo Peterson, former Principal Graham Dancer, who was the Staging Regisseur who worked with former Graham Dancers and then USC Dance instructor Miriam Barbosa as Principal, setting the piece on the youthful USC Company.  SCETV was the media partner for this momentous partnership, marking the first time the work was performed by a college company.  It was sanctioned by Graham artistic director, Janet Eilber, who is also on hand for audience talks at Spoleto USA! 

To read comments by Miriam Barbosa, Janet Eilber, and Jennifer DePalo Petersen, see sections below. To learn more about Martha Graham and Sketches from Chronicle, see Side Notes.

Miriam Barbosa, Former USC Dance Professor and Former Graham Company Member

My contribution to the arts in South Carolina through the documentary Sketches from Chronicle represents both a preservation of dance heritage and a meaningful cultural offering to the community. By staging a masterwork by the legendary modern dance pioneer Martha Graham on students at the University of South Carolina, in partnership with former Principal Dancer Jennifer DePalo Peterson, I created a rare opportunity for emerging artists to engage directly with one of the foundational voices of modern dance. Graham’s choreography is not only historically significant but also technically and emotionally demanding; guiding students through this process allowed them to embody a lineage of movement that shaped the course of American dance.

The documentary Sketches from Chronicle captures this artistic journey—revealing the rehearsal process, the transmission of Graham’s technique and philosophy, and the transformation of young dancers as they inhabit this powerful work. By performing Graham’s lead role myself, under Jennifer Peterson and MG Artistic Director Janet Eilber's mentorship, I served both as interpreter and mentor, demonstrating the depth of physicality, emotional intensity, and discipline required by her repertory. This dual role strengthened the bridge between professional artistry and academic training.

The project’s impact extends beyond the stage. It enriches South Carolina’s cultural landscape by bringing a cornerstone of American modern dance to local audiences and by documenting an educational and artistic process that might otherwise remain unseen. A lot of history is explored in detail highlighting South Carolina in connection with the Martha Graham Dance Company visit and performance at the Township Auditorium in SC in 1972, as stated by Janet Eilber and local community members interviews. Through this work, I aim to inspire students, audiences, and the broader community to value the preservation, reinterpretation, and continued evolution of the performing arts. In doing so, Sketches from Chronicle contributes to the vitality of dance in South Carolina while honoring the enduring legacy of Martha Graham.

Janet Eilber, Martha Graham Artistic Director

Created almost 20 years ago, this eye-opening film gives viewers an in-depth look at a Graham masterwork being recreated in an educational setting and offers rare access to the innerworkings of bringing an historic, modernist classic to life. Interviews with the students invite us into the challenges they face replicating the physical power of the Graham choreography while delivering the emotional anti-war themes.  It is wonderful to revisit this process and be reminded again of the timelessness of the Graham dances for any generation. 

 

Jennifer DePalo Peterson, former Graham Principal

Restaging Sketches from Chronicle at the University of South Carolina was a deeply meaningful and enriching experience. Working with such highly trained and dedicated dancers, under the direction of Miriam Barbosa and Susan Anderson, was both inspiring and rewarding.

On a personal level, I found it especially fulfilling to coach Miriam Barbosa in the lead role, as well as to support the students in deepening their understanding and embodiment of the Martha Graham Technique. Their commitment to the work was evident throughout every rehearsal and performance. The dancers not only rose to the challenge of presenting this masterwork with excellence, but they also exceeded my expectations. Their artistry, discipline, and passion infused the piece with renewed vitality and integrity. 

After having danced the roles from 1996 until this restating gave me so much insight and clarity to undertake this with these beautiful dancers and the stage we set it on was exquisite.  I’m beyond grateful for that time.

Restaging Martha Graham's Sketches From Chronicle

When I first saw this video from the ETV Tape Vault, I was enchanted by the transformational approach of Martha Graham's "Sketches from Chronicle." The power, discipline and legacy knowledge that were required to stage this production stands alone among the ETV Classics. As the USC company presents “Sketches from Chronicle”, they are not only learning a new dance, but a new language as well. 

 

Explore More

Restaging Martha Grahams Sketches From Chronicles.

Side Notes

  • Martha Graham May 11, 1894—died April 1, 1991, New York, New York) was an influential American dancer, teacher, and choreographer of modern dance whose ballets and other works were intended to “reveal the inner man.” Over more than 50 years she created more than 180 works, from solos to large-scale works, in most of which she herself danced.
  • Learn about Graham100: The Centennial Celebration by visiting Graham100: The 100th Anniversary of the Martha Graham Dance Company. 
  • Janet Eilber - IMDb - has been the Artistic Director of the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance since 2005. Her direction has focused on creating new forms of audience access to the Graham masterworks. Her direction has focused on creating new forms of audience access to the Graham masterworks. These initiatives include designing contextual programming, educational and community partnerships, use of new media, commissions and creative events such as the "Lamentation Variations" and "Prelude and Revolt." She has also remixed Graham choreography and created new staging in the Graham style for theater/dance productions of "The Bacchae" and "Prometheus Bound." She soloed at the White House, was partnered by Rudolf Nureyev, starred in three segments of "Dance in America," and has since taught, lectured and directed Graham ballets internationally.
  • Miriam Barbosa - Contemporary Dancer, Teacher & Choreographer; former member of the Martha Graham Dance Company and a faculty member at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance and Alvin Ailey School. She has founded Miriam Barbosa Dance formerly known as South Carolina Contemporary Dance Company, choreographing and performing worldwide.
     
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Beryl Dakers
Beryl Dakers built a 30-year career in broadcasting on a pioneering start that had Dakers opening a series of doors previously locked to women and minorities. Dakers began her career as the first...
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Writer and tape librarian for South Carolina ETV's vault.
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