Circe, choreographed by Martha Graham in 1963. File photos

The first program, with a theme of "myths and fables", will run tomorrow and Friday and include Errand into the Maze (1947), Division of Angels (1948), Night Journey (1947) and Acts of Light (1981).

The second program, focusing on American culture, will run on the weekend and feature Serenata Morisca (1916), Lamentation (1930), Appalachian Spring (1944), Chronicle (1936), Satyric Festival Song (1932) and Maple Leaf Rag (1990).

"We've created a program reflecting the development of Graham's concepts at different times, from her first solo Serenata Morisca when she was 22 and her last choreography Maple Leaf Rag before her death at 96," says Wu.

"The style may be foreign to our new Chinese audience, but the themes and emotional messages are recognizable world-wide," Eilber says. "Martha's work is about human-to-human communication. It doesn't matter what country you are from or what language you speak.

"As to understanding our Greek themed work: Martha chose the Greek stories because they contain the most basic human emotions - they are universal stories," she says.

"Even though the dances we present are decades old, we strive to make their impact current and powerful. I believe it is important to keep the emotional message of each dance powerful and relevant to each new generation. This is probably the most important lesson I learned from Martha. I will be very curious to see the reaction of audiences in China, but I am guessing that we will connect well and have a wonderful exchange," she says.

Often compared with Picasso, Stravinsky and James Joyce for developing a form of expression that broke the traditional mold, Martha Graham has been called a revolutionary 20th century artist and her name has become synonymous with modern dance.

She created a unique technique, called contraction and release, involving intensified moments of exhalation and inhalation and she came to embody modern dance as arrogant and spectacular.

People as different as Woody Allen and Bette Davis cite her as a major influence. As a teacher, Graham trained and inspired generations of fine dancers and choreographers, including such greats as Alvin Ailey, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Merce Cunningham.

She performed at the White House for Franklin Roosevelt and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the French Legion of Honor. The 1998 Time Magazine named her "Dancer of the Century" and People Magazine named her among the "Female Icons of the Century."

"Graham's technique, which is now used by dance companies throughout the world, became an enduring alternative to the idiom of classical ballet," says Willy Tsao, artistic director of Beijing LDTX Modern Dance Company. "Powerful, dynamic, jagged and filled with tension, this vocabulary combined with Graham's distinctive system of training to set her above other dance innovators."

"Her methods of breathing and impulse control, which she called contraction and release, are routine for contemporary dancers today and you need not have studied them, because they are part of the air every contemporary dancer breathes," he says.

(China Daily November 26, 2008)