Democracy in Motion
Dance concert to feature Martha Graham’s Panorama
When Martha Graham debuted her groundbreaking choreography in 1926, audiences were shocked and intrigued. The work wasn’t pretty or decorative. Instead, the trailblazing American choreographer aimed to convey the realities of human experience.
A century later, as the nation marks its 250th-anniversary year, Dickinson's Dance Theatre Group (DTG) will perform Graham’s 1935 reflection on the American spirit. That work, Panorama, is the centerpiece of "Democracy in Motion,” a DTG concert held at Mathers Theatre Nov. 20-22.
“This is a historic moment for us,” says Sarah Skaggs, associate professor and director of dance, noting that the college has never before staged a Martha Graham work. “It’s an opportunity for our students not simply to study dance history, but to embody it.”
Created during the Great Depression and as fascism was rising in Europe, Panorama is both a political call to action and a meditation on the American experience. To stage this work at Dickinson, the dance program brought in a licensed Graham instructor, in partnership with the Martha Graham Dance Company in New York.
“It’s interesting to see the beginnings of what we now know as contemporary dance,” says Abigail Chester ’30, a DTG member, "and it’s beyond special to be taught by one of the authorized instructors and to join the community of dancers who know this piece.”
That certified instructor, Jennifer Conley, is a former Martha Graham Dance Company dancer who now teaches at Franklin & Marshall College. She worked with all 33 DTG members to help them bring Panorama authentically to life. The students learned core Graham techniques in structured classes. They also deepened their knowledge of Graham’s impact and explored their own interpretation of Panorama.
“It’s a special feeling to know that not only are we recreating a piece with so much significance, but that we are also bringing our own meaning to it,” says Solveig Fellows ’27, a physics major trained in classical ballet who is DTG's current president.
American-themed works by living choreographers are also part of the program. “The Shaker Dance,” created by Skaggs, reflects on an early-American religious group. The concert also includes “Threshold” by Amanda Chesnut, adjunct faculty in theatre & dance, who’s trained in Graham techniques, and “Fro/m Any/One,” by Erin Woods-Burke, senior lecturer in theatre and dance, in collaboration with students in her Fundamentals of Choreography class. “Tillana,” by guest-choreographer Rachita Menon, will be featured only during the Sunday matinee.
Each of these pieces brings a facet of U.S. history and identity to a concert built around a distinctively American work.
Because Panorama was premiered by student-dancers, rather than by Graham’s company, and because Graham didn’t keep it in her repertory, the work was lost for decades. In 1992, a section of Panorama was discovered in an early film. That is what the Dickinson students will perform.
“I find it interesting that Graham originally created this piece for a group of college students, and now it is us college students who are performing it,” says Fellows.
“It’s very exciting,” says Clara Wessells ’28 (environmental studies, law & policy), also a DTG member performing in the concert. “It's incredible to think about how many generations of dancers have performed and been influenced by Martha Graham’s work, and now we get to be a small part of that history.”
"Democracy in Motion" runs at Mathers Theatre (first floor, Holland Union Building) on Friday, Nov. 20, and Saturday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 22 at 2 p.m.
Tickets are by donation. Reserve tickets here.
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Published November 6, 2026