742 THE SURVIVAL OF CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY
- Electra (1931). For the first time Graham appeared in a production of a le-
gitimate play, produced by a company associated with the University of
Michigan in Ann Arbor. Cast as The Dancer, Graham choreographed her
three solos: Dance of the Fury, Lament over the Urn, and a final Dance to
lead the chorus. - Dithyrambic (1931). Music by Aaron Copland (piano variations). A bar-
baric solo dance expressing the passion of the dionysiac dithyramb. - Bacchanale (1931) and Bacchanale No. 2 (1932). Music (for piano, four hands)
by Wallingford Riegger (1885-1961), who wrote many scores for the lead-
ing figures in modern dance in the 1930s. - Lucrèce (1932). A dramatic adaptation by André Obey of Shakespeare's
The Rape of Lucretia, in which narrators recited the story while actors
mimed; Graham was movement and staging consultant to Katharine Cor-
nell and Guthrie McClintic for the production. - Tragic Patterns (1932). Music by Louis Horst. Three Choric Dances for an An-
tique Greek Tragedy: Chorus for Supplicants, Chorus for Maenads, and Cho-
rus for Furies. Also performed as a solo. - Cortege of Eagles (1967). Music by Eugene Lester. Hecuba and Polymnestor
are the central tragic figures; a list of the other principal dancers suggests
the scope of the action: Andromache, Charon, Hector, Achilles, Priam,
Polydorus, Paris, Helen, Astyanax, and Polyxena. - Phaedra (1962). Music by Robert Starer. Cast: Phaedra, Hippolytus,
Aphrodite, Artemis, Theseus, Pasiphae, and seven bull dancers. - Phaedra's Dream (1983). Music by Crumb.
- Andromache's Lament (1982). Music by Samuel Barber.
- Circe (1963). Music by Alan Hovhaness. The characters are Circe, Ulysses,
Helmsman, Snake, Lion, Deer, and Goat. The program notes explain: "The
world Ulysses sees, in Martha Graham's adaptation of the myth of Circe,
is his own: that inner world of bestialities and enchantments where one
discovers what it costs to choose to be human." - Persephone (1987). Music by Igor Stravinsky (Symphony in C). Program
notes explain: "Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest, searches for her daugh-
ter Persephone, abducted into the Underworld. Until her return, the earth
remains barren."
GEORGE BALANCHINE
George Balanchine (1904-1983), born in St. Petersburg, Russia, was trained in
the Imperial Theater Ballet School, studied music at the Conservatory, was a
member of the company of the State Theater of Opera and Ballet, and became
the leader of an independent group of dancers called the Young Ballet. In 1924