Onstage with Martha Graham

By: Stuart Hodes

Narrated by: Chaz Allen

When World War II was over, a young bomber pilot with an itch for movement and action hung up his cap and learned another way to fly. Onstage with Martha Graham is the story of Stuart Hodes, a versatile and influential dancer who got his start with Martha Graham, an icon of modern dance. His memoir is a rare firsthand view of the dance world in the 1940s and through the end of the twentieth century.

One of the few male dancers in Graham’s company—and in the New York dance scene at the time—Hodes offers a unique perspective and a one-of-a-kind narrative. He describes how he fell into the art by chance, happening to walk into Graham’s studio one day. He documents his experiences, travels, passions, and loves while learning from and performing with Graham, during which time he saw most of the United States, much of Europe, and some of Asia. He eventually danced as Graham’s partner in Appalachian Spring, Deaths and Entrances, Every Soul Is a Circus, and Errand into the Maze.

In his portrait of Martha Graham, Hodes recounts conversations, revelations, bouts of temper and creativity, the daily ritual of deeply physical dancing, and the never-ending search for artistic validity. Direct, often humorous, and always authentic, Hodes shares his delight in dance as both hard work and a fantastic adventure.

The book is published by Duke University Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

©2021 Stuart Hodes (P)2024 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

“Early modern dance history comes alive in Stuart Hodes’ personal and easily readable memoir.” (Dance Teacher)

“Hodes’s voice rings clear and impeccably his own...expressed with insight and a force undiminished...” (Sally Hess, former codirector, Swarthmore College Dance Program)

“Hodes has written an often funny, highly informative account of his life...A very good read.” (Martha Ullman West, senior advisory editor, Dance Magazine)