The Martha Graham Dance Company Kicked Off a Three-Season Centennial Celebration With Its Annual Spring Gala

Fun fact: beyond being a Grammy-nominated artist and a songwriter for artists including Solange, A$AP Rocky, and The 1975, Tahliah Debrett Barnett—better known as FKA Twigs—is a classically trained dancer. And on a crisp Thursday evening in Midtown Manhattan, the British singer-songwriter, along with several talented dancers of the Martha Graham Dance Company, performed Graham’s legendary pieces at the Martha Graham Spring Gala.

As the velvet curtains ascended upon the art deco ceiling of the New York City Center, audiences roared in excitement as Lloyd Knight welcomed FKA Twigs to the stage, performing Graham’s Satyric Festival Song. FKA Twigs has long honed her skills in numerous dance disciplines, including Graham’s nuanced technique as her knees bounced and torso twisted with graceful agility.

After her solo performance, dancers from the Martha Graham Company entered the stage in nude leotards and flowy skirts as they moved in synchronized precision and symmetry to Maple Leaf Rag—a frivolous piece created by Graham in 1990 (at 96 years old!).

The evening was the first of three seasons to commemorate the Graham 100, a three-year centennial celebration honoring the company’s founding in 1926—the oldest dance company in the United States. The gala also honored their guest performer FKA Twigs, Adrienne Holder, and Dr. Donna E. Shalala. Ending the performance was a choreographed piece to Igor Stravinsky’s score Rite of Spring, a melancholic yet riveting performance created by Graham in 1984.

At 8:30 p.m., guests made their way east to a private members club where a jazz band and rounds of shrimp cocktail awaited them. Attendees wore their best floral frocks (despite the gusts of wind and droplets of rain earlier in the day). Before dinner service commenced, performers of the Martha Graham Dance Company marched their way through the ballroom with Javier Morgado, chair of the company, introducing each dancer.

The dancing didn’t stop on stage, because shortly after strawberry basil tarts were served, guests got down to their own rhythms and danced the night away—Martha Graham style, of course.