Martha Graham On What Feeds The Life-force Of Creativity

Shortly after the premiere, De Mille met legendary choreographer Martha Graham “in a Schrafft’s restaurant over a soda” for a conversation that put her gnawing grievance into perspective and offered what De Mille considered the greatest thing ever said to her. She recounts Graham’s at once remarkably grounding and remarkably elevating answer in the 1991 biography “Martha: The Life and Work of Martha Graham.”

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it.”

“It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open.”