The Martha Graham Dance Company will present two of Graham’s Greek-themed masterpieces at the 2025 AIA/SCS Joint Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA. This performance, part of the Martha Graham Dance Company’s 100th Anniversary celebrations, offers a unique opportunity to experience performances inspired by Greek myth. The event is designed to engage both scholars attending the meeting and the local community.
Performances of Cave of the Heart (1946), Graham’s retelling of the myth of Medea, and Errand, the company’s 2013 version of Errand into the Maze (1947), a dance that draws on the myth of Theseus, Ariadne, and the Minotaur, will be followed by Q&A with the performers and with MGDC Artistic Director Janet Eilber. The Q&A will be moderated by SCS Public Engagement Coordinator, Nina Papathanasopoulou, whose scholarly expertise focuses on Graham’s engagement with Greek myth.
The event has been organized by James Ker and Nina Papathanasopoulou, both members of the Committee on Classics in the Community, and is made possible by the SCS, the Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Classical Studies. Additional organizational support was provided by Kelsey Skordal, SCS’s Communications and Services Coordinator, and Cherane Ali, SCS’s Director of Meetings.
Photo Credit:
Left: Martha Graham in Cave of the Heart; Photo by Barbara Morgan. Right: So Young An and Lorenzo Pagano in Martha Graham's Errand Into the Maze; Photo by Dragan Perkovski.
Date / Time / Location
The performance will take place on Saturday, January 4, 2025 from 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, located at:
Suzanne Roberts Theatre
480 S Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19146
https://philadelphiatheatrecompany.org/
Distance from the hotel to the theatre
The Suzanne Roberts Theatre is approximately one mile from the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, the Annual Meeting hotel. A shuttle bus will depart the hotel at 7:15 PM to take attendees to the theatre. After the performance, the same shuttle will leave the theatre at 10:30 PM sharp, returning to the hotel. The shuttle bus cannot accommodate all attendees, so we encourage those able and willing to walk to do so.
Purchasing Tickets
- Annual Meeting Registrants: Registrants of the 2025 Annual Meeting can purchase tickets at a discounted rate of $25 for faculty and $15 for students. To buy tickets, registrants should look for the purchase link in the confirmation email they will receive after completing their registration.
- General Public: Tickets for the general public are priced at $35 each. Later this fall, general public tickets can be purchased directly through the Suzanne Roberts Theatre website. Please check back on this page for a link to purchase general public tickets.
- Tickets on the Day of the Event: On the day of the event, tickets will be available for $35, regardless of registration status. These must be purchased via the Suzanne Roberts Theatre website.
Please note that the Suzanne Roberts Theatre will be closed from November 28 - December 1 for Thanksgiving, and from December 23 - January 1 for Christmas and New Year’s.
SCS Panel
In addition to the performance, the SCS will host a panel titled “Dance and Myth: The Reception of the Greeks by Martha Graham.” This panel will explore Martha Graham’s interpretation of Greek myths and will take place earlier on the same day—Saturday, January 4, 2025—during the Joint Annual Meeting from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. The panel will feature academic papers as well as discussions with directors and performers. More information about the panel can be found on the Program Outline for the 2025 Annual Meeting.
