Created by
Renée Jaworski, Matt Kent, and Derion Loman
in collaboration with Connor Chaparro, Ryan Hayes, Isaac Huerta, Hannah Klinkman, Darren Robinson, and Jessica Robling

Music and Sound Design: Matt Kent
Costume Design: Márion Talán de la Rosa
Lighting Design: Brian Tovar

Support for Pilobolus’s participation in GRAHAM100 comes from The Ballet Foundation

ABOUT lamentation

Pilobolus is honored to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the Martha Graham Dance Company—GRAHAM100—by bringing its interpretation of Graham’s seminal work, Lamentation, to the stage as part of the Lamentation Variations Project.

As we delve into this iconic work, we are struck by the unexpected yet profound connections between our own lineage and Martha Graham’s legacy. Merce Cunningham, who danced with Graham, trained Alison Chase before she arrived at Dartmouth University and began teaching the men who would eventually found Pilobolus. She was integral in shaping the company from the very start, though she didn’t officially join as a performer until two years later. This lineage reminds us that we are not as far from the roots of modern dance as we once thought.

Martha’s work is powerful and poetic, rich with sensuality and even a touch of humor—qualities that resonate deeply with Pilobolus. Graham’s connection to the avant-garde is exemplified by her inclusion in Andy Warhol’s Pop Art series, highlighting her influence beyond the realm of dance. Additionally, her participation in Apple’s “Think Different” campaign underscores her role as an iconoclast who broke from tradition to start something new. We see this collaboration as a meeting of kindred spirits across time, and we are thrilled to celebrate her enduring impact by offering our own interpretation of Lamentation.

More about the Lamentations Variations Project

The Lamentation Variations Project was conceived by Janet Eilber and premiered September 11, 2007 at New York City’s Joyce Theater to commemorate the anniversary of 9/11. The work is based on a film from the early 1940s of Martha Graham dancing movements from her then new, and now iconic, solo, Lamentation. The choreographers were each invited to create a movement study in reaction to the Graham film.

Header image by Emily Denaro; Martha Graham in Lamentation provided by the Martha Graham Dance Company