The Martha Graham Dance Company’s Fall 2026 Studio Series will feature four exciting events at the Company’s new home at 1501 Broadway in the heart of Times Square. This popular series gives audiences an intimate look at the Company’s work and legacy, from up-close performances of Graham classics and insights into the artistic and historical context of their creation to behind-the-scenes glimpses of newly commissioned works and other special events.

New this season, the Company is introducing pre-show movement activities that relate to the evening’s performance. Ticket holders are invited to arrive at 6pm to explore some of the movements and ideas that are part of the program. No experience is necessary. These mini-movement experiences are designed to offer extra insight into the themes of the evening before the show begins. Ticket holders are also invited to stay following the show to enjoy a glass of wine and meet the artists.

All Studio Series events will take place at the Martha Graham Studio Theater, 1501 Broadway, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10036. Tickets are $45 (general) / $25 (students/children). Tickets for the family matinee on December 12 are $10 for children under 12. The Fall 2026 Studio Series subscription is $135 and includes VIP seating. Those unable to attend in person can join the Company’s digital membership for $20/month at https://www.patreon.com/marthagrahamdance, which includes Studio Series streams and much more! To purchase tickets for Studio Series visit: https://marthagraham.org/studioseries/

Fall 2026 Studio Series Schedule

Monday and Tuesday, September 28 and 29, at 6:30pm, with Pre-Show Games at 6pm
NEW@Graham: Movement Sentence Choir or How to Choreograph a Dance in a Matter of Minutes

This Studio Series evening will offer an inside look at the Company’s recent world premiere On Freedom. Designed to celebrate the Company’s 100th anniversary and the country’s 250th, On Freedom was created using a remarkable process created by the 92NY’s Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) – the Movement Sentence Choir. The process is an inclusive approach to dance-making that brings movers of all ages, genres, and abilities together to make a dance in a matter of minutes.

The cast of On Freedom, with choreographers Larry Keigwin and Taryn Vander Hoop, who is also a DEL facilitator, and composer Joel Weinhardt, will revisit highlights of the creative process and offer an inside look at how the dance developed in the course of three short rehearsals. The evening will conclude with a performance of the entire seven-minute work (which might change in the course of the evening).

Audience members are invited to arrive 30 minutes before the show to join Pre-Show Games. A DEL facilitator will lead everyone through a mini-Movement Sentence Choir process.

Monday and Wednesday, November 2 and 4, at 6:30pm, with Pre-Show Games at 6pm
GrahamDeconstructed: Lamentation Variations with Lar Lubovitch

An evening in conversation with renowned choreographer Lar Lubovitch regarding the creative process, and, in particular, his approach to creating a Lamentation Variation.

In 2007, the Company invited three young choreographers to create short dances for the Company inspired by a film of Martha Graham dancing her iconic solo, Lamentation. Intended for a one-night-only performance, the choreographers were given a specific set of rules to follow as they created their variation. The end results were so moving and significant that Lamentation Variations became an ongoing project. Within the next decade, 15 variations came into being from a widely diverse group of artists.

As the 20th anniversary of Lamentation Variations approaches, the Company has commissioned four new variations from choreographers Pam Tanowitz, Shawn Ahern, visual artist Rashid Johnson with Claudia Schreier, and Lar Lubovitch.

Artistic Director Janet Eilber and Lubovitch will discuss his choreographic process and the challenges of taking inspiration from the past. The Company will perform his work in process as well as one or two of the earliest variations created.

Audience members are invited to arrive at 6pm to join the Pre-Show Games, learn some of the original gestures from Lamentation and perhaps invent a few of their own.

Wednesday, December 2, at 6:30pm
From Denishawn to Marilyn Monroe: Jack Cole Revealed!
A Conversation and Book Signing with Author Debra Levine and Dancing by the New Jack Cole Dancers

A celebration of the new biography Jazzed: Jack Cole and Twentieth-Century American Dance. The evening will feature a conversation with author Debra Levine, joined by Janet Eilber, Artistic Director of the Martha Graham Company, and Norton Owen, Jacob’s Pillow Historian and Founding Director of Preservation. The program will also include a demonstration of Cole’s distinctive dance vocabulary and a performance by the New Jack Cole Dancers led by Artistic Director Cam Loeser.

Jazzed is an illuminating and long-awaited biography of one of the essential, but somewhat forgotten, geniuses of American dance, choreographer Jack Cole. In mid-20th Century, Cole’s groundbreaking, sensual physicality fused Denishawn style to jazz and ballet and exploded on screen in films such as Gilda and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Cole was an unmistakable influence on such greats as Bob Fosse, Jerome Robbins, and Alvin Ailey, and his biography finally gives the game-changing artist his long overdue due.

Friday, December 11, at 6:30pm and Saturday, December 12, at 2pm and 6:30pm
Graham 2 Holiday Event

Martha Graham Dance Company’s second company will present a festive holiday performance suitable for all ages. Crafts and snacks for the younger set will be part of this family matinee, as well as a photo session with the dancers.