Dance in Film · 1957
A Dancer's World (1957)
Peter Glushanok's camera turns Martha Graham's studio method into screen choreography: her dressing-room preparation is intercut with the company demonstrating Graham technique, preserving both the movement system and the artist's own account of how dancers are made.
A Dancer's World is a 1957 dance film centred on ballroom and social dance. For dancers, it's a chance to see the style performed on screen — the phrasing, partnering, and musicality that the same dances carry onto a real floor.
Jump to the 2 indexed dance sequences ↓
Where to watch: Streaming by subscription on the Criterion Channel and available on Criterion's restored Martha Graham: Dance on Film two-DVD edition; verified 2026-08-05. Google Play's U.S. listing was unavailable.
The dance sequences in A Dancer's World
2 sequences — what is danced, by whom, and where to find it.
“Moon” from Canticle for Innocent Comedians
Graham TechniqueChoreography Martha Graham
A moonlit duet preserving the only filmed section of Graham's otherwise lost elemental cycle.
This lyrical elemental duet is the surviving filmed fragment of a larger work now considered lost, so the sequence carries both choreographic force and unusual archival weight.
Open the film at this point · Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. Jacob's Pillow confirms that “Moon” was filmed for A Dancer's World. Accessible institutional sources do not name the original film performers, so that field is blank. Criterion Channel streams the 31-minute film by subscription; no timestamp was inferred.
Company studio technique demonstrations
Graham TechniqueDanced by Martha Graham Dance Company · Choreography Martha Graham
The company cycling through stark studio movement sequences while Graham explains the craft from inside the room.
By moving from Graham's narration directly into eleven company demonstrations, the film turns technique into observable practice: basic movement becomes both rehearsal discipline and preparation for performance.
Open the film at this point · Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. Criterion Channel streams the 31-minute 1957 film by subscription; the contract's paid-access rental enum is used. No edition-specific timestamp was inferred.
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