Dance in Film · 1958
Appalachian Spring (1958)
Peter Glushanok's 31-minute film preserves Martha Graham's complete frontier ballet as a screen work: Graham's Bride, Stuart Hodes's Husbandman, Bertram Ross's Revivalist, and Matt Turney's Pioneering Woman move through Isamu Noguchi's skeletal farmhouse to Aaron Copland's score.
Appalachian Spring is a 1958 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 5 indexed dance sequences ↓
Where to watch: Streaming by subscription on the Criterion Channel and available in Criterion's restored Martha Graham: Dance on Film two-DVD edition; verified 2026-08-08.
The dance sequences in Appalachian Spring
5 sequences — what is danced, by whom, and where to find it.
“Simple Gifts” daily-life sequence
Square DanceDanced by Martha Graham; Stuart Hodes; ensemble · Choreography Martha Graham
The familiar “Simple Gifts” melody opens into communal folk-pattern movement around the new home.
The Shaker-tune variations frame the couple’s daily tasks while square-dance patterns, skips, paddle turns, curtsies, and a grand right-and-left bring vernacular American structure into the ballet.
Open the film at this point · Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. Criterion Channel streams Peter Glushanok’s 1958 film (31:56) by subscription; availability uses the contract’s paid-access rental enum, and no edition-specific timestamps were inferred.
Husbandman’s riding-and-farming solo
Graham TechniqueDanced by Stuart Hodes · Choreography Martha Graham
The Husbandman’s imagined horse and farm labor turn frontier work into exuberant movement.
A buoyant character solo translates riding a horse and working the land into boyish, rhythmically charged stage action.
Open the film at this point · Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. Criterion Channel streams Peter Glushanok’s 1958 film (31:56) by subscription; availability uses the contract’s paid-access rental enum, and no edition-specific timestamps were inferred.
Newlyweds’ barn-dance duet
Graham TechniqueDanced by Martha Graham; Stuart Hodes · Choreography Martha Graham
A sweet barn-dance exchange that makes the couple’s affection the emotional center of the work.
The Bride and Husbandman turn courtship and domestic partnership into a tender duet whose folk-inflected shapes stay grounded in Graham’s modern technique.
Open the film at this point · Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. Criterion Channel streams Peter Glushanok’s 1958 film (31:56) by subscription; availability uses the contract’s paid-access rental enum, and no edition-specific timestamps were inferred.
Pioneering Woman’s reassurance solo
Graham TechniqueDanced by Matt Turney · Choreography Martha Graham
Her expansive solo affirms that the newlyweds’ sexual love is not sinful.
Large open-legged jumps and grounded Graham weight make the Pioneering Woman’s reassurance a physical answer to the Revivalist’s severity.
Open the film at this point · Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. Criterion Channel streams Peter Glushanok’s 1958 film (31:56) by subscription; availability uses the contract’s paid-access rental enum, and no edition-specific timestamps were inferred.
Revivalist’s warning solo
Graham TechniqueDanced by Bertram Ross · Choreography Martha Graham
A preacher figure interrupts the celebration with a forceful warning against sin.
The Revivalist’s fire-and-brimstone warning uses severe, emphatic Graham phrasing to press Puritan restraint against the couple’s hope.
Open the film at this point · Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. Criterion Channel streams Peter Glushanok’s 1958 film (31:56) by subscription; availability uses the contract’s paid-access rental enum, and no edition-specific timestamps were inferred.
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