Appalachian Spring
Martha Graham and Erick Hawkins in a promotional photograph for Appalachian Spring (1944), set designed by Isamu Noguc.
QUICK F A C T S
- ✦ Appalachian Spring premiered on October 30, 1944, and the work was created by choreographer Martha Graham and composer Aaron Copland, with sets designed by Isamu Noguchi.
✦ Although often called a ballet, Appalachian Spring is considered one of the defining masterpieces of American modern dance.
✦ The story is set in rural Pennsylvania during the 19th century and centers on a young frontier couple beginning their new life together.
✦ Main characters include the Bride, the Husbandman, the Pioneer Woman, and the Revivalist with his Followers.
✦ The title Appalachian Spring was inspired by a line from Hart Crane’s poem The Bridge.
✦ Aaron Copland’s score won the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Music and famously incorporated the Shaker melody “Simple Gifts,” which became one of the ballet’s most recognizable musical themes.
✦ Appalachian Spring remains one of the signature works of the Martha Graham Dance Company and has also been performed by major ballet companies including American Ballet Theatre.
Before it became the massive Penn State University, it was just a tiny farming school in 1859. This photo captures the exact Pennsylvania frontier grit, hard work, and hope that Martha Graham celebrated in her famous dance.
S U M M A R Y
Appalachian Spring premiered in 1944 with choreography by Martha Graham and music by Aaron Copland. Commissioned by arts patron Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, the work was created for the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Although it is frequently referred to as a ballet, Appalachian Spring is more accurately classified as a masterpiece of American modern dance. The confusion comes partly from the work’s lasting presence in concert dance repertory and the way the word “ballet” is often used broadly by the public to describe theatrical dance productions with narrative storytelling and orchestral music. Graham herself, however, was a pioneer of modern dance who intentionally rejected many traditions of classical ballet in favor of a grounded, emotionally expressive movement style built around contraction and release.
Martha Graham and Bertram Ross in a separate promotional portrait in 1961. Graham is famous for her refusal to use pointe shoes in her technique.
Martha Graham and dancers on set.
Set in rural Pennsylvania during the early American frontier period, the work follows a young married couple beginning a hopeful new life together. Around them are figures representing faith, community, and pioneer resilience, including a revivalist preacher and a pioneer woman. The title was inspired by a line from Hart Crane’s poem The Bridge and does not specifically describe the Appalachian Mountains. Though the dance premiered during World War II, it is not a story about war. Instead, Graham created an idealized vision of American optimism, simplicity, and spiritual endurance during a period of global uncertainty.
Aaron Copland’s score became one of the defining works of twentieth-century American music and earned the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Its most famous section incorporates the Shaker tune “Simple Gifts,” whose plain beauty perfectly complements the work’s themes of devotion, humility, and renewal. Over time, Appalachian Spring became embraced not only by modern dance companies but also by ballet audiences and repertories, helping blur the line between ballet and modern dance in popular discussion. Today it remains one of the most celebrated works in American concert dance history and one of Martha Graham’s greatest achievements.
In Appalachian Spring, a lone Shaker-style rocking chair symbolizes home, simplicity, and frontier hope.
E N C O R E
✦ On Today’s Stage
Still regularly performed by the Martha Graham Dance Company and staged by major ballet and modern dance companies around the world, Appalachian Spring remains one of the defining works of American concert dance.
✦ Iconic Interpreters
Martha Graham originated the role of the Bride, while Erick Hawkins created the Husbandman in the original 1944 production. Later celebrated interpreters include Christine Dakin, Fang-Yi Sheu, and American Ballet Theatre artists who brought the work into ballet repertory.
✦ Legacy
Widely regarded as a masterpiece of American modern dance, Appalachian Spring helped define a distinctly American artistic identity through its frontier imagery, Copland’s unforgettable score, and Graham’s emotionally expressive choreography.