Matt Turney (1925–2009) was a principal dancer with the

Martha Graham Dance Company The Martha Graham Dance Company, founded in 1926, is known for being the oldest American dance company. Founded by Martha Graham as a contemporary dance company, it continued to perform pieces, revive classics, and train dancers even after Graham's ...

and was with the company for over two decades.

Biography

Matt Turney was born in 1925 in

Americus, Georgia Americus is the county seat of Sumter County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,230. It is the principal city of the Americus Micropolitan Statistical Area, a micropolitan area that covers Schley an ...

. Turney studied dance with Nancy Hauser and received her B.A. in dance from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

at Madison. After graduation, she moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

with her friend Mary Hinkson, who joined the

Martha Graham School Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance is located in New York City and is the headquarters to the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance and the Martha Graham Dance Company, which is the oldest continually performing dance company in the ...

. Soon after, Turney joined the company as one of the company’s first black dancers. Turney was known for her ability to remain perfectly still during performances. Her statuesque eloquence made her a standout member of Graham’s company, and is best evidenced in her role as the Pioneer Woman in the ballet ''

Appalachian Spring ''Appalachian Spring'' is a musical composition by Aaron Copland that was premiered in 1944 and has achieved widespread and enduring popularity as an orchestral suite. The music, scored for a thirteen-member chamber orchestra, was created upon ...

''."Revolt, They Said". www.andreageyer.info.
Retrieved 2017-08-17. She was part of the Martha Graham Dance Company from 1951 to 1972. She worked with other choreographers including

Alvin Ailey Alvin Ailey Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Cente ...

Donald McKayle Donald McKayle (July 6, 1930 – April 6, 2018) was an American modern dancer, choreographer, teacher, director and writer best known for creating socially conscious concert works during the 1950s and '60s that focus on expressing the human cond ...

Pearl Primus Pearl Eileen Primus (November 29, 1919 – October 29, 1994) was an American dancer, choreographer and anthropologist. Primus played an important role in the presentation of African dance to American audiences. Early in her career she saw the ne ...

, and Paul Taylor. Turney was married for a time to the television reporter Bob Teague with whom she had one child. The couple divorced. Turney died on December 20, 2009 in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turney, Matt 1925 births 2009 deaths African-American dancers University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni 20th-century American dancers 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people