''Resurrection'' is a modern dance solo created by

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer, teacher and choreographer, whose style, the Graham technique, reshaped the dance world and is still taught in academies worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over s ...

to music by

Tibor Harsányi Tibor Harsányi (27 June 1898 in Magyarkanizsa, Kingdom of Hungary – 19 September 1954 in Paris) was a Hungarian-born composer and pianist. He studied at the Budapest Conservatory under Zoltán Kodály. He toured as a pianist around Europe an ...

. The piece premiered on March 3, 1929, at the

Booth Theatre The Booth Theatre is a Broadway theater at 222 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1913, the theater was designed by Henry Beaumont Herts in the It ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. On June 2, 1930, Graham performed another work, ''Unbalanced'', that also used Harsányi's music. ''Unbalanced'' does not appear in most Graham chronologies, so it is speculated the two pieces were the same. To confuse things further, a dance critic of the time wrote that ''Resurrection'' had previously been titled ''The Avenger''. Two other new works appeared on the afternoon's program, ''Adolescence'' with music by

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

, and ''Danza'' with a score by

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...

. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

dance critic wrote the work was "composed with complete originality and in faultless form. It builds relentlessly on a striking movement theme to an inevitably foreshadowed climax." The dance's connection to the title was, however, unclear to the reviewer, "it is not spelled out in letters that those who run may read." The critic for ''

The New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...

'' was even more mystified, "Of the three new numbers offered, ''Resurrection'' to music by Harsanvi (sic) was the least definite and effective, a bizarre interpretation in expressionistic vein."

References

{{reflist 1929 ballets Ballets by Martha Graham