Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring

“This splendid behind-the-scenes story succeeds on all counts….Intelligent and inspiring, [it] makes tangible the glory of true collaboration.” -- San Francisco Chronicle

Greenberg, J., & Jordan, S. (2010). Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring. New York: Flash Point.

Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring introduces readers to the famous ballet Appalachian Spring. While the storyline of the ballet is present throughout the book, Greenberg is more concerned with the collaboration between the choreographer, composer, and set designer. Martha Graham has a clear vision of how she wants her ballet to look. She trains several dancers and presents her work to Aaron Copland, the composer. He studies her dance style and creates beautiful music to accompany it. They then take their ideas to a famous set designer, Isamu Noguchi. As the three collaborate and put finishing touches on the ballet, opening night draws near. The press has taken an interest in the play, but will it be a success?

Reading Level: AD710L

Suggested Delivery: Read Aloud

Electronic Resources:

Ballet comes to life: This source offers several useful features. It has an article explaining how Greenberg and Floca worked together to create the book. This is similar to the ways in which the creators of the ballet had to collaborate in order to create a successful work of art. This website also has links to video of the actual ballet. This can be watched either before or after the book is read. These videos are very useful for who students have trouble visualizing the dance as they read the story.

Martha Graham: This website gives a complete biography of Martha Graham.

Vocabulary: choreographer, composer, frontier, pioneer, rollicking, troupe, solemn, glowering, tableau, angular, collaboration, composer, gesture, imitation, interpret, melody, severe, suspense

Reading Strategies:

• Before Reading: As a class, discuss collaboration. What is collaboration? Why is it important for people to work together? What would happen if we did not work together, but did everything for ourselves? How do we collaborate as a class? Is collaborating hard or easy? Look at the cover of this book. Do you think collaboration will play a part in the story? Explain.
• During/After Reading: Students use split-page note taking to record information as they read the book and as they watch the videos of the actual ballet. As students read the book, have them write down what they know about the ballet. What does it look like? What is the message? How do the movements, music, and set designs relate to each other? Do they add to the meaning and message of the ballet? After reading, show students the videos of the actual ballet. As they watch, have them answer the same questions. Have a discussion about whether their images were similar to those in the video. If not, how were they different?

Inferential Comprehension: Martha Graham said that the title "Appalachian Spring" has nothing to do with the ballet. What would you name the show? Explain using examples from the text.