Martha Graham

In 1998, TIME magazine listed her as the "Dancer of the Century" and as one of the most important people of the 20th century. As of 2005 Hillary lives in quiet retirement in New Zealand. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1976 by President Gerald Ford (the First Lady Betty Ford had danced with Graham in her youth.). Edmund Hillary had been scheduled to act as a commentator on the ill-fated Air New Zealand flight TE901, but had to pull out due to work commitments elsewhere; he was replaced by his close friend Peter Mulgrew, who perished on the flight. Graham continued to work on the art up until her death in 1991 from natural causes at the age of 96. Sir Edmund is the first foreign national to receive such an honour from the Nepalese. Some critics say that even though there is little physical record of her dances, they are more memorable than her choreographic work. To mark the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the first successful ascent of Everest, the Nepalese Government conferred honorary citizenship upon Sir Edmund at a special golden jubilee celebration in the capital Kathmandu.

Her final dance performances came in the late 1960s, and from then on she focused on choreography. On one occasion when he was asked about the possibility of the existence of the yeti or abominable snowman, he expressed his skepticism since he had actually searched the Himalayas for that elusive creature. When Rothschild moved to Israel and established the Batsheva Dance Company in 1965, Graham became the company's first director, groomed its first generation of dancers, and choreographed exclusive works for the Israeli group. During the mid-1980s, he was also New Zealand's Ambassador to India, where he was in frequent demand as a guest of honor. One of her students was heiress Bethsabée de Rothschild with whom she became close friends. He is also the Honorary President of the American Himalayan Foundation, a US non-profit body that also helps improve the ecology and living conditions in the Himalayas. In 1948, the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance was established. He has stated that he regards this as his most important achievement.

Graham's dancing life gradually came to a rest starting in the 1950s. Through his efforts he has succeeded in building many schools and hospitals in this remote region of the Himalaya. This defined the new dance style, and set the standard for many choreographers to follow to this day. He has devoted much of his life to helping the Sherpa people of Nepal through the Himalayan Trust which he founded and to which he has given much of his time and energy. Influenced by the Wall Street Crash, the Great Depression and the Spanish Civil War, the dance focussed on depression and isolation, reflected in the dark nature of both the set and costumes. Hillary's son Peter Hillary is an adventurer and has climbed Everest twice. "Steps in the Street" brought serious issues to the stage for the general public in a dramatic manner. He later married June Mulgrew.

In 1936 came Graham's defining work, that signalled the beginning of a new era in contemporary dance. Hillary lost his wife Louise and daughter Belinda in an aircrash in Nepal. In 1951 she created the dance division of the Juilliard School. He was created a Knight of the Order of the Garter (KG) on April 23, 1995. At Bennington College, in 1932, Graham founded the first-ever bachelor of arts degree in dance. He was created a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) on July 16, 1953 and was created a member of the Order of New Zealand (ONZ) in 1987. The Martha Graham style is widely recognised for its trademarks contraction and release, the controlled falling to the floor, stag leaps and a developed imagery that goes with her movements. He also reached the South Pole, as part of the British Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, on January 4, 1958.

Graham's performances made her famous for innovations in modern dance. He climbed 10 other peaks in the Himalaya on further visits in 1956, 1960-61 and 1963-65. Her unique style of modern dance reflected the modern art of her time. He was part of an unsuccessful New Zealand expedition to Everest in 1951 before joining the successful British attempt of 1953. In 1926 Graham founded her own company, the Martha Graham Dance company. During World War II he was a RNZAF navigator. She set out on her own, but with the constant support of Louis Horst, an accompanist whom she had got to know while training at Denishawn and who grew to be her lover and musical mentor. He found that his gangly and uncoordinated frame was physically strong and had greater endurance than many of his tramping companions.

In 1925, Graham became a dance instructor at the Eastman School of Music and Theater in Rochester, New York. At age 16, his interest in climbing was sparked during a school trip to Ruapehu. Not until age 22 (1916) did she pursue her interest professionally by enrolling in the Denishawn. As he grew up he was smaller than his peers and very shy so he took refuge in his books and daydreams of a life filled with adventure. Denis perform in the 1910s, she took an interest in dance. The trip to school was over two hours each way, time which he spent reading. After seeing Ruth St. Born in Tuakau (south of Auckland), Hillary attended the Auckland Grammar School.

She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and moved to California as a child. Sir Edmund is the only living New Zealander to appear on a banknote. Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991), an American dancer and choreographer, is recognized as one of the foremost innovators in modern dance. After descending, legend has it the ex-apiarist (beekeeper) said he and Tenzing had 'knocked the bastard off', a phrase which has found its way into colloquial New Zealand English. He reached the 29,035-foot (8850 m) summit on May 29, 1953 with Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa. Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE (Born July 20, 1919 ) is a New Zealand mountaineer and explorer, most famous for the first successful climb of Mount Everest.