SE Vegas News

The University of Nevada, Reno Department of Theater and Dance gave a stirring performance of “Heretic,” a dance that was first choreographed by Martha Graham in 1929.

According to the university, the dancers wore black and surrounded a woman in white, the Heretic. The Heretic looks in different directions, tired of the unrelenting women in black trying to align with her.

As the piano crescendos, the heretic continues to ponder her existence, only to be omitted with aggressive defiance by the women in black, according to the university.

The “Heretic” lives on 93 years after Graham choreographed it. The university's dancers opened for the Martha Graham Dance Company with a performance at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts.

“The Martha Graham Dance Company is one of the oldest and most prestigious dance companies in the United States, and having the opportunity to work with this company and to perform one of Martha  Graham’s earliest, iconic dance numbers, ‘Heretic,’ was a huge honor and a special experience for our students,” Debra Moddelmog, dean of the  College of Liberal Arts said.

According to Jenna Emmons, a pre-nursing major and dance minor who was part of the core group of women in black: “It took a while to get the hang of the movements. The Graham technique itself is extremely demanding and can take years to perfect. We only got a little taste of it. The Graham technique not only requires poise and performance but takes extreme strength in the core, legs, arms and every muscle of the body. I remember being extremely sore throughout this whole process.”

Emmons added that going to school full-time and rehearsing for the performance was challenging, but she enjoyed being a part of the performance.

According to the university, the entire Martha Graham Dance Company ensemble had never been performed until the university’s dance department brought it to life.