From Reed to Martha Graham

Your obituary of Prof. Judy Massee was especially of interest because I left Reed in 1959 precisely because there was no dance. I went—almost—straight from Reed to the Martha Graham Studio of Contemporary Dance. There were no auditions. Anyone off the street could take a class if there was room. Hundreds of students came and went unnoticed. The atmosphere was charged and intimidating. The teachers—all members of Graham’s company at the last period of rich creativity—recognized perseverance, improvement, and talent. The beginners’ classes could be crowded; advanced never.

—Nonny Burack ’60

Amherst, Massachusetts