Approaching its Centenary, Martha Graham Dance Company's Lloyd Knight Addresses Founder's Pioneering Spirit

EDGE: As a principal do you do choreography?

Lloyd Knight: On my own, yes, but not within the company. Our work is pretty set. And then we have the contemporary choreographers that come in and choreograph their own work.

EDGE: Do you work year-round as a principal at Martha Graham?

Lloyd Knight: We don't work year-round, but the dedication to this company is pretty much year-round. You want to stay physically and mentally strong so you're capable of doing your best work possible.

EDGE: How do you stay physically fit?

Lloyd Knight: Dance class every day off season, for sure. I love just moving and learning. I love to take dance class and I do cross training as well. Pilates or gyrotonics, some gym time, whatever feels good on the body.

EDGE: Where does someone of your caliber take dance classes?

Lloyd Knight: There's Graham classes here at the school and that's best because it connects to our work, obviously, and you can really hone in on the technique. And there's ballet classes and a studio called Steps on Broadway, for example, where you can just go pay and take a class. That's fun because you can be with the dance community, which is huge here in New York.

EDGE: Do you ever take tap dancing classes?

Lloyd Knight: (Laughs.) I can probably count on one hand the number of tap classes I've done. It's fun and I have a deep appreciation for tappers, but my ankle does not want to do it. I would need to really focus and take a lot of classes. It's a lot harder than it looks. It's a very intense art, intense in the greatest way.

EDGE: You've worked with the legendary Twyla Tharp.

Lloyd Knight: I did. I was able to do two iconic pieces of hers, "Nine Sinatra Songs" and "In the Upper Room," that I grew up watching on video. I'd only seen one of the works live once. It was really a dream to work with her. I learned a lot from her. It was tough, but it was by far one of the greatest dance experiences I've ever had.

EDGE: How do you see your career evolving?

Lloyd Knight: Knock on wood my journey has been pretty steady. I feel great and my appreciation for the work is growing deeper and deeper as time has gone by. I want to keep growing as an artist, evolve. I really love dance theater deeply now, and working on solo projects, the stuff really feeds that side of myself. I'm very lucky to have the classical work of Graham, but also to work with these new choreographers who come in and make me move in a different way. I'm always on my toes, literally.

EDGE: Do your feet hurt from all these years of ballet?

Lloyd Knight: Yeah, I don't want to say the sacrifice, but what you put your body through every day, day in and day out, for this is hard. There's injuries. I've gone through it and they all suck. But you just try to see the rainbow, stay positive, and you just fight through it. People make choices. When injuries come you either follow through on it and continue on your path, or find another one. It depends on the person. I am dancing. This is something I could have only dreamed of being a part of. I didn't think all of this would happen.

EDGE: Do you find that your career takes over your personal life?

Lloyd Knight: It does take up a lot of time, but you have to find the balance, something that works for you and the way you want to live your life. You have to have your time outside of the studio. I love meeting all types of different people, not only other dancers, and experiencing what life has to offer.

EDGE: What do you like to do for fun?

Lloyd Knight: I try to hang out with friends a lot because we don't see each other all the time. Being different types of artists or dancers, we all have different schedules. I like seeing family, going to museums, movies. I love movies. I like anything that sparks some fun and joy. And I love to go out dancing.

EDGE: In clubs? People dance with you? I'd be so intimated.

Lloyd Knight: (Laughs) Yes! It's so different. It's not the same thing. We have a good time.

EDGE: You'll be in Boston this weekend.

Lloyd Knight: I'm super excited. I haven't been since we went last on tour which was my first or second year with the company, about 18 years ago. We have a really strong show that we're going to present and I think the audience will love it.

EDGE: Tell me a little about it.

Lloyd Knight: We'll be doing "We the People," a brand new work by (choreographer) Jamar Robert we presented at City Center (Theater) just a couple of months ago. And Martha Graham's "Dark Metal Suite" and "Lamentation," and Agnes de Mille's "Rodeo."

EDGE: "Lamentation" is one of her most iconic pieces. Can you describe it?

Lloyd Knight: Martha has said it is a dance of mourning, maybe a dance that speaks about grief. And it's beautiful. It's legendary and it goes down in history. People really know her from that work.

EDGE: In the piece, the dancer immerses themselves in fabric that has led to it being called a cocoon. Can you explain the cocoon for those of us who don't know it?

Lloyd Knight: It's (performed) in a purple tube. You really get the feeling that this person is grieving or surrounded and wrapped in grief. It's really breathtaking. It's this beautiful expression of modern dance, art and the human experience. I can't speak highly enough of it. I had the chance to perform it once.

EDGE: What are you thinking when you're dancing inside a purple stretch fabric cocoon?

Lloyd Knight: You're definitely in it as completely as possible, but realistically, you also have some nervousness. You want to present the shapes the best way possible and make sure the tube doesn't fall off of your head. There's those aspects, but it really is a lovely piece when the stars align. I was watching one of the girls rehearse it on Friday. It's phenomenal.

EDGE: What will you be doing in Boston?

Lloyd Knight: I will be the head wrangler in "Rodeo" and I'll also be in "Dark Meadow Suite" and "We the People."

EDGE: Have you ever had anything go wrong during a performance?

Lloyd Knight: I have. It's live dance, there are occasional slips or mishaps. At Graham we dance with sets and I've had mistakes with that.

EDGE: What do you do?

Lloyd Knight: You just keep dancing, or maybe a few tears while you keep dancing.

Martha Graham Dance Company performs under the auspices of The Celebrity Series of Boston on Friday, November 22 at 8pm and Saturday, November 23 at 2pm at the Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont Street, Boston, MA. For more information and tickets, follow this link.

For more on the Martha Graham Dance Company, including dates of upcoming events, visit the group's website.