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How did Martha Graham’s early work draw on American Indian and Southeast Asian dance influences?

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Peasant Dance by Pieter Bruegel the Elder shows villagers dancing, drinking, and socializing outdoors near rustic buildings, with musicians playing in the foreground. — dance *Peasant Dance*, oil on wood by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, c. 1568; in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

Martha Graham’s early work was significantly influenced by the American Indian and Southeast Asian dance forms she encountered during her time at the Denishawn school.12

As a student and performer at Denishawn, Graham was introduced to a curriculum that explored diverse global dance traditions, including those of Native American and Asian cultures. These influences were integrated into the school's eclectic repertory, which Graham performed early in her career. For instance, her mentor Ted Shawn channeled her dramatic potential into an Aztec ballet titled Xochitl, which became a major success and established her as a star.1

Although Graham eventually moved away from the eclecticism of Denishawn to develop her own stark, original modern dance technique, her early independent works—such as Three Gopi Maidens—continued to echo the Orientalism and exoticism that pervaded her training at the school. These early exposures provided a foundational breadth of movement that she later synthesized into her own unique, expressive language.12