She began studying in 1916, when she was 22 years old, with St. Denis herself, debuting in vaudeville in 1920 as an Aztec dancing girl. Creative differences, however, caused her to leave the Denishawn Institute in 1924 to perform in what, retrospectively, seems an odd career choice, the Greenwich Village Follies. By 1927, aided by her lover and musical mentor, Louis Horst, Graham formed her own company in New York City. Graham was now a fiery, independent stylist and a force of radiant artistry. Prey to a volcanic temper that she considered a source of strength, obsessed with the tragic heroines of classic literature and myth, and no stranger to the power struggle between men and women, Graham staged many of her most celebrated creations around tormented figures.
Every woman is a Medea.
Every woman is a Jocasta. In 1936, wealthy American dance enthusiast Lincoln Kirstein introduced Graham to dancer Erick Hawkins, who became the first male member of her dance company. Critics noted that once she was paired with Hawkins both romantically and professionally, Graham's work became more sexual and rhapsodic. The '40s were a time of inspiration for Graham, when many critics feel she created her richest and most complex works. By the late-'60s, she could no longer dance.