The world Martha Graham was born into was too small and too tight for her. She grew up during Victorian times which restricted an individual's expression, and imposed strict behavioral rules. For a revolutionary dancer, the determination to express her dance had to be strong in order to break free of the confines of strong approval and disapproval.

Martha Graham seeks out places which were most conducive to her vision. When the repetitive nature of the exotic dances she was performing in Ruth St. Denis's company and the Greenwich Village Follies in New York City became too confining, Graham fashioned her own environment.

In her dance studio Graham is free to create her innovations. On the stage, Graham is free to express them. These two settings are important in the life of Martha Graham.

Freedman describes Graham sitting on the floor, sewing costumes and instructing her students in...