English teacher, art photographer write book on Martha Graham Dance Company

John Deane and Nan Deane Cano "Acts of Light," a new book commemorating the rebirth of the Martha Graham Dance Company in New York, was an act of love for author Nan Deane Cano, an English teacher at Agoura High School, and her brother, art photographer John Deane.

The book offers insight into 18 of Graham's modern dance masterpieces through Cano's compelling writing style and Deane's stunning photography. The choreographic narrative, "Appalachian Spring," a famous tale of a pioneer couple on their wedding day, is given special consideration in the book.

"What I tried to do was tell the stories of 18 core dances for any reader or any observer," Cano said. "It's not an obscure dance work. You don't have to be a specialist to read this book."

Cano captures Graham's legacy through the people who knew her and the dancers who continue to interpret Graham's artistry. The ballets featured in the book combine the drama of biblical stories, the emotion of Greek tragedies and the chaos of modern life. Cano said the dancers often think of the 9/ 11 tragedy when they perform to invoke a new depth of the passion inherent in Graham's classic ballets.

The dancers "tell me the stories of what they are thinking when they are dancing," Cano said. "It's a reflective and meditative book-you need not ever even see the dances to think about the concepts behind them."

Cano also drew inspiration for the book from Graham's own essays, poetry and other writings.

Since Graham's ballets often follow classic story lines from the Bible, mythology, Greek tragedies and other timeless literature, Cano was well prepared to tackle a book that interpreted classic themes through dance.

"These stories are in my blood," Cano said of her familiarity with the classics after 30 years teaching literature.

Cano said she has been told by students that she has a gift for retelling ancient tales as if they were written specifically for today's students.

"It's been fun because I've been able to share with my students my ultimate research project," Cano said. Cano's writing lessons took on new meaning over the three years it took to complete the book, and she incorporated her experience into her writing lessons at Agoura High School, including how to write citations, quotes, originality and the ongoing lesson on the dangers of plagiarism.

Martha Graham is known as the mother of modern dance in America. Cano said Graham created 181 ballets for the American stage-more than anyone in American history, including Cole Porter and Rodgers and Hammerstein. When Graham died in 1991 at the age of 96, a legal battle ensued to determine who owned the rights to Graham's l i f e work-Ron Protas, Graham's confidant and designated heir, or the Martha Graham Dance Company. Graham's ballets could not be performed until the court determined who owned the rights to Graham's work. The court ruled in favor of the dance company.

The inspiration for the book stemmed from Deane's exclusive access to the New York troupe when they were preparing for their comeback performance in 2002. Deane's promotional photographs of the dancers were so successful he was hired as the company's principal photographer.

The title of the book- "Acts of Light"-was taken from one of Graham's ballets. Deane said the title embodies the energy of the dancers and his unique photographic interpretation of the troupe and Graham's work.

"As a photographer I have various tools and, hopefully, skills at my disposal-a camera, computer, a sense of composition and a sense of timing, but for me by far the most important element in creating a good picture is, quite simply, light," Deane said.

Deane cannot point to a favorite photograph in the book, but he said the image of Miki Orihara as Eve in the ballet, "Embattled Garden," appeared on the cover of a science magazine to illustrate the lead article, "The Dancing Brain."

"The article explains how the brain responds positively to aesthetically pleasing movement, and I figured, if they can use one of my photos to express that, well, fine," Deane said.

"In all my sessions with the Graham dancers, I felt a special connection, like I had a privileged seat as all the ballets were performed for one person, me alone, and in this photo I see myself as someone with an inside look at this world, and in turn, anyone who looks at the pictures in our book has that same privileged vantage point," Deane said.

"It's just been a labor of love," Cano said.

Acorn Bits

Agoura High School English teacher Nan Deane Cano will discuss and sign her book, "Acts of Light" at 7 p.m. Sat., Dec. 11 at the Westlake Village Barnes & Noble store.

Fifteen percent of all Dec. 11 sales of the book will be donated to the school's library if purchases are made with an Agoura High voucher.

To obtain a voucher, call Jill Cope at the school's library, (818) 889-1262, Ext. 287, or send an e-mail to jcope@lvusd.org.