Timeless Gestures — A Celebration of the Visual and Performing Arts

Timeless Gestures showcases the collaboration between photographer Barbara Morgan and modern dance pioneer Martha Graham.

  • By Michele Meyers
  • | 1:00 p.m. July 31, 2025
  • Ormond Beach Observer
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Daytona State College’s Southeast Museum of Photography was home to the inaugural, multidisciplinary art event “Timeless Gestures — A Celebration of the Visual and Performing Arts” on Saturday, July 26. Two performances were offered free to the public that highlighted the collaboration between photographer Barbara Morgan and modern dancer-choreographer Martha Graham.

Christina Katsolis, SEMP museum technician and preparator, organized the event held where Morgan’s images were on display from Sept. 3, 2024, through July 31 in the museum’s main exhibition—“Collected: Connecting Past, Present and Future Acquisitions.”

Katsolis wanted to meld the visual element of photography with the physicality of dance to help reveal the complementary nature of Morgan and Graham’s relationship.


“Timeless Gestures underscores the efficacy of Morgan and Graham’s partnership,” she said, per the event press release. “Using contemporary dance as a creative framework, it broadens our audience’s understanding of the photographic record. Both mediums transcend boundaries, using visual storytelling to encapsulate the complexities of the human condition.”

The relationship between Morgan and Graham began after Morgan attended a performance by the Martha Graham Dance Company and decided to photograph the troupe, according to the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Their collaboration led to the creation of Morgan’s book “Martha Graham: Sixteen Dances in Photographs,” published in 1941, which captured dancers in movement using various lighting methods. The book was instrumental in introducing people to modern dance in the United States and internationally.

Jeanna Reiter, owner of the Flagler School of Dance in Bunnell, got involved after Katsolis reached out regarding “Timeless Gestures.” Reiter said since some of Morgan’s images are of Graham she contacted her daughter Aria who has studied the Graham technique.

“I reached out to my daughter who was a lifelong student of the Flagler School of Dance,” Reiter said. “Even though she’s graduated and gone on to Miami, I just felt it was more of an organic connection to reach out to her. I decided to bring her in to do it.”

Aria is currently a dance student at the New World School of the Arts - Miami Dade College. She and fellow rising senior Luciano Oliviero choreographed and performed “Foundations” at the event. It is an original work that allowed the dancers to demonstrate Graham’s technique. Jeanna said she felt honored to collaborate on such an event.

Today was such a mom moment for me. In fact, the second that we walked into the room and she was there before anybody got here, I was immediately emotional. I think the art does that to you. To be in the presence of people’s hearts, then the art on the walls and the dancing — it’s just special.
— JEANNA REITER

“Today was such a mom moment for me,” Jeanna Reiter said. “In fact, the second that we walked into the room and she was there before anybody got here, I was immediately emotional. I think the art does that to you. To be in the presence of people’s hearts, then the art on the walls and the dancing — it’s just special.”

Aria said she was taught by NWSA professor Peter London who was trained by Graham.

“She (Graham) was a pioneer — her big thing was change,” she said. “Everybody hated her when she first started. To be able to train with somebody who was trained by her is just a couple steps from the mother. You can just feel the importance. You can feel how powerful it is. I can only imagine how powerful it was for its time.”

Oliviero and Aria are part of the same friend group. Aria asked him to join her because they both shared the same passion for Graham’s work.

“We both have the same passion and love for Martha Graham,” he said. “This is like a great opportunity to show off our love and do a tribute for her technique.”

Both dancers drove from Miami and met the night before the event to choreograph their routine. Olivieri said the analogies London gave them in class along with the excellent training helped them pull the dance together quickly.

“Those kinds of things helped us and stuck with us,” Oliviero said. “We were practicing the night before, in a room with a window and we just felt the moonlight. It was just wow — that energy. We just felt it … then prep in the morning and we were good to go.”

The multifaceted event also showcased DSC art students Ariana Marrero and Michael Grayless who executed live sketches of the dancers as they performed. Marrero, whose artist name is Mars, said she has been drawing since she could hold a pen in her hand. She said her professor Stacy Reynolds has challenged her to participate in competitions, exhibitions and events that have pushed her to grow as an artist.

“I feel really good about this event — I give it a 10,” she said. “I love doing this kind of stuff and I love talking to people about it. Art’s all about the process. When I was asked to do live figure drawings, I was like, I would love to do that. That’s right up my alley.”

Caribbean-born and part-time Palm Coast resident Marcia O’Connor said the event brought tears to her eyes. The 74-year-old has been dancing since the age of 3 when she was taught classical ballet. She did not experience the Graham technique until she moved to New York at 27 years old.

“Graham’s technique turned the whole classical ballet world upside down,” O’Connor said. “It was so different and so it was difficult and very, very disciplined. As one of the dancers said, you’ve got to understand her flow, her reason.”

In 2026, it will be the Martha Graham Dance Company’s centennial celebration. Katsolis said the event was a wonderful way to pay tribute to Morgan and Graham. 

“She had an Asian, eclectic type of vibe in her—in her whole choreography,” O’Connor said.  “You know, she was very different. She’s really a national hero of dance in America.” 

 

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