New Two-Part Documentary
Celebrating 100 Years of Innovation from America’s Oldest Contemporary Dance Company, Featuring the Words of Graham Herself, Voiced by Meryl Streep
ARLINGTON, VA (February 5, 2026) – PBS announced the new two-part series, MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY: WE ARE OUR TIME will premiere on Friday, March 27, 2026, at 9:00 p.m. ET, with episode two airing on Friday, April 3 at 9:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS, PBS.org, and the PBS app. As the Graham Company nears its landmark 100th anniversary, WE ARE OUR TIME offers a rare behind-the-scenes portrait of the company, exploring Graham’s legacy through the dancers who embody her work today. For over three years Partisan Pictures embedded within the dance company, filming from rehearsal to premiere, across a global tour, and at home with family.
Woven throughout are the words of Martha Graham herself, spoken by Meryl Streep: “No artist is ahead of his time. He is his time.”
Graham’s singular vision revolutionized dance. Often listed alongside artistic forces such as Picasso and Stravinsky, she upended classical tradition with a striking vocabulary of movement that favored emotional truth over beauty. “I was a heretic,” Graham wrote, “I showed on stage what most people came to the theater to avoid.” With one of the first racially integrated companies, dances that explore the female psyche, and works of political protest, Graham challenged mid-20th century audiences. She believed dance should be vital, not decorative, describing it as “an arrow pointing to life at an instant.”
Through stunning dance sequences, verité storytelling, and interviews with dancers across generations – those who studied with Graham and those who’ve followed – the series reveals the devotion and sacrifice of a dancer’s world. Graham interrogated the American identity, relentlessly questioning what it means to create “American” art. Today, the company continues her pursuit. “We are not making a sacred altar to Martha Graham,” explains artistic director Janet Elber. “We are honoring her appetite for the new.”
“PBS is honored to celebrate one of America’s most groundbreaking artistic institutions,” said Sylvia Bugg, Chief Programming Executive and General Manager, General Audience Programming at PBS. “MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY: WE ARE OUR TIME offers audiences a rare window into the creative legacy that reshaped modern dance, while highlighting the artists who continue to carry Graham’s vision forward. We are proud to share programming that reflects PBS’s mission to broaden the national conversation about such an important subject.”
Episode one, “American Spirit” follows the Graham dancers from rehearsal to premiere as they carry her legacy forward with a new work, a protest dance from choreographer Jamar Roberts in collaboration with Pulitzer-winning composer Rhiannon Giddens. Episode two, “Athletes of God” takes viewers on a world tour with the dance company. Traveling across Europe, the dancers reflect on both the exhilaration and the physical and emotional toll of life on the road. As the first American dance company to tour China post-pandemic, their journey echoes Graham’s belief in movement as a universal language.
Martha Graham’s legacy is not just a technique, but a demand: that art confront and reflect the world as it is. WE ARE OUR TIME captures the passion and urgency required to keep the company – and its founder’s spirit – alive. For the vibrant dancers of the company, that urgency is lived in their bodies. They train for years for that one weightless moment on stage. Company member Alessio Crognale-Roberts summarizes this experience, “You're alive. You get everything out of yourself, even if it's sweat, even if it's pain. Like, I just give it all to you.”
“Capturing the athleticism and breathtaking elegance of each dancer in intimate settings, both in their homes and backstage, was a challenging yet thrilling experience,” said directors Peter Schnall and Cyndee Readdean. “It was also a first for the Graham company: never before had a documentary team been granted unrestricted access to the day-to-day operations of the company and its dancers. In filming them, we came to understand what Graham meant by being ‘born to the instant.’ Whether through movement on stage or through a camera’s lens, we were both capturing the moment.”
MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY: WE ARE OUR TIME will be available to stream on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO.
MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY: WE ARE OUR TIME is a Partisan Pictures production for PBS. It is directed and produced by Peter Schnall and Cyndee Readdean. Executive Producers are David Kener and Peter Schnall. Editors are Rob Kuhns and Jennifer McGarrity. Cinematography by Peter Schnall, Andrew Baker and Jerry Risius and the Music Supervisor is Jonathan Zalben. The Associate Producer is Lena Schnall.
About PBS
PBS, with more than 330 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 36 million adults on linear primetime television, more than 16 million users on PBS-owned streaming platforms, 53 million viewers on YouTube, and 60 million people view PBS content on social media, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature, and public affairs and to take front-row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’s broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS LearningMedia for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. As the number one educational media brand, PBS KIDS helps children 2-8 build critical skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality content on TV — including a PBS KIDS channel — and streaming free on pbskids.org and thePBS KIDS Video app, games on the PBS KIDS Games app, and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at PBS.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, Facebook,Instagram, or through our apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Communications on X.
About Partisan Pictures
Founded by seven-time Emmy & Peabody-winning producer & cinematographer Peter Schnall, Partisan Pictures is a pioneer in documentary film and television, with a reputation for producing insightful films – true stories distinguished by humanity, intrigue and integrity. Partisan Pictures has been proud to have a world-class team of innovative writers and producers who constantly re-imagine how stories can be brought to life.
About the Martha Graham Dance Company
LaRue Allen, Executive Director; Janet Eilber, Artistic Director
The Martha Graham Dance Company has been a leader in the evolving art form of modern dance since its founding in 1926. It is both the oldest dance company in the United States and the oldest integrated dance company.
Today, the Company is embracing a new programming vision that showcases masterpieces by Graham alongside newly commissioned works by contemporary artists. With programs that unite the work of choreographers across time within a rich historical and thematic narrative, the Company is actively working to create new platforms for contemporary dance and multiple points of access for audiences.
Since its inception, the Martha Graham Dance Company has received international acclaim from audiences in more than 50 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The Company has performed at the Metropolitan Opera House, Carnegie Hall, the Paris Opera House, Covent Garden, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as at the base of the Great Pyramids in Egypt and in the ancient Odeon of Herodes Atticus theater on the Acropolis in Athens. In addition, the Company has also produced several award-winning films broadcast on PBS and around the world.
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