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About
In 1955, the Martha Graham Dance Company became one of the first dance troupes to tour abroad under President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1954 Emergency Fund for International Affairs (Geduld 2010: 44). Graham’s 1955 tour began in Japan (Tokyo) and proceeded through Malaya, Burma, India, Pakistan, Ceylon, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand, concluding in Iran. Korea was initially included in the tour itinerary, but the performance was canceled. In 1974, Graham and her company embarked on another tour of Asia following the conflicts surrounding the Vietnam War.
A cocktail party in honor of Martha Graham and her company was held at the Raffles Hotel (27 November 1955).
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| Departure Date | From | Arrival Date | To | Via |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No routes information recorded. | ||||
Support (hasSupport)
| Supporter Name | Type of Support | Support Description |
|---|---|---|
| Donald Moore (Individual) | Individual |
In Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, the tour was managed by Donald Moore Productions Ltd. In September 1955, newspapers reported that Donald Moore was negotiating with Graham to bring her troupe to Singapore (Straits Times 1955, 4). |
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Image permission to be requested (NLB)
At a cocktail party honoring Martha Graham and her Company at the Raffles Hotel, Singapore, 1955. From the left: Mr. Nick Feld of the U.S. Consulate, Mrs. E. J. Conland, Mr. Tom Noonan of the USIS Kuala Lumpur, Martha Graham, and Mr. Donald Moore.
Sources
Geduld, Victoria Phillips. 2010. “Dancing Diplomacy: Martha Graham and the Strange Commodity of Cold-War Cultural Exchange in Asia, 1955 and 1974.” Dance Chronicle 33 (1): 44-81.
“The Dancer May Bring Troupe to Singapore.” 1955. The Straits Times, September 15, 4. https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19550915-1.2.49?qt=donald,%20moore,%20martha&q=donald%20moore%20martha
Contributor
2026. “Martha Graham’s Tour of Asia (1955-1956)”. In Performing Archipelagos, edited by Kyueun Kim, Alvin Eng Hui Lim and Hedren Wai Yuan Sum. Singapore: National University of Singapore.
