Interview: Martha Graham dancer Lloyd Knight is the first man to dance her iconic role
Yesterday, Martha Graham Dance Company dancer Lloyd Knight performed Graham’s Lamentation, one of her signature works, now danced for the first time by a man. Graham said that Lamentation was “the personification of grief itself”.
Knight’s performance was part of an all-male evening of dance, Les Étoiles pour homme, which closed the Ravenna Festival 2025. He also danced Complete the Revolution, a piece created for him by Christopher Wheeldon and set to John Lewis’ famous speech given during the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom’ for African American rights in 1963.
Lloyd Knight, though born in England, was raised in Miami and joined the Martha Graham Company in 2005. He is also a principal guest artist for The Royal Ballet of Flanders, which is directed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. In the last months, The New York Times has called his dancing “potent”, and the Wall Street Journal commented on his “steadfast aplomb”.
I talked with him on the eve of his Ravenna performance.
Martha Graham wearing the elasticated pod for Lamentation is such a famous image – is the costume restricting or liberating?
I don’t want to say restricting because it represents the skin you’re in, and the tragedy that obsesses the body. But it is restricting in a way, yes, as there is a certain limit to the fabric, but you want to push, so you can stretch more. And that’s kind of like dance – you’re always striving to go more and more and more to see what else you can portray.
What are you feeling as you dance the piece? Do you use real-life experiences of loss?
I do. You go on a real journey, and I feel like I’ve gone through many avenues of feelings in this piece. Obviously, the first being very excited to perform it, and being the first man, and all the feelings that that has, but also really trying to figure out a way to express what [Martha Graham]’s message was with the piece. I try to bring my real-life feelings to it and the losses that I have had. So I think about certain individuals, and I try to bring that real, raw feeling to it.
You are the first man to dance the work. How did it come about?
There was a gala last year in New York City called Dance against Cancer. I just went for it – I thought, OK, I’ll ask our director, and she said yes! I respect that so much because there are always strong opinions about things like this. I just really love the opportunity of performing this work, especially because it’s a dance of mourning, a dance of grief, and that is universal. I’m very honoured.
Lamentation was created almost a century ago. Why do you think a man has never danced it before?
I think it’s just the times we live in; things have changed. Martha Graham’s works are so iconic. Every guy wants to do all the female roles – we all know every step. I’ll start with this. This is great.
Who did you study the role with?
With our director, Janet Eilber, and also I got coached by Joyce Herring who was also one of Martha’s protégées So a lot of notes from Martha! It was beautiful. And we watched videos with Martha coaching.
You are also dancing a piece created for you by Christopher Wheeldon about the protests for Black rights. How important is it to remind younger people about the brave struggles of the 1960s?
It’s very important. Even for myself. Coming to Italy to be a part of this gala, where I’m the only Black dancer. I’m so happy that Daniele [Cipriani] asked for that solo because this will be the first time that I’ve performed it in a theatre. The first performance was by a lake in California in the middle of the day. I’m really, really happy to perform this work as part of a show like this… it makes it more powerful… the message is so strong. You have the words of John Lewis, which are just as important today as when he first said them. I constantly get reminded of that, even today in rehearsal, with his words in this massive space where they seemed to echo even more. It’s just beautiful to me.
Can dance convey such important messages?
Dance is art, and art helps shape the world… helps to shape opinions. It’s our voice. Artists have always been around to express and help change, in my opinion.
Did you face discrimination as you were growing up?
I did, sadly. You know, as a Black man, you get put into certain boxes. I once got pulled over in Miami and got handcuffed because they thought I was somebody else. It was the beginning of university, so I was 18 or 19. I remember being like, “What’s going on?” There was not a lot of talk, but a lot of attitude with cops. They took my license and left me just standing there on the side of the road. When they came back, they were like, “You’re fine. It’s OK.” I’m sure they were very embarrassed because of the way they just ran off so fast. I was so confused.
And discrimination in dance?
Yeah, you know it comes in different ways. It might be calling you a name. But it could be, “Oh, you should go after this type of company,” and the companies suggested are primarily Black companies… Dance Theatre of Harlem or Alvin Ailey, or to dance in The Lion King. Those are all brilliant places, but you automatically get put in those boxes. It’s a form of discrimination, and yet I always felt that there’s so much in the world. Yeah, it happens in different forms.
Is the situation improving?
Yeah, I totally think it’s getting better and so many more doors have opened. Even for me, I’ve gotten to do things that I never thought would happen. Things that didn’t even enter my mind. I know things are changing because I’ve gotten a touch of it, and I see great Black artists doing great things in the world.
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
