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12 Responses
I regret I’ll miss the NYC gathering but I’ll do my best to Zoom in from Michigan.
I’d be more than happy to provide a few words of deep appreciation for Linda. I was invited to join the Graham company first in 1972 when it was the “apprentice company” under Bert & Mary and a year later when Martha reemerged along with the unnamable RP. From that moment, Linda was always at Martha’s side and in the studio with us, our shield against the slings and arrows and always on the side of the dancers. I adored your mother and relied upon her mentorship and knowledge to guide me through a minefield of protocols, to access the legacies of previous generations via old, brittle films, to come to understand the roles I was given, and to encourage me to dare the impossible. Her unbroken calm, her wry humor, her practicality were all essential in the hornet’s nest of MARTHA.
As I grow older and realize that my 70’s decade of dancers is among the last of those who had worked directly with Martha, I become acutely aware of the precious “blood memory” we hold of those experiences in Martha’s company. Linda was absoluterly essential to that legacy. I will be grateful to Linda forever.
Linda was my teacher, mentor, inspiration, advisor, muse, and a source of a great deal of hilarity and joy, but most of all she was my dearest and beloved friend. We shared many moments together in Martha Graham’s studio and on tour, and developed a mutual trust and understanding when we worked together. We truly loved each other’s company! Farewell dearest Linda. You will be missed ! All my love and devotion, David
Of my many memories of Linda Hodes in the studio during my first years with the company, one stands out as a favorite and always makes me smile.
I was learning the role of the Follower in Appalachian Spring, and I was such a perfectionist that whenever I made a mistake, I’d immediately express my frustration. During one rehearsal, I messed up a step or a turn and, without thinking, blurted out, “Oh sh*t!”
I’ll never forget Linda’s response. With complete sincerity and a face as serious as could be, she immediately replied, “Oh sh*t, Jackie!”
I love this memory because it captured Linda’s empathy and humor so perfectly. Even in that small moment, she met me exactly where I was—and somehow made me laugh at myself, too.
Linda was a wonderful colleague, but an even better friend of fifty years. In the beginning, she provided an invaluable link between our production team on the PBS/Dance in America series, first with Martha, then Paul. Linda was all substance, no frills. Work bonded us, and as a pal, she was an absolute rock, unflappable, fun, generous with her talents such that I will never need another scarf. Of all my friends, Linda was the person I called when the issue was most serious. By happy accident, we lived a block apart, so over the years became frequent dinner pals, trading war stories from opposite sides of the lens for our mutual delight. She was a gem and I will miss her for the rest of my life.
Linda was a wonderful teacher and mentor for me. She welcomed me to the Graham family when I joined the company in 2008. I loved when she would rehearse the company because she just had a way of making complicated movements make sense to me. I didn’t come up through the Graham school but she took a liking to me and assisted me in deepening my understanding and intention of the Graham technique. While she was lovingly hard on me, she used to say that I was like a cat because my jumps were high, legs split open in the air but she never could hear me land. The dance world had lost a true legend. I feel honored and humbled with the short time I had to work with Linda Hodes. ❤️
In Memory of Linda Hodes
I am so sorry that I cannot be there today to honor Linda Hodes, as I am currently helping care for my parents in Connecticut, particularly my mother, who is in need of support at this time.
I have many fond memories of Linda from my years in New York. While dancing with Taylor 2, I regularly took her classes at the Martha Graham School. They were always among my favorites. I remember not only her teaching, but the way she would sit in the lobby after class surrounded by dancers, talking, laughing, smiling, and creating a sense of community that extended far beyond the studio walls.
Although Linda was never my director during my time with Taylor 2 or while working with the larger company, she was always incredibly kind to me. Every time I saw her, she greeted me with a warm smile and somehow always remembered my name. Those small acts of generosity meant so much, especially to a young dancer finding her way in New York.
Linda dedicated her life to dance and to the countless artists whose lives she touched through her teaching, leadership, mentorship, and friendship. Her impact reached far beyond the stage and studio, living on through generations of dancers who were fortunate enough to learn from her and know her.
My heartfelt condolences go out to her family, friends, colleagues, and the entire dance community. Linda did so much for so many, and she will be deeply missed.
With gratitude,
Alison Cook-Beatty
Artistic Director
Alison Cook Beatty Dance
The picture that heads these tributes is of Linda and her three daughters. Tal, the youngest, who danced with Graham as a twelve-year-old, is an award-winning film editor who has walked the red carpet and raised a daughter, Linda’s granddaughter Quinn, who plays in a band and is a sophomore at The New School. Martha, named after Miss Graham, is the middle child, a historian, scholar, winner of the Lincoln Prize for her book, “Mourning Lincoln,” and more recently the author of “My Hijacking,” a history and memoir of the 1970 hijacking event where she and her sister Catherine were held hostage on a trip home from Israel. The oldest daughter, Catherine, (me), goes by Ryn, and recently retired from a 40-year career as a social worker, working primarily with survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Ryn’s son, Linda’s grandson Matthew, is a graduate of Hunter College’s Master’s Program in Urban Planning and works for the City of New York. We too, are Linda’s legacy. Thank you for all of the care and honor evident in the beautiful memorial service, and for these loving tributes. Linda was self-deprecating, but it means the world to her.
Here is part of what I said at Linda’s memorial celebration on May 31, 2026:
Today we celebrate who Linda was to you. All of you brought Linda joy, all the way through the very last weeks and days of her long and remarkable life. The outpouring of your love at the end of her life was such a wonderful portrait of Linda, at her best.
We received so many messages like these:
“Linda is very special to me and to many people.”
“She is loved and adored by many.”
“She was dear to me and touched my life profoundly.”
“She was a shining light for me.”
“She was a pillar of support in my life.”
“Linda was an amazing, giving spirit.”
“A great one has passed! The beautiful and extraordinary Linda Hodes.”
And messages like the following, written to her daughters, are especially meaningful.
“Linda talked about all three of you, so I feel I knew you.”
“She loved and was enormously proud of each of you.”
“I hope you will each find comfort in having brought so much joy into Linda’s life.”
Thank you for all of these messages.
Toward the end, I asked Linda if any part of her believed that after she left this earth, she would be dancing in the beyond with her beloved, the Batsheva dancer, her late second husband, Ehud Ben-David. Her answer—so very Linda-like!—was an unequivocal “No.” But I’m not so sure. I think they might be together again.
I thank all of you, for loving Linda and being loved by her, for showing us who she could be. I miss you, Mom.
Sometime in the early 90’s, Paul Taylor called me into his office and said, “We’re going to start a little company. Linda’s going to run it. You’ll like her.” Meeting adjourned.
It was a good example of his hallmark blend of predication and command. As usual, it proved true. I liked her a lot and enjoyed helping them start something so special. She was mentor who didn’t advise and a friend who didn’t expect. We laughed a lot. If only more of us could emulate the way she could make something more beautiful without making it more precious.
Thirty years after our Taylor 2 adventure, Linda was happy to hear I was pursuing my own creative project. She gave me courage as no one else could. If I can ever play that role for someone else, it will be another way her memory is a blessing.
I’m still relishing the effects the gathering. Thanks to everyone who organized, spoke, performed, and created the website. She’d have loved not only the fantastic remarks and dancing, but also the calm, intelligent levity. Sincere condolences to all her families.
Lucie André
NeverReady.net
Remembering Linda, my sister-in-law
I don’t recall when I first met Linda. When she arrived in Israel in 1964, I was doing my army service and came home only occasionally. Thereafter, we would see each other on some weekends and holidays, at my parents’ home, and sometimes I would visit Linda and Ehud in Tel Aviv.
Linda certainly stood out within our extended family. While every get-together would begin with copious kissing and hugging, she was reserved and kept her cool. Communication with these family members was hampered by her lack of Hebrew, and their rudimentary command of English.
Linda was generally rather quiet and had an unfamiliar intriguing aura about her. She made no apparent effort to learn Hebrew, since at Bat-Sheva everyone spoke English. But once, at a family gathering, she commented to me, in English, about something that had come up in a Hebrew conversation alongside us. Noting my surprise, she confided that she did in fact comprehend basic Hebrew, adding with a smile, “but I’d rather people think I don’t understand what they’re saying.”
Linda was remarkably modest and entirely unpretentious. She never name-dropped the prominent people she knew through work or mentioned the glamorous events she attended. We would speak mainly about books, movies, or life in Israel. I recall her often knitting and weaving beautiful colorful rugs and shawls while talking or watching TV.
Returning from her visits to New York, Linda would bring my mother special useful gifts, chosen with care, expressing her sincere gratitude for the help she received in hosting her daughters Catherine and Martha during their summer visits, and later also Tal. She regularly kept in touch with my parents after Ehud’s death, for which I am very grateful to her.
In later years, it was always such a pleasure to reunite with Linda and the family every so often when we visited New York. I miss her and cherish fond memories of her.
With admiration, appreciation and a lot of love.
Linda will forever be in all our hearts, in all the dancers she touched with her vast knowledge and tremendous kindness.
She will always be with us !
12 Responses
I regret I’ll miss the NYC gathering but I’ll do my best to Zoom in from Michigan.
I’d be more than happy to provide a few words of deep appreciation for Linda. I was invited to join the Graham company first in 1972 when it was the “apprentice company” under Bert & Mary and a year later when Martha reemerged along with the unnamable RP. From that moment, Linda was always at Martha’s side and in the studio with us, our shield against the slings and arrows and always on the side of the dancers. I adored your mother and relied upon her mentorship and knowledge to guide me through a minefield of protocols, to access the legacies of previous generations via old, brittle films, to come to understand the roles I was given, and to encourage me to dare the impossible. Her unbroken calm, her wry humor, her practicality were all essential in the hornet’s nest of MARTHA.
As I grow older and realize that my 70’s decade of dancers is among the last of those who had worked directly with Martha, I become acutely aware of the precious “blood memory” we hold of those experiences in Martha’s company. Linda was absoluterly essential to that legacy. I will be grateful to Linda forever.
Linda was my teacher, mentor, inspiration, advisor, muse, and a source of a great deal of hilarity and joy, but most of all she was my dearest and beloved friend. We shared many moments together in Martha Graham’s studio and on tour, and developed a mutual trust and understanding when we worked together. We truly loved each other’s company! Farewell dearest Linda. You will be missed ! All my love and devotion, David
Of my many memories of Linda Hodes in the studio during my first years with the company, one stands out as a favorite and always makes me smile.
I was learning the role of the Follower in Appalachian Spring, and I was such a perfectionist that whenever I made a mistake, I’d immediately express my frustration. During one rehearsal, I messed up a step or a turn and, without thinking, blurted out, “Oh sh*t!”
I’ll never forget Linda’s response. With complete sincerity and a face as serious as could be, she immediately replied, “Oh sh*t, Jackie!”
I love this memory because it captured Linda’s empathy and humor so perfectly. Even in that small moment, she met me exactly where I was—and somehow made me laugh at myself, too.
Linda was a wonderful colleague, but an even better friend of fifty years. In the beginning, she provided an invaluable link between our production team on the PBS/Dance in America series, first with Martha, then Paul. Linda was all substance, no frills. Work bonded us, and as a pal, she was an absolute rock, unflappable, fun, generous with her talents such that I will never need another scarf. Of all my friends, Linda was the person I called when the issue was most serious. By happy accident, we lived a block apart, so over the years became frequent dinner pals, trading war stories from opposite sides of the lens for our mutual delight. She was a gem and I will miss her for the rest of my life.
Linda was a wonderful teacher and mentor for me. She welcomed me to the Graham family when I joined the company in 2008. I loved when she would rehearse the company because she just had a way of making complicated movements make sense to me. I didn’t come up through the Graham school but she took a liking to me and assisted me in deepening my understanding and intention of the Graham technique. While she was lovingly hard on me, she used to say that I was like a cat because my jumps were high, legs split open in the air but she never could hear me land. The dance world had lost a true legend. I feel honored and humbled with the short time I had to work with Linda Hodes. ❤️
In Memory of Linda Hodes
I am so sorry that I cannot be there today to honor Linda Hodes, as I am currently helping care for my parents in Connecticut, particularly my mother, who is in need of support at this time.
I have many fond memories of Linda from my years in New York. While dancing with Taylor 2, I regularly took her classes at the Martha Graham School. They were always among my favorites. I remember not only her teaching, but the way she would sit in the lobby after class surrounded by dancers, talking, laughing, smiling, and creating a sense of community that extended far beyond the studio walls.
Although Linda was never my director during my time with Taylor 2 or while working with the larger company, she was always incredibly kind to me. Every time I saw her, she greeted me with a warm smile and somehow always remembered my name. Those small acts of generosity meant so much, especially to a young dancer finding her way in New York.
Linda dedicated her life to dance and to the countless artists whose lives she touched through her teaching, leadership, mentorship, and friendship. Her impact reached far beyond the stage and studio, living on through generations of dancers who were fortunate enough to learn from her and know her.
My heartfelt condolences go out to her family, friends, colleagues, and the entire dance community. Linda did so much for so many, and she will be deeply missed.
With gratitude,
Alison Cook-Beatty
Artistic Director
Alison Cook Beatty Dance
Sharing my reminiscent tribute to Linda: https://neilbaldwinbooks.com/remembering-linda-hodes-june-3-1931-august-1-2025/
With eternal gratitude,
NB
The picture that heads these tributes is of Linda and her three daughters. Tal, the youngest, who danced with Graham as a twelve-year-old, is an award-winning film editor who has walked the red carpet and raised a daughter, Linda’s granddaughter Quinn, who plays in a band and is a sophomore at The New School. Martha, named after Miss Graham, is the middle child, a historian, scholar, winner of the Lincoln Prize for her book, “Mourning Lincoln,” and more recently the author of “My Hijacking,” a history and memoir of the 1970 hijacking event where she and her sister Catherine were held hostage on a trip home from Israel. The oldest daughter, Catherine, (me), goes by Ryn, and recently retired from a 40-year career as a social worker, working primarily with survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Ryn’s son, Linda’s grandson Matthew, is a graduate of Hunter College’s Master’s Program in Urban Planning and works for the City of New York. We too, are Linda’s legacy. Thank you for all of the care and honor evident in the beautiful memorial service, and for these loving tributes. Linda was self-deprecating, but it means the world to her.
Here is part of what I said at Linda’s memorial celebration on May 31, 2026:
Today we celebrate who Linda was to you. All of you brought Linda joy, all the way through the very last weeks and days of her long and remarkable life. The outpouring of your love at the end of her life was such a wonderful portrait of Linda, at her best.
We received so many messages like these:
“Linda is very special to me and to many people.”
“She is loved and adored by many.”
“She was dear to me and touched my life profoundly.”
“She was a shining light for me.”
“She was a pillar of support in my life.”
“Linda was an amazing, giving spirit.”
“A great one has passed! The beautiful and extraordinary Linda Hodes.”
And messages like the following, written to her daughters, are especially meaningful.
“Linda talked about all three of you, so I feel I knew you.”
“She loved and was enormously proud of each of you.”
“I hope you will each find comfort in having brought so much joy into Linda’s life.”
Thank you for all of these messages.
Toward the end, I asked Linda if any part of her believed that after she left this earth, she would be dancing in the beyond with her beloved, the Batsheva dancer, her late second husband, Ehud Ben-David. Her answer—so very Linda-like!—was an unequivocal “No.” But I’m not so sure. I think they might be together again.
I thank all of you, for loving Linda and being loved by her, for showing us who she could be. I miss you, Mom.
Sometime in the early 90’s, Paul Taylor called me into his office and said, “We’re going to start a little company. Linda’s going to run it. You’ll like her.” Meeting adjourned.
It was a good example of his hallmark blend of predication and command. As usual, it proved true. I liked her a lot and enjoyed helping them start something so special. She was mentor who didn’t advise and a friend who didn’t expect. We laughed a lot. If only more of us could emulate the way she could make something more beautiful without making it more precious.
Thirty years after our Taylor 2 adventure, Linda was happy to hear I was pursuing my own creative project. She gave me courage as no one else could. If I can ever play that role for someone else, it will be another way her memory is a blessing.
I’m still relishing the effects the gathering. Thanks to everyone who organized, spoke, performed, and created the website. She’d have loved not only the fantastic remarks and dancing, but also the calm, intelligent levity. Sincere condolences to all her families.
Lucie André
NeverReady.net
Remembering Linda, my sister-in-law
I don’t recall when I first met Linda. When she arrived in Israel in 1964, I was doing my army service and came home only occasionally. Thereafter, we would see each other on some weekends and holidays, at my parents’ home, and sometimes I would visit Linda and Ehud in Tel Aviv.
Linda certainly stood out within our extended family. While every get-together would begin with copious kissing and hugging, she was reserved and kept her cool. Communication with these family members was hampered by her lack of Hebrew, and their rudimentary command of English.
Linda was generally rather quiet and had an unfamiliar intriguing aura about her. She made no apparent effort to learn Hebrew, since at Bat-Sheva everyone spoke English. But once, at a family gathering, she commented to me, in English, about something that had come up in a Hebrew conversation alongside us. Noting my surprise, she confided that she did in fact comprehend basic Hebrew, adding with a smile, “but I’d rather people think I don’t understand what they’re saying.”
Linda was remarkably modest and entirely unpretentious. She never name-dropped the prominent people she knew through work or mentioned the glamorous events she attended. We would speak mainly about books, movies, or life in Israel. I recall her often knitting and weaving beautiful colorful rugs and shawls while talking or watching TV.
Returning from her visits to New York, Linda would bring my mother special useful gifts, chosen with care, expressing her sincere gratitude for the help she received in hosting her daughters Catherine and Martha during their summer visits, and later also Tal. She regularly kept in touch with my parents after Ehud’s death, for which I am very grateful to her.
In later years, it was always such a pleasure to reunite with Linda and the family every so often when we visited New York. I miss her and cherish fond memories of her.
With admiration, appreciation and a lot of love.
Linda will forever be in all our hearts, in all the dancers she touched with her vast knowledge and tremendous kindness.
She will always be with us !