Hérodiade and Appalachian Spring premiered on the same evening seventy-five years ago. Graham drew inspiration for this duet from the poem by Mallarme of the same title. The scene portrays an antechamber where a woman waits with her attendant. We know some momentous event is about to happen. The lead character is on a precipice, facing her mortality and her future while looking into the remarkable mirror of bleached bones created by Isamu Noguchi. Her attendant, perhaps representing the restrictions of society, family or religion, is trying to soothe, mollify, and use any means to convince her otherwise.