Errand into the Maze Errand into the Maze Errand into the Maze is a Martha Graham ballet based on a poem by Ben Belitt set to music by Gian Carlo Menotti. The surrealistic set was designed by Isamu Noguchi, the costumes by Graham herself. The dance uses the Greek myth of Ariadne and the Minotaur to explore the theme of conquering one’s inner demons, more specifically the fear of sexual intimacy. The piece premiered at the Ziegfeld Theatre on February 28, 1947, with Graham as the protagonist, a sort of female Theseus, and Mark Ryder as the Minotaur-like character. The original program notes describe
The Hero with a Thousand Faces from the introduction to "The Hero with a Thousand Faces", Campbell summarizes the monomyth: In laying out the monomyth, Campbell describes a number of stages or steps along this journey. "The hero's journey" begins in the "ordinary world". He must depart from the "ordinary world", when he receives a "call to adventure". With the help of a "mentor", the hero will cross a "guarded threshold", leading him to a supernatural world, where familiar laws and order do not apply. There, the hero will embark on a "road of trial"s, where he is tested along the way. The archetypal hero is