May O'Donnell—dancer, choreographer, and teacher—was born in 1906 in California. After discovering dance at the age of seventeen, she eventually performed with Estelle Reed, a San Francisco-based teacher and choreographer who had studied with Mary Wigman in Europe. Moving to New York in 1932, O'Donnell took classes at the Wigman studio run by Hanya Holm. She had never heard of Martha Graham, but following the suggestion of a fellow student, she showed up at Graham's Greenwich Village studio. Watching O'Donnell effortlessly execute deep pelvic contractions and spinal twists, Graham asked if she had ever studied the technique. O'Donnell replied no. After a short period of intensive study, she was taken into Graham's company. From 1932 to 1938, and later, from 1944 to 1950, her splendid presence lent itself unforgettably to Graham's work. A riveting performer whose dancing was once described by Ernestine Stodelle as “Amazonian,” O'Donnell originated roles such as the Pioneer Woman in Appalachian Spring, She of the Earth in Dark Meadow, The Chorus in Cave of the Heart, and The Attendant in Herodiade.