Merce Cunningham
“The two factors that make “Nearly Ninety” exceptional, though, remain the choreography and the performances. Mr. Cunningham’s dance imagination actually appears more fertile than ever before. Onward!”
By dance critic Alastair Macaulay.
Nearly Ninety (minutes long) seemed that way to me too. I saw the final Sunday afternoon performance. The set lacked only sequins. ”Pour” is exactly the right word here.
This is two pages long.
Merce Cunningham, Visionary Choreographer, Dies at 90 – Obituary (Obit) – NYTimes.com
By dance critic Alastair Macaulay
This is very informative and very well written. It is 4 pages long.
Choreographer-Dancer Merce Cunningham Dies : NPR
Look at Pond Way. It was choreographed in 1988 and is 22.35 minutes long. This is not a clip.
“Pond Way can be described as one of Cunningham’s ‘nature studies’ where the movement evokes birds, animals or landscapes. It is a lyrical, contemplative and sensuous piece, with the movement, according to Cunningham, being reminiscent of the game of skimming stones over a pond, which he loved to play as a child. The production is further enriched with a backcloth from the visual artist Roy Lichtenstein and a soundscape by Brian Eno.” ……NPR
The space is a work space. Creation goes on there daily. People learn how to dance and perform there. Out of each of its 10 huge windows is a panoramic, 11th floor view of New York City. The space perfectly equipped for making and performing dances in this City. What I as a choreographer must have abosolutely, is enough room to articulate momentums, gusts of energy, to explore how they emerge, surge, subside and transform. Merce did influence my choreography. He helped me release my imagination because I knew that in the end there would be room enough for the consequences. Phrases would fit. If I wanted a leap I could have it. Merce made available to other City choreographers the tools he himself needed to make his own work and show it informally. Renting out this space he loved to other unknown choreographers cost, it did not earn money. Inevitably there was wear and tear on equipment; also arranging and overseeing productions and audiences required dedicated and skilled staff.
The Cunningham Dance Studio has been a priceless gift to the New York City dance community and perhaps it will continue to be. Funding for next year has been cut.
It was really interesting to read your tribute to, and reminders of Merce Cunningham’s career. That you performed CHANGING PLACES at his studio recently was a treat…. in that the piece seemed to reflect something of his influence upon your work, enhanced by the ambience of the space so much created by him. I very much enjoyed the performance.