Performance History. In the real world, it might feel intimidating; online, why not? None of this is hard to do. Throughout his career, Cunningham choreographed more than 200 dances and over 800 "Events," or site-specific choreographic works. In addition to his role as choreographer, Cunningham performed as a dancer in his company into the early 1990s. Lent was a dancer in the company, she said, she had only the vaguest idea of how his compositional process worked. Indeterminacy was another part of Cunningham's work. Past Performing Arts Merce Cunningham. Music: David Tudor,Soundings: Ocean Diary and Andrew Culver, Ocean 1–95 Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle WA, 2005 The Guardian / Costumes: Jasper Johns (uncredited) Gold Medal for Choreographic Invention at the Fourth International Festival of Dance, Paris, 1964 “I kept thinking, one day I’ll go abroad and get it from the source,” she said in an interview. Cunningham's life and artistic vision have been the subject of numerous books, films, and exhibitions, and his works have been presented by groups including the Paris Opéra Ballet, New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, White Oak Dance Project, and London's Rambert Dance Company. Career Transition for Dancers Award, New York NY Das Leben der Grete Sultan zwischen Berlin und New York." [11], MCDC made its first international tour in 1964, visiting Europe and Asia.[11]. Janet Charleston, who teaches Cunningham technique, has been including the “50 Looks” sessions in her thrice-weekly Zoom classes at Sarah Lawrence College. He moved to New York in 2006 and has since worked with many choreographers including Brian Brooks, Wally Cardona, Ellen Cornfield, Bill Young and Sean Currán. “It’s not about being perfect,” she says on the video. Cunningham choreographed the series for himself, in 1979. Cunningham preferred the ambiguous nature of dance, which gave him an outlet for exploration of movement. Set up in the 1930s by John A Rice, it was a liberal arts college based on the progressive education principles of John Dewey and placed a high value on arts as an integral and indispensable part of the curriculum. Costumes: Henry Samelson His approach to performance was groundbreaking in its ideological simplicity and physical complexity: he applied the idea that “a thing is just that thing” to choreography, embracing the notion that “if the dancer dances, everything is there.” Cunningham was born in Centralia, Washington, and attended the Cornish School in Seattle. Sixteen Dances for Soloist and Company of Three is an essential piece in Cunningham's career, as it was the first time Cunningham employed the use of chance operations in choreographing the production. Mostly defying categories, Cunningham was a central participant in the group of Neo-Dadaist artists that included John Cage, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jasper Johns. The Plan provided a roadmap for the future of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, as envisioned by Cunningham. [20], Cunningham's lifelong passion for exploration and innovation made him a leader in applying new technologies to the arts. Alexander Street Press. Merce Cunningham saw randomness and arbitrariness as positive qualities because they exist in real life. Music: John Cage, ASLSP and Music for Two

Often he called on musicians and contemporary artists to create scores, set designs, and costumes for his dances. Gerda Peterich, Merce Cunningham, 1952. In his performances, he often used the I Ching to determine the sequence of his dances and, often, dancers were not informed of the order until the night of the performance. There, he was introduced to the work of Martha Graham (he would later have a six year tenure as a soloist with her company) and met John Cage, who would become the greatest influence on his practice, his closest collaborator, and his life partner until Cage’s death in 1992. In 2007, MCDC premiered XOVER, Cunningham's final collaboration with Rauschenberg, at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. “He didn’t like to waste paper!”. They include Paul Taylor, Remy Charlip, Viola Farber, Charles Moulton, Karole Armitage, Robert Kovich, Foofwa d'Imobilité, Kimberly Bartosik, Flo Ankah, Jan Van Dyke, Jonah Bokaer, and Alice Reyes.

Music: John Cage, (Cheap Imitation) Music: Emanuel Dimas de Melo Pimenta, Short Waves & SBbr

He had the most astonishing power – and if you got too close, or stayed a little too long, well, you might get burned." "Merce Cunningham Artist Overview and Analysis". The "front and centre" spot traditionally coveted by soloists no longer exists in his works. After all, no one can see you. He continued to lead his company until his death, and presented a new work, Nearly Ninety, in April 2009, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York, to mark his 90th birthday.