Merce Cunningham

From Freepedia

Merce Cunningham is a choreographer born April 16,1919, Centralia (Washington, United States). He was a long-term collaborator with and romantic partner of John Cage.

Cunningham received his first formal dance and theater training at the Cornish College of the Arts where he met John Cage, who was a piano accompanist for dance classes. Later he moved to New York and studied at the American School of Ballet. From 1939 to 1945 he was a soloist in Martha Graham's dance company, choreographing Paul Bowles' light opera The Wind Remains in 1943. He presented his first New York solo concert with John Cage in April 1944 and founded the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in the summer of 1953 with its first performances at Black Mountain College.

Merce (as he is often simply called) inspired by Einstein's words "there are no fixed points in space," developed a method of creating known as "Chance Operations," which he refined in close collaboration with Cage, his life partner. Influenced by zen and Dadaism, Merce would create a number of dance phrases and use methods such as dice, cards, or coins to determine order, number of repetions, direction and spatial relation. Often times he would also invite a musician to create a score and an artist to create a visual environment while he created the movement. Each would work separately and would unite the elements for the first time on stage before an audience. Although considered an abrogation of artistic responsibility by some, Merce is thrilled by a process that arrives at works that could never have been created through traditional collaboration. This does not mean, however, that Merce holds every piece created in this fashion as a masterpiece. Those dances that do not "work" are quickly dropped from repertory, while the happy accidents are celebrated as serendipitous discoveries. In this fashion chance operations are similar to improvisation, used as a tool of creation by many artists.

Although well into his eighties and no longer able to dance, Cunningham continues to choreograph with the aid of computer software, working with musical groups including Sigur Ros and Radiohead to create soundtracks for his projects.

Cunningham'scodified technique for training the body in movement, emphasis strength and agility. His choreography notoriously demands of his dancers difficult, nearly imposible physical feats of athletisism.

See also

• Modern dance
• Postmodern dance
• 20th century concert dance

Further reading

• Bremser, M. (Ed) (1999) Fifty Contemporary Choreographers. Routledge. ISBN 0415103649
• Cunningham, M. and Lesschaeve, J. (1992) The Dancer and the Dance. Marion Boyars Publishers. ISBN 0714529311
• Vaughn, David (1999) Merce Cunningham: Fifty Years. Aperture. ISBN 0893818631
• Kostelanetz, R. (1998) Merce Cunningham: Dancing in Space and Time. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0306808773

External links

• Merce Cunningham Dance Company