Merce Cunningham Dance Company

Genius personified, Merce Cunningham likes to remind that “possibilities in dance are bound only bound our imagination and our two legs.” The pillar of modernism and most influential choreographer living today has prized invention over convention for more than a half century. Allowing the clean, clear lines of his dance and music to be independent yet intersect where they will and using elements of chance for continuous discovery about movement have long been defining Cunningham elements. So, too, has been his work with film and video, his exploration of computers as choreographic tools, and collaborations with musicians and visual artists including John Cage, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Andy Warhol.

About the Company

The current 14-member ensemble traces its roots back to 1953 when the Merce Cunningham Dance Company made its New York debut. Cunningham, who had performed with the Martha Graham Dance Company from 1939-45, organized his own company at Black Mountain College in North Carolina. Today internationally recognized and honored, this sterling troupe has prompted Alastair Macauley to proclaim in the London Financial Times, “There is no other dance company today in which style and technique are more ideally fused.” A joy to behold executing the purity, originality, and complexity of Merce Cunningham’s perpetual choreographic invention, the dancers hail from France, Japan, England, Canada and various U.S. hometowns. At age 86, Mr. Cunningham, who has made movement itself his primary subject matter, still thrives on unlocking kinetic expression.

Critic's Comments

“Here is a choreographer whose genius is revolutionizing the very way dance can both be created and perceived…”

- The New York Times

“His dances and dancers still mix, chop, slice, dice, whip and blend like miracle machines…”

- London Financial Times

Evening's Program

SUITE FOR FIVE – Choreography by Merce Cunningham (1956-58); Music by John Cage from “Music for Piano”; Costumes by Robert Rauschenberg

NATIVE GREEN – Choreography by Merce Cunningham (1985); Music by John King “Gliss in Sighs”

SPLIT SIDES – Choreography by Merce Cunningham (2003); Music by Sigur Ros and Radiohead The piece begins with a public display of the “chance” procedures (a roll of dice) to determine the evening’s sequence of elements in the dance: costumes, choreography, lighting, music and décor. There are 32 possible experiences to be had of Split Sides, most likely making each performance a once-a-lifetime viewing.

Performances at Northrop1981, 1987, 1989, 1993, 2000 & 2005