"Nearly 90-2" by Merce Cunningham Dance Company
Fri, 06/25/2010 - Tue, 06/29/2010
Programmed together with
Merce Cunningham Dance Company is the main work of Merce Cunningham, its founder, an American choreographer who revolutionized the foundations of modern dance since the time he created his first work combining dance with music and visual arts in 1975.
Merce Cunningham, Washington 1919 - 2009, received his first formal training in dance and drama at the Cornish School in Seattle. From 1939 to 1945, he was a soloist at Martha Graham's company until he presented his first solo concert with John Cage in April 1944 in New York .
The Merce Cunningham Dance Company was established at Black Mountain College in the summer of 1953. Since that time, Cunningham choreographed nearly 200 works for his company. In 1973 he choreographed "Un jour ou deux" for the ballet of the Paris Opera, with music by Cage and Jasper Johns scenery.
Cunningham's interest in contemporary technology led him to work with the computer program "DanceForms", that he used to produce all his dances since Trackers. In 1997 he started working in motion capture with Paul Kaiser and Shelley Eshkar of Riverbed Media to develop the scenography for BIPED, with music by Gavin Bryars, first performed in 1999 at Zellerbach Hall, University of California at Berkeley.
Another outstanding work "Interscape" was first performed in 2000, bringing Cunningham together with his former aide Robert Rauschenberg, who designed the scenery and costumes of the show, with music by John Cage, Cunningham's partner until his death in 1992.
In October 2005, Cunningham received the Praemium Imperiale in Tokyo. In France, he became commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in 1982. During the 2010 tour the company will be presenting his posthumous work in countries such as United States, Spain and France .
With "Nearly 90" and as a tribute to Merce Cunningham, the company intends to continue in an effort to share and preserve his legacy, so that today's audience and future generations can consolidate the work of this legendary artist.
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