Merce, et al, beautiful museum pieces, at LACMA
They don’t make ’em like Merce Cunningham (1919 – 2009) anymore. And the dance world is the poorer for it. For those who did not have the distinct honor of face time with the great dancer/choreographer (I studied modern dance with ‘Merce’ as he was ubiquitously known in the dance world, and attended concerts by ...
Baryshnikov praises Pam Tanowitz
It’s whippped cream — dolloped onto Pam Tanowitz Dance receiving the Baryshnikov Art Center’s Cage Cunningham Award. It’s the high praise BAC Artistic Director Mikhail Baryshnikov gave in noting the ‘distinct intellectual journey’ of the choreographer’s work. “We have followed Pam’s work throughout the years, and are greatly impressed with her intelligence, determination, and the ...
Rauschenberg dance contributions recognized in live MoMA performance
Who’s going to New York? Oh, you already live there? Then get thee to MoMA on Wednesday, September 6, for a curated performance of mid-century dance masterworks at the vaunted MoMA Sculpture Garden twice that day. The dance program accompanies Robert Rauschenberg: Among Friends, the exhibit now on at the Museum through September 17. Rauschenberg ...
Rebecca Bruno’s walk around time at the Norton Simon Museum
I like costumes and coifed hair on dancers. Big thumbs up. That’s only one reason I so enjoyed dancer/choreographer Rebecca Bruno’s solo outing, “Unfinished” at the Norton Simon Museum last Saturday afternoon. The intriguing hour-long work set to cool music by Sam Widaman and atmospheric scenic design and lighting by Yann Novak also came equipped with ...
Merce at Black Mountain, revisited by L.A. Dance Project @ the Hammer
The Hammer Museum took on a Merce-ish mood, February 20, when L..A. Dance Project revitalized a classic Cunningham event to mark the opening of a new exhibition, Leap Before You Look: Black Mountain College 1933 – 1957. [In the photos, “Project” dancers Anthony Bryant and Lilja Rúriksdóttir.] Cunningham, along with artistic collaborator and life partner ...
Merce lives
Jan
23
2013
It’s exciting to see the Merce Cunningham Trust kick into high gear, deploying, under strict license and supervision, the master’s iconoclastic choreography onto dance troupes around the world (Cunningham died in 2009). Over the years, it’s been controversial whether dancers without specific training in Cunningham’s rigorous technique can properly execute his choreography. Clearly, based upon ...
Our great choreographer Merce Cunningham explained 2
Sep
20
2012
I’m in a Cunningham frame of mind. Please enjoy and learn from this wonderful Cunningham tribute by Alastair Macaulay, the chief dance critic of the New York Times.
Merce Cunningham’s “Winterbranch” by L.A. Dance Project 2
Sep
20
2012
SEPT 29 2012 UPDATE: CONCERT REVIEWED ON THE HUFFINGTON POST HERE. A wonderful dark and gloomy photo of Merce Cunningham’s “Winterbranch” (1964) with early cast members Carolyn Brown and Gus Solomons, Jr. We’ll watch the re-staging of this High Cunningham classic this weekend courtesy of L.A. Dance Project, the newly launched repertory dance company sponsored ...
One of a kind, Merce Cunningham … and the lore left behind
Apr
1
2012
Courtesy of arts·meme friend Nancy Dalva [her blog, the informal formalist], the recently named Merce Cunningham Trust Scholar in Residence, comes this marvelous photo of the great dance maker who passed away in 2009. Nancy sits, at right, in conversation with Cunningham. Among her other activities, Nancy has been producer/writer of the Internet series Mondays ...
Minneapolis gets Merce Cunningham Dance Company collection
The good news in the dance world is that the Merce Cunningham Dance Company collection of set pieces, costumes, painted drops created for relentlessly innovative choreographer by leading artists, designers and musicians has a loving home. Alas dance fans will have to traipse to Minneapolis to see the stuff, made in New York City though ...