A few words from our friend, Nancy Dalva, producer of Mondays with Merce:
The sky crackled with lightning last night, the air rattled with thunder, and at home, peacefully, in his sleep, Merce Cunningham joined with the elements so natural to him: the earth, the sky, the water, and the air. Those birds he drew--they could fly, as he once could, and as, until his last week, he set his dancers to doing. He said recently that choreography had become, for him, "a habit of mind." We were talking, then (for "Mondays with Merce"), about how he could choreograph now that he could no longer move--as in like manner Beethoven composed when he could no longer hear.... As movement was taken from him, his dancers gave it back to him. So direct, their process with Merce: thought into movement, with nothing intermediary. These past months, he was tired; but he was game. He never stopped laughing, at himself as much as anyone or anything. To the end he was gallant and courteous with visitors, and clear. Always clear, like those green eyes that could look as blue as the sky on a cloudless day. I asked him this:
"Merce, how is it that without music, without narrative, and with your using chance procedures to remove yourself, to keep from imposing your personality on the movement, that your dances are so passionate?" "Because," he said, "I love dancing!"
Copyright © 2009 Nancy Dalva
Photo courtesy Hugo Glendinning
The board and staff of the Cunningham Dance Foundation and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company honor the extraordinary life of our friend and mentor Merce Cunningham. Merce revolutionized the visual and performing arts - not for the sake of iconoclasm, but for the beauty and wonder that lay in exploring new possibilities. An inspiring performer and dancer into his 80s, and a visionary chorographer and dedicated teacher throughout his life, he led quietly and by example. With his partner John Cage, he opened up new ways of perceiving and experiencing the world, and his insatiable curiosity, collaborative spirit, and love of the new inspired countless artists across disciplines. Merce has left an indelible mark on our collective creativity and culture; his legacy will resonate in the dance world and beyond for generations to come.
Click the image below to see a wonderful series of images of parkour, created by London-based photography studio, Alex & Cocco.
In their words:
"Our urban environments are about far more than bricks and concrete. Architecture comes alive when used as an urban playground, offering a never-ending set of challenging surfaces and spaces to those willing to explore them."
This portfolio is continued at their own site, linked below.
All photography © Alex & Cocco, www.distilennui.com.
In Merce's own words:
"Presented without intermission, Events consist of excerpts of dances from the repertory and new sequences arranged for the particular performance and place, with the possibility of several separate activities happening at the same time."
Watch it here.
