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Merce Cunningham Dance Company
Part of “America Dancing” series
Eisenhower Theater
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.
April 1, 2006

by Naima Prevots
copyright© 2006 by Naima Prevots

This evening of three works by Merce Cunningham, covering a span of almost thirty years, made it very clear that this great choreographer is a master of miracles in movement. With a brilliant company headed by veteran artist Robert Swinston, the stage was transformed into a magical realm of bodies filled with energies and shapes that captured both intellect and heart. In order of performance, Views on Stage (2004), Fabrications (1987) and Soundance (1975), showed the power of dance to reach into the unknown and transform our environment with new possibilities of experience and expression. Partnered with the choreography and sharing in the spiritual transformations were the musical scores by John Cage, Emanuel Dumas de Melo Pimenta, David Tudor, and stunning décor and costumes by Ernesto Neto, James Hall, Dove Bradshaw and Mark Lancaster.
 
All three pieces shared the physical virtuosity characteristic of Cunningham’s movements, but expressed it in different ways, and the sound scores ranged from the gentle sounds and silences of the Cage score to the harsher and more consuming effects of the music by David Tudor. It was fascinating to see how an artist develops a vocabulary that is recognizable but broad in its applications and uses. It was also important to remember that although a great deal has been written about Cunningham’s various chance methodologies and innovative partnerings with sound and light, the most striking aspect of his work remains his ability to create movement that is compelling in its visual and visceral aspects. This is dance that compels the viewer to enter into new realms of delight regarding the possibilities of movement, and the theories of why and how these were created remain secondary to the beauty created as we watch and wonder. As is always emphasized by Cunningham, the meaning is in the movement, and the stories are in the huge possibilities created by the human body with the guiding hand of genius.

The first piece on the evening’s program Views on Stage was also the most recent, premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre in October 2004, and had two scores by John Cage: ASLSP (1985), and Music for Two(1984-1987). A soft and reflective tone was established throughout, reinforced by lighting, décor, costumes, music and the predominance of solos and smaller groupings. Both male and female dancers wore white knee length skirts and halter tops that left most of the back bare, and the effect was delicate. The décor by Ernesto Neto consisted of a large sculpture overhanging the stage space, and to this viewer, it felt like different sizes in pastel colors of what could be blown glass vase like structures. These contributed an aura of fragility and a dimension of lightness, depth, and color to the total environment. The dance started with Robert Swinston in a somewhat pensive solo, moving through space with quick footwork, changes of direction, off balance lifts and torso contractions, all characteristic of the Cunningham vocabulary but executed with a quiet thoughtfulness. The men seemed to be in charge of the dance during at least the first half, with more solos, some duets, trios, and occasionally more. The women eventually emerged, and the tone was consistent: one of reflection and gentle joy, with continued lightness and ease. There were wonderful leaps and patterns through space, and there were pairings that came and went for men, women, and men and women together.

The program contained extensive notes about the music by John Cage. It is noted that “ASLSP was composed for piano or organ solo, and was performed by Christian Wolff.  The title stands for ‘As Slow(ly) and Soft(ly) as Possible’ and also refers to ‘Soft morning city.LSP!’ (from James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake.”  The other piece by Cage was designated by title as Music for Two, and in the program  is noted as “Music for______... The title is to be completed by adding the number of performers... The instrumentation could include the following; parts for voice, flute, oboe, clarinet, trumpet, horn, trombone, percussion…piano…violin…viola, cello.” At the Kenedy Center it was performed by William Winant on percussion and Takehisa Kosugi.  The prevailing feeling about the music was that it amplified and strengthened the delicacy and gentleness of the movement, costumes, set and lighting: many silences, nothing jarring. It is hard not to think that Views on  Stage, in both music and dance, has a sense of older artists looking back with tranquility. Cage (1912-1992) was in his late 70s when he composed the score, and Cunningham, born in 1919,  was 85 when he created the choreography. Both masters of their craft, this is the work of two artists who look back peacefully on the creative process and on the energies of life.

When the curtain opened for Fabrications, created in 1987, we saw first the striking backdrop created by Dove Bradshaw, which made a strong statement through its multi-faceted squares, interlocking circles and blocks of red and back colors. The music by Emanuel Dimas de Melo Pimenta, born in Brazil and now living in Portugal, was performed by Takehisa Kosugi, and consisted of an electronic score with nuanced
sounds. The costumes by Dove Bradshaw, gave a contemporary everyday feeling as we saw the dancers emerge: dresses for the women that almost looked as if they came off the racks from a store, but each in different colors and patterns, and the sleek black pants and tops for the men. Here the emphasis was more on the group patterns, with solos, duets and other smaller units emerging as dancers shot through the space with vigorous leaps, skittering feet, and beautifully sculpted arms, torso, and legs. Cunningham’s remarkable craftsmanship shone through, as he created phrases that allowed the viewer to breathe with the movements, and hold on to visual images. The trademarks of the Cunningham vocabulary were all there: the off balance extensions, the incredibly quick brushes and jabs of the feet, the partnering which bring bodies together in unexpected ways, and the long leg reaches on the floor as people move through space.

The last dance on the program was Soundance, created in 1975, when Cunningham had become fully accepted as an international artist whose innovations were integrated into the mainstream of contemporary dance. For many years after the New York debut of his company in 1953, his break away from psychological emphasis and his theories of chance and juxtaposition of sound, light and décor, were discussed and questioned. Cunningham was also still performing in the 1970s, and he was often a central figure in his work, with his charismatic presence and virtuoso technique. With music by David Tudor and décor and costumes by Mark Lancaster, Soundance had the feeling of a piece created by a younger artist, and many of the characteristics of earlier pieces. The score was harsher to the ears, in fact causing a few audience members to leave. The energy was strong, and everything in the dance was at a high pitch. The movements and groupings were intensely percussive, and the virtuosity was unceasing. It was almost a breathless dance, with everything at a vigorous intensity: the curved torsos, the rapid shooting feet, the shifting assymetrical groupings, the lifts and falls, and the seemingly impossible duets and solos. The stage set of mustard colored roped curtains covered the entire bottom half of the back stage, with the top part all in black, and dancers would suddenly emerge from the middle of this set and then go back, as others moved around and through them. It is possible that it does make a difference when an artist is still a performer, and the choreography is based on the possibilities that their own body encompasses. It is also possible that an earlier piece such as this one is based in a context where Cunningham was still exploring stronger intensities and the full ramifications of his movement vocabulary. Soundance punched and pulled the air, the ground, the stage, with vigorous intentions and conclusions, and brought the audience to its feet.

Credit must be given to Robert Swinston as assistant to Cunningham, coaching the superb dancers, all of whom deserve to be listed: Cedric Andrieux, Jonah Bokaer, Lisa Boudreau, Brandon A.Collwes, Julie Cunningham, Emma Desjardins, Holley Farmer, Jennifer Goggans, Rashaun Mitchell, Koji Mizuta, Marcie Munnerlyn, Daniel Squire, Andrea Weber. And Swinston himself often stood out, as a performer with subtlety and a special assurance. Meg Harper is listed as having restaged Soundance in 2003, and she also deserves special credit for the stunning performance we saw. 

The three dances on the Kennedy Center program provided a superb overview of Cunningham’s brilliance as a choreographer and his collaborations with artists in other realms. It showed his mastery of movement, his ability to create amazing phrases and patterns, and to make dance soar and fly through to our hearts and minds. It would have been helpful to have some program notes about Cunningham’s history as an innovator, and his various ideas, and also more information about his choreography and collaborations through the years. It seemed that most of this audience was well acquainted with his work, and  understood what they were seeing. This has not always been true for those watching Cunningham, and those who expect other things from dance, whether it be story, overt theatricality, emotional explorations, or something else.

Merce Cunningham was a pioneer of new ideas in dance, even going back to the 1940s when he started presenting his own work with John Cage. Today in 2006, his ideas are understood and accepted, and his work remains important and fresh, instilling wonder and joy at the possibilities that movement offers.

Volume 4, No. 13
April 3, 2006
copyright ©2006 Naima Prevots
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