One of the most influential choreographers of the 20th century, Martha Graham (1894–1991) helped lead the American modern dance revolution, breaking from the traditions of classical ballet as well as the romantic style of earlier modern dance pioneers. The Pennsylvania native came to dance relatively late: At 22 she began studying with Ruth St. Denis […]
When Joseph Morrissey first took the helm of the dance division at Interlochen Center for the Arts, a boarding high school in Interlochen, Michigan, he found a fully established pre-professional program with space to grow. And his vision was big, with plans to stage the kind of ambitious repertory he’d experienced during his dance career. […]
It’s the last class of the spring semester, and Paige Cunningham Caldarella isn’t letting any of her advanced contemporary students off the hook. After leading them through a familiar Merce Cunningham–style warm-up, full of bounces, twists and curves, she’s thrown a tricky five-count across-the-floor phrase and a surprisingly floor-heavy adagio at the dancers. Now, near […]
As a dancer with Compagnie CNDC-Angers/Robert Swinston for the past four years, Anna Chirescu changed the way she approached taking on new challenges. “Robert is an American who works in France, where the culture is very different. He says that French people talk and think much, but in America it’s much more about the doing. […]
“Merce Cunningham: Common Time,” an eight-gallery collection of stage sets, costumes, music, film and a series of live performances at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, continues through July 30. The exhibition highlights the prolific postmodern choreographer’s many collaborations with artists such as John Cage, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg and Robert Morris. Robert Rauschenberg’s Trophy […]
In the 1970s, Janaki Patrik, artistic director of The Kathak Ensemble & Friends, studied with Merce Cunningham in New York City. She remembers the subtle way he would give a correction. “I loved the technique. It was pure and spare, but when he taught the class, it was electric. To make a correction, he might […]
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Interactive Check out rare footage filmed at Jacob’s Pillow, America’s longest running dance festival, dating as far back as the 1930s. From the celebration of the male dancer in Ted Shawn’s Men Dancers to the present-day tap dance pyrotechnics of Dorrance Dance, this is a diverse collection you can rarely find in […]
Choreographer and director Camille A. Brown (DT, August 2015) has been awarded the 2016 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award. In addition to an unrestricted $25,000 cash prize, the honor comes with a residency and performing engagement at the 2017 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. The Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award was created in 2007. Previous awardees include Merce […]
Daniel Madoff and Andrea Weber in CRWDSPCR (1993) In our January issue’s History: Lesson Plan, we learn about Merce Cunningham, the creator of chance dance. Cunningham’s CRWDSPCR (1993) was created with DanceForms software, a computer program that allowed him to devise movement. The nonstop, frenetic activity recalls Grand Central Terminal at rush hour. To learn more about […]
Merce Cunningham in Changeling (1957) The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston brings a long-lost Merce Cunningham work to life in its new exhibition, Leap Before You Look: Black Mountain College 1933–1957. Former Cunningham dancer Silas Riener revived Changeling, a 1957 chance dance once thought to be lost, via recently discovered archival footage. For the exhibition, Riener […]