Merce Lives!

Who would have thought, when Merce Cunningham died in 2009, that his works would be performed with such frequency here in the US and abroad almost a decade later? Much of this activity is due to the efforts of the Cunningham Trust, which periodically schedules workshops in which the Cunningham repertory is taught to a new generation of dancers by those who performed it over the years. I attended the rehearsals for one of these workshops, devoted to Sounddance, in June. The dancers, from Purchase, Juilliard, the Alvin Ailey program, North Carolina School of the Arts, and elsewhere, were incredibly challenged by the work. It was impressive to see them struggle, learn, absorb, and finally master the movement. I wrote about the process for the New Yorker Culture Desk.