In 1968, after touring with Alvin Ailey and Glen Tetley, I was asked by Jean Rigg to stage manage for Merce Cunningham Dance Company.\u00a0 Well, this was a whole new landscape and an experience I hadn\u2019t had with dance before, even at Jacob\u2019s Pillow.\u00a0 The first assignment was to go to Boston to watch a performance of the company.\u00a0 At that point in time, Merce was mostly touring in Europe.\u00a0 Some of the audience members left before the end of the show I attended.\u00a0 I wondered whether this was because of the new experience of electronic music (led by John Cage) or the blandness of the choreography.\u00a0 So when I started, I was on a fact finding expedition.<\/p>\n
One of the discoveries I made before touring with the company was that Merce did not rehearse to music.\u00a0 Another one was that he didn\u2019t run the pieces all the way through, but instead rehearsed different parts from different works.\u00a0 I regarded this with dismay and concern about how I was to learn the program.<\/p>\n
I also discovered that, on tour, he often did not address the company as a whole.\u00a0 Since he would talk to one or two people only, this caused misunderstanding about who he favored in the company.\u00a0 Dancers were very bright but in a way unhappy with their father figure choreographer.\u00a0 Once, the company manager asked me to canvas the dancers about a decision that had to be made.\u00a0 I flatly refused and said I would ask Merce instead.\u00a0 Theater isn\u2019t a democracy, was my thinking.\u00a0 At any rate, tracking down Merce, for one, wasn\u2019t that easy either.<\/p>\n
Merce Cunningham Dance Company Tour.\u00a0 Artistic Advisor: Jasper Johns.\u00a0 Scores: John Cage, David Tudor, Gordon Mumma.\u00a0 Company Manager: Lew Lloyd.\u00a0 Lighting Design: Beverly Emmons. Dancers: Merce Cunningham, Carolyn Brown, Barbara Lloyd, Sandra Neels, Valda Setterfield, Meg Harper, Susana Hayman-Chaffey, Jeff Slayton, Chase Robinson, Mel Wong.\u00a0 Repertory included \u201cSuite for Five,\u201d \u201cRainforest,\u201d \u201cPlace,\u201d \u201cScramble,\u201d \u201cWinterbranch,\u201d \u201c How to Pass, Kick, Fall, and Run,\u201d \u201cCollage III,\u201d \u201cField Dances,\u201d \u201cNight Wandering,\u201d \u201cWalkaround Time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Working for Merce was the first time I got a stop watch, which I use to this day, because he was interested in time.\u00a0 He would frequently come over to me, to see how much time had passed.<\/p>\n
I remember two pieces to be very distinct.\u00a0 One was \u201cHow to Pass\u201d (there was no music).\u00a0 Cage would tell stories while the company danced.\u00a0 Backstage, before he started, he would tell me the end story, at which point you were to call the curtain in.\u00a0 The problem was that he was slurring his words, as he enjoyed his drink, and it was challenging to hear the last story.\u00a0 The other piece was \u201cRain Forest\u201d.\u00a0 I loved it dearly.\u00a0 The scenic element was Andy Warhol\u2019s silver pillows filled with helium and held to the ground with fishing weights on a string.\u00a0 The pillows, waving in the air currents, were indeed like a rain forest with the dance creatures mimicking below and an electronic score being played live in the pit.<\/p>\n
The first company tour I was part of\u00a0 a residency in Boulder, Colorado, as well as a South American tour (Mexico City Bellas Artes, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and Caracas).\u00a0 Later dates included performances at Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Merce at the Minskoff Theater on Broadway. Post Cunningham with the Cunningham Trust being set-up, Juilliard acquired many iconic works. At Juilliard I stage managed his works:\u00a0 2010 Summers Space set by Banu Ogan, 2015 Biped set by Jennifer Goggins, in 2018 Sound Dance set by Jean Freeburg and Meg Harper,<\/p>\n
In my experience Merce dealt with his choreography. However, music, costumes, scenic elements and lighting design were largely the domain of his collaborators.\u00a0 It certainly played to his working methods and philosophy of things coming together by chance.\u00a0 Now, in the 21st century, he is highly regarded as an icon of modern dance and is very much celebrated for his innovation and contribution to this art form.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In 1968, after touring with Alvin Ailey and Glen Tetley, I was asked by Jean Rigg to stage manage for Merce Cunningham Dance Company.\u00a0 Well, this was a whole new landscape and an experience I hadn\u2019t had with dance before, even at Jacob\u2019s Pillow.\u00a0 The first assignment was to go to Boston to watch a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":182,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-highlight"],"metadata":{"_edit_lock":["1576513387:38"],"_edit_last":["38"],"_wpac_members_redirect_to":[""],"_wpac_show_in_search":["0"],"_wpac_show_excerpt_in_search":["0"],"_wpac_nonmembers_redirect_to":[""],"ase_map_component_start_point":["a:2:{s:3:\"lat\";d:29.76;s:3:\"lng\";d:-95.38;}"]},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n