Background: Merce Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American modern dance for more than 50 years. He is one of the most controversy and impactive dancer and choreographer. Through much of his life, he was also one of the greatest American dancers. With an artistic career distinguished by constant innovation, Cunningham expanded the frontiers not only of dance, but also of contemporary visual and performing arts. His collaborations with artistic innovators from every creative discipline have yielded an unparalleled body of American dance, music, and visual art.
Of all his collaborations, Cunningham’s work with John Cage, his life partner from the 1940s until Cage’s death in 1992, had the greatest influence on his practice. Together, Cunningham and Cage proposed a number of radical innovations. The most famous and controversial of these concerned the relationship between dance and music, which they concluded may occur in the same time and space, but should be created independently of one another.For Cunningham the subject of his dances was always dance itself.
Here is an example that how Cunningham's dance looks like:
Do you have any examples of Merce Cunningham and John Cage's collaborations? I really find the concept of dance being the dance and music being the music very interesting. Based on the dance training I had, music and dance were simultaneously working together. This concept goes against everything my teachers at home taught me.
ReplyDeleteBoth John Cage and Merce Cunningham believed that music and dance should be separate. Merce choreographed pieces and then had the music added. He believed that the dance should be the music. Also during his chance operations he would choose one piece of choreography and one piece of music randomly, so the dancers were forced to make the music and movement into a piece.
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