Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham:
Born in Washington, Cunningham began formal dance training at the Cornish School in 1937. In 1939, he joined the Martha Graham Dance Company when he was only 20 years old. He danced as a soloist in the company until 1945. He presented his first solo dances in 1944, but it wasn’t until he came to Black Mountain, NC with John Cage when he formed his own company.
A resident professor at Black Mountain College, Cunningham formed the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in 1953 with students from the college. His life partner and frequent collaborator, John Cage composed many of the works that the dance company performed with.
He continued to lead his company until his death in 2009. In his will, Cunningham states the company will continue to perform for three years after his death, and then the company will disband. The company is currently concluding its farewell tour and this will be the last time to ever see the Merce Cunningham Dance Company perform.
Cunningham is known as the “Father or Post-Modern Dance,” focusing on movement as a being that can stand alone without music for support. He is known for “chance dance” in which the movement and score is made separately and then put together during the performance.
Source: Black Mountain College Archives
