Born On This Day- April 16th... American Dance Great: Mercier Philip Cunningham

My former college boyfriend & close buddy WCK3 is visiting for the weekend to join us at tomorrow’s exciting Red Dress Party. He is a University professor of dance, but he was a principal dancer with the internationally acclaimed Lewitzky Dance Company for 20 years. Because of him, I know more about dance than most civilians, yet I always feel a bit awkward when I do posts on dancers & choreographers. He may wish to weigh in.

With his partner in life & art- John Cage, Merce Cunningham created some of the most memorable dance pieces of the 20th century & beyond. He is considered to be one of the world’s greatest choreographers.

Cunningham met Cage soon after he moved to New York from Washington State, where he was discovered by Martha Graham. His first solo concert, in 1944, was in collaboration with Cage, & the couple remained together until Cage’s death in 1992.

Cunningham formed his own dance company in 1953. The company quickly became known for innovation & established itself as an important contributor to the post-war New York dance scene.

Robert Rauschenberg worked as the company’s stage manager, & collaboration with artists-Richard Serra, Jasper Johns & Sol LeWitt continued into the new century. In 2007, Cunningham & Rauschenberg premiered a new piece.

Cage was as influential in the world of serious music as Cunningham was in dance. The couple were an artistic punch that slammed through the conventions of post-war America. They experimented with chance encounters of dance, music, & structure.

Cunningham continued to dance into old age. At 80, he danced with Mikhail Baryshnikov. Cunningham gradually relinquished day to day management of his dance company. On July 26, 2009, he died peacefully in his sleep in his Manhattan home.