Merce Cunningham at 90
Part of the 2009 Spring Season
Apr 16 at 7pm*
Apr 17 & 18 at 7:30pm
Apr 19 at 3pm
*BAM Spring Gala
Merce Cunningham at 90
Merce Cunningham Dance Company
Choreography by Merce Cunningham
Commissioned by BAM
“...he has routinely been described as the world’s greatest choreographer… The dances he has made this millennium suggest, amazingly, that no choreographer alive is more concerned with continuing to extend his range.”
—The New York Times
April 16 marks the 90th birthday of Merce Cunningham—one of the most important choreographers of our time—whose radical approaches to space, time, and technology continue to redefine the way we experience dance. Over the course of his celebrated career, he has forged a distinctive language of movement, illuminating the body’s inherent drama and limitless capacity for change. And as a longtime collaborator of John Cage, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jasper Johns, he has played a leading role in fostering innovation across art forms.
In celebration of his birthday, Merce Cunningham Dance Company returns to BAM with the world premiere of a dazzling evening-length work created in collaboration with and performed live by underground rock legend Sonic Youth, former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, and mixed-media sound composer Takehisa Kosugi. With an intriguing multi-tiered décor by world-renowned architect Benedetta Tagliabue, lighting by Tony and Obie-winning designer Brian MacDevitt, and costumes by Romeo Gigli, this new masterpiece is testament to the boundless imagination of a man who, on the cusp of his ninth decade, still keeps us on our toes.
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
Running time: 90min with intermission
Subscription tickets: $20, 36, 52, 60
(Full price: $25, 45, 65, 75)
Décor Design by Benedetta Tagliabue
Lighting Design by Brian MacDevitt
Costumes by Romeo Gigli for "io ipse idem"
Music composed and performed by:
John Paul Jones
Takehisa Kosugi
Sonic Youth