Is it Possible? [installment one]

PDC's Associate Artistic Director Goes Cuckoo for Cunningham

By Walter Barillas

As I lay in bed last month decompressing from a long day, I began thinking of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company (MCDC) and its ever-approaching dissolve date of January 1, 2012. Merce Cunningham’s work is what I’m currently most fascinated by. I appreciate its difficulty, the transformative properties it has on dancers, and his radical approach to dance making. His trajectory spans a mere 90 years! Cunningham has been named the “greatest choreographer of the 20^th Century” by Art Critics throughout the world. But what makes him the greatest, the most radical; what did he do that others did not?

Cunningham’s work was and continues to be radical in its use of compositional devices, music, and set design. His greatest collaborator and partner for nearly 50 years was John Cage, an experimental musician who is also known the world over for his compositional approach. Cunningham and Cage met in the mid 1940’s and their partnership dissolved upon Cage’s death in 1992. Other collaborators include artists Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, and most recently, Sigor Ros and Radiohead on Split Sides (2003), a piece that will later be discussed.

The most striking component of Cunningham’s work is that dance, music and set design were designed independently. Cunningham gave very little instruction or information on what he was creating; the most he would share is the length of the dance. Musicians would create a score, artists would create set design/costumes, and all three components are known to have first been merged on the date of the premier.

Cunningham’s use of chance procedures is what he is most famous for. His use of the I-Ching and the roll of dice often dictated how many dancers, what sections, where the entrances were made, and which sector(s) of the dance space would be used. A common misconception is that his work is improvised. There is very little improvisation, if any, in the many anti-ballets he created.

My fascination with Cunningham first began when I took class from Brenda Daniels. Daniels was Chair of the Modern Division at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, at the American Dance Festival (2009) held at Duke University in Durham North Carolina, a festival that has been around almost 80 years. More on the festival and its creator, Martha Hill, will be shared in upcoming blog installments.

I was intrigued by the difficulty of the technique and Daniels’ exceptional teaching style. I proceeded to read “Chance and Circumstance,” written by Carolyn Brown, a book recommended for any dance follower or historian.  Brown was Cunningham’s dancer for 20 years -from the company’s inception through the early 70’s. She remained Cunningham’s ally until his death on July 26, 2009.

My love for his work was cemented the Summer of 2010 when I returned to the American Dance Festival (ADF) on scholarship as a staff assistant to the Executive Office assisting director Charles Reinhart (now retired), THE curator of the Modern dance world and Co Director Jodee Nimerichter, now the Director.

I assisted Jean Freebury on the reconstruction of Inlets II (1983), and for six weeks I was privy to the learning the movement, viewing original video footage, and reading Cunningham's own notes. During those weeks I positioned myself throughout the Ark (100+ year old ), viewing and taking notes for Ms. Freebury from the front, the back, the sides and even from the second floor, birds eye view. The oft- asked question “Where's Wally?” was as present there as it has been throughout Anchorage's dance studios as they were never sure as to where I had positioned myself.

As I lay in bed that mid-October night it hit me that I would NEVER get the opportunity to see the MCDC. While I was saddened, that realization quickly turned to fuel. I got online, noted that their next closest engagement was in Seattle's Paramount Theatre and purchased a ticket - not caring if my schedule would allow. It was my last chance and I had to make it happen!

-W.B.

Keep an eye out for the next installement of Walter's Cunningham adventures! Next up: the events and behind-the-scenes as MCDC prepped for their performances.