TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS PRESENTS

MERCE CUNNINGHAM DANCE COMPANY

MERCE CUNNINGHAM, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

THE LEGACY TOUR

TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2011, 8:00 P.M.
IN BASS CONCERT HALL

PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UT DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE & DANCE

THERE WILL BE A POST-PERFORMANCE TALKBACK
AFTER THE PERFORMANCE

“He has taught us…how to dance and how to live.”- Mikhail Baryshnikov

“No mind in dance was ever more exploratory.” – New York Times

PROGRAM:
Duets
Second Hand – Intermission – Antic Meet

Texas Performing Arts offers one last opportunity to experience the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Tuesday, March 8 in Bass Concert Hall. In this triumphant final tour, the renowned contemporary dance company showcases the genre-changing works created by its founder, as performed by the men and women he trained. Cunningham, who died on July 26, 2009, conceived the tour as a final preservation of his legacy as the company’s activities drew to a close. The company, performing an evening of Cunningham’s greatest works, will disband after this two-year tour.

Merce Cunningham Dance Company (MCDC) has had a profound impact on American art and the avant-garde since its founding in 1953. Guided by Merce Cunningham’s radical approach to space, time, and technology, the Company has forged a distinctive style, reflecting Cunningham’s technique and illuminating the near limitless possibility for human movement. For more than fifty years, MCDC’s collaborations with groundbreaking artists from all disciplines have redefined the way audiences experience the visual and performing arts.

MCDC was formed at Black Mountain College, and included dancers Carolyn Brown, Viola Farber, Paul Taylor, and Remy Charlip, and musicians John Cage and David Tudor. In its early years, the Company famously toured in a Volkswagen bus driven by Cage with just enough room for six dancers, the two musicians, and a stage manager, who was often Robert Rauschenberg. MCDC’s first international tour in 1964—which included performances in Western and Eastern Europe, India, Thailand, and Japan—marked a turning point for the Company and initiated a constant stream of national and international engagements. In the years since, MCDC has inspired artists and audiences with innovative performances, serving as an ambassador for contemporary American culture around the world.

In addition to its influence in the world of dance, MCDC has cultivated a body of new music, commissioning more work from contemporary composers than any other dance company. Its repertory includes works by musicians ranging from Cage and Christian Wolff to Gavin Bryars and Radiohead. Cage’s association with the Company as Musical Advisor since its inception continued until his death in 1992, when he was succeeded by David Tudor. Since 1995, MCDC has been under the music direction of Takehisa Kosugi.

Campus & Community Engagement Event:

Join us for a post-performance talkback with the artists in the hall after the performance.

CALENDAR LISTING
March 8, 2011, 8:00 pm –Texas Performing Arts presents the Merce Cunningham Dance Company Legacy Tour at Bass Concert Hall (E. 23rd St. and Robert Dedman Dr). A map of the campus: TexasPerformingArts.org/visit/maps_directions. Tickets ($38/$26 / Limited $10 student tickets / discounted tickets available for UT faculty & staff, seniors and Military) are on sale now at authorized ticket outlets, which include the Bass Concert Hall Box Office, most H-E-B stores and all Texas Box Office outlets, online at TexasPerformingArts.org, or by calling (512) 477-6060 or (800) 982-BEVO (2386).

PRESS CONTACT:
Gene Bartholomew
512.471.0632
gbartholomew@TexasPerformingArts.org

Download the Merce Cunningham press release – PDF 150 KB