Merce Cunningham Dance Company: One Final Farewell

Park Avenue Armory Events
Merce Cunningham Dance Company
Choreography by Merce Cunningham
Arranged by Robert Swinston
Music by David Behrman, John King, Takehisa Kosugi, and Christian Wolf
Décor by Daniel Arsham

New Years Eve is a night for fun and celebration. We think about the previous year, it’s ups and downs, and resolve for the next one to be much better. It’s also a night of saying good bye, even to dance legends.

To close out 2011, I went to the Park Avenue Armory to witness one of the final performances of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. Called the Park Avenue Armory Events, the show was a meld of structural movement, live music and visual art. It was nothing short of pure magic.

The Armory is a massive building spanning a block in length. Upon entering, one is transported into a different domain, wherein space, time and the audience/performer relationship are challenged. Three separate stages littered the floor, and with the exception of a perimeter of bleachers around each stage, the audience stood, freely moving throughout the space as the performance commenced. This affected what we saw, giving each viewer a personalized version of the Events. Because of the audience’s mobility, we witnessed some of the most vulnerable moments  a dancer can have off-stage (including an injury). It was exciting, dramatic and blurred the line between life and art.

The dancers were stunning. Several duets, solos and group sections took place as the movers transported themselves from one stage to the next. Donning the typical Cunningham uniform — a long sleeved unitard — they had painted pictures of the New York City skyline on their torsos. The Events weren’t just honoring the Cunningham legacy, but the city of New York, the company’s birth place and inspiring source. The movement was linear, structured and geometric (very much like NYC itself).

The dancers performed to live music, arranged by David Behrman, John King, Takehisa Kosugi and Christian Wolf. Blaring brass, strings and other contrasting instruments provided a scape of ambient sounds. Placed at varying spots within the stage space, the soloists gained your attention when playing. They were leaders and changed your focus, directing your view of the work.  Since the company rehearses with just a stopwatch and not the piece’s musical score, it was curious that the movement and music fed one another so well.

About 60 minutes in length, I was shocked when the stages black-out. I wanted to see more and was captured under the spell of the atmosphere. “But I think, overall,” as Merce himself said, “over the years, it’s been an astonishing adventure.” In one last adventure, the Armory Events were a perfect end to this man’s choreographic journey.

 

 

 

 

 

---