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Items Merce Cunningham speaks about his choreography

Merce Cunningham speaks about his choreography

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Library division & collection with this item:

LIBRARY DIVISION
Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound

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COLLECTION
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection. Audio materials

This Item

Merce Cunningham speaks about his choreography

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Title
Merce Cunningham speaks about his choreography
Names
Merce Cunningham Dance Company (Associated name)
Cunningham, Merce (Speaker)
Theater an der Wien (Host)
Collection

Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection. Audio materials

Dates / Origin
Date Created: 1977-06-08
Library locations
Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound
Shelf locator: *LT-7-A 2358
Topics
Cunningham, Merce
Merce Cunningham Dance Company
Event (Choreographic work : Cunningham)
Choreography
Dance -- Study and teaching
Rehearsals
Genres
Lectures
Filmed performances
Notes
Content: This recording seems to be a rehearsal of a lecture by Merce Cunningham about his choreography, to be given at an unspecified date and location.
Content: Title, location and date provided by cataloger based on audition and handwritten notes on original container. The relationship of the recording to the note "Montreal" is unidentified.
Content: Handwritten note on original container: "Montreal L/Dem - 44'20 ; VI/8/77 ; 7 1/2 ips".
Venue: Recorded at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Austria, 1977 June 8.
Acquisition: Gift; Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, 2011-2012.
Physical Description
Audiotape reel
Extent: 1 audiotape reel (49 minutes) : analog, 7 1/2 ips, 2 track, mono ; 7 in.
Recording quality is mostly good; at times, Cunningham's voice is soft. There are short silences and gaps throughout the recording.
Description
Merce Cunningham speaks briefly about his early interest in dance; his interest in choreographic complexity; daily dance training; briefly, the intentions and expressions that inherently reside in movements; the impact of technology on narrative structures in dance; more on dance technique and training; his teaching methods in relation to his choreography; more on movement expression; the variety of techniques that modern dancers study; his interest in movement spontaneity; more on teaching dance; his interest in expanding the range of possibilities in movement; [recording gap]; more on his dance technique, movement tempos and technology; his definition of dance; briefly, the impact of television; chance mechanisms and methods to structure his choreography and juxtapose movements; briefly, the difficulties of working with these methods, especially for the dancers; the challenges and comedies of being a dancer within a dance company; the movement inspiration as a starting point for his dances; the cumulative effect of movements within a dance piece; the look of spontaneity in his dances and the methods he uses to achieve this, including performing in non-traditional spaces as in his Events; creating this sound recording at Theater an der Wien where he presented his first Event in 1964; the widening of interest in dance; synergy among the performance elements in his dance pieces; more on the performance elements and the audience's reactions to his pieces; his pre-performance announcement; his brief defenses of critiques, especially one regarding music; briefly, social and environmental concerns; his artistic practice that consists of questioning and then investigating; briefly, the mental and physical flexibility gained by being a dancer.
Type of Resource
Sound recording
Languages
English
Identifiers
RLIN/OCLC: 880587700
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b20209249
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 4f3d9fa0-b3fa-0133-84fe-3c07547a230f
Rights Statement
This item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Item timeline of events

  • 1977: Created
  • 2024: Found by you!
  • 2025

MLA Format

Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound, The New York Public Library. "Merce Cunningham speaks about his choreography" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1977. https://qa-digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/50e57270-b3fa-0133-959d-3c07547a230f

Chicago/Turabian Format

Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound, The New York Public Library. "Merce Cunningham speaks about his choreography" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed November 22, 2024. https://qa-digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/50e57270-b3fa-0133-959d-3c07547a230f

APA Format

Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound, The New York Public Library. (1977). Merce Cunningham speaks about his choreography Retrieved from https://qa-digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/50e57270-b3fa-0133-959d-3c07547a230f

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://qa-digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/50e57270-b3fa-0133-959d-3c07547a230f | title= (sound recording) Merce Cunningham speaks about his choreography, (1977)|author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=November 22, 2024 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>

Merce Cunningham speaks about his choreography