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Inside the arts: Merce Cunningham, interview and lecture-demonstration, 1968-12-03

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Jerome Robbins Dance Division

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COLLECTION
Merce Cunningham Video Archive

This Item

Inside the arts

View this item elsewhere:

Title
Inside the arts: Merce Cunningham, interview and lecture-demonstration, 1968-12-03
Names
Cunningham, Merce (Creator)
Cunningham, Merce (Interviewee)
Cunningham, Merce (Dancer)
Cunningham, Merce (Speaker)
Sheppard, William Marshall (Interviewer)
Brooklyn College (Producer)
Collection

Merce Cunningham Video Archive

Dates / Origin
Date Created: 1968-12-03
Place: New York
Publisher: Brooklyn College.
Table of Contents
Interview (11 min.) -- Lecture-demonstration (5 min.) -- Interview (14 min.)
Library locations
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Shelf locator: *MGZIDF 1913
Topics
Cunningham, Merce
Cage, John
Modern dance
Genres
Filmed dance
Interviews
Lectures
Notes
Content: Title and statement of responsibility provided by cataloger, based on titles featured in the beginning of video.
Content: Title card preceding video is illegible.
Content: Time code visible in bottom right of picture.
Content: Interview with Merce Cunningham conducted by William Marshall Sheppard on December 3, 1968 at Brooklyn College as part of the Inside the Arts television series.
Creation/production credits: Taped by Brooklyn College; hosted by William Marshall Sheppard.
Venue: Recorded 1968 December 3 Brooklyn College, New York, NY.
Acquisition: Gift; Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, 2011-2012.
Physical Description
Videocassette
Extent: 1 videocassette (VHS) (30 min.) : sound, black and white ; 1/2 in.
Description
Merce Cunningham speaks with William Marshall Sheppard about beginning as a tap dancer in high school; his time in Martha Graham's dance company; leaving and starting his own company. He discusses the recent proliferation of dance performances of all kinds; the evolution of modern dance; the shift in how movement is perceived in space and time; the relation of movement to sound; the traditional relationship of choreography to music and how his work breaks from tradition; the differences between his work and classical ballet in terms of how the movement happens in space; the use of a central point of focus in classical ballet and how modern ideas of fluidity and subjectivity have facilitated a shift in this perspective. He responds to what audiences at the time cited as the more controversial aspects of his work; how television presents new ideas about continuity, expressing an affinity for the ideas of Marshall McLuhan. Cunningham then takes the opportunity to demonstrate some movements while simultaneously narrating the action. In the lecture-demonstration, he talks about space, time and rhythm; the ways in which sound and movement relate and are independent of one another; dance coming from the movement (and stillness) of the human body, not from an abstract idea; the role of visual art, a third element independent of movement and sound, in his choreography; Summerspace as an example of these elements coming together. When the interview resumes, Cunningham talks about the basics of written dance notation; how he considers this an archaic system, offering video as a more current and accurate means of documentation; the potential role of video in a possible near-future system of documentation; the usefulness of video as both a choreographic tool and a teaching tool. Cunningham then answers a couple of questions from the audience, discussing his collaboration with John Cage, citing How to pass, kick, fall and run as an example. He closes with comments on dance as movement for the sake of movement.
Type of Resource
Moving image
Languages
English
Identifiers
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b20231008
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 5657e000-e87d-0131-4cfd-3c075448cc4b
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

  • 1968: Created
  • 2024: Found by you!
  • 2025

MLA Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Inside the arts" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1968. https://qa-digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/5a8901c0-e87d-0131-1782-3c075448cc4b

Chicago/Turabian Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Inside the arts" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed November 24, 2024. https://qa-digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/5a8901c0-e87d-0131-1782-3c075448cc4b

APA Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. (1968). Inside the arts Retrieved from https://qa-digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/5a8901c0-e87d-0131-1782-3c075448cc4b

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://qa-digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/5a8901c0-e87d-0131-1782-3c075448cc4b | title= (moving image) Inside the arts, (1968)|author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=November 24, 2024 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>

Inside the arts