What was merce cunningham style

Cunningham dancers utilize their torsos, bending sideways, forward and backward, and hold balances for long periods. They often must be able to do two or three things at the same time, executing different rhythms and movements in the legs, torso, and arms simultaneously.

There are frequent changes of direction, and no rhythm from the music to count on. Motion Capture Ever the innovator, Cunningham was drawn to further advances in technology. For Martha Graham, movement was full of meaning; for Cunningham, it was simply movement.

He felt movement should be appreciated for what it was, rather than what it communicated. Dance itself became the subject of his dances. Likewise, there is no expression of obvious emotion. Dancers may be on stage together and even partner one another. Moments of tenderness or intensity can occur, but they come from the movement itself and not from any imposed storyline. Leave it to chance: Cunningham experimented with organizing movement by chance.

In some of his works, audience members would be asked to throw a coin to determine the order of different sections. Use of space: Most concert dance is created so that performers face the audience. Cunningham felt all facings should be considered equally valid, and made choreography that explored different directions in space, sometimes determined by chance.

Cunningham created the movement, but not with a certain piece of music in mind. Often the only thing the dance and music had in common was that they began and ended at the same time. This was a radical departure, since dance and music are often tied together very closely. Visit the Merce Cunningham web site www. There you can find personal information about Cunningham, as well as a chronology of his works.

Writer Kirsten Bodensteiner. Expand Banes, Sally. They were rebels, they were American, and they dared to be different: the makers of modern dance.

Find out how Alvin Ailey explored themes of African American heritage and culture through dance. Learn how this dance visionary pioneered her own movement language. Learn how this all-American master changed the stage of choreography in musical theater. Reserve Tickets. Turning and spinning is also practised at this stage to again test balance, along with jumps during which the torso upright must remain upright.

As you progress in this Technique, your teacher will introduce not only moving in different directions but also your body parts like arms and legs moving in different directions. Fine-tuning your ability to move your body accurately in time to a piece of music is crucial for a breathtaking solo and even more important for a synchronised group performance.

The Cunningham Technique improves your "rhythmic precision" through a series of exercises to make your body and mind cohesive with any musical piece you're presented with. This will improve your diversity as a dancer and increase your confidence to dance to any music or sound you're faced with.

Just to keep things interesting, the Technique also tests and improves your ability to move independently to the music. Cunningham believed that "changes of rhythm should be introduced concistently to keep the idea of flexibility alive" - memorise this to keep your work in the Techique strong.

Written with reference to www. Home Blog What is the Cunningham Technique? Keep reading to learn more about the Cunningham Technique. He has applied the uncertainty principle to works he's already made, in what he calls "events". For these performances, he splices and shuffles together existing choreography from different works in his repertory, and plays them out to a different score.

It's like recombining bits of genetic code to create something new. Cunningham is much more interested in effects than intentions. That's a good credo for audiences too.

Try to be very alert to what's happening, but at the same time very open about its sense and significance. In his own words. Watch a clip from Cunningham's Biped.

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