Baryshnikov Arts Continues 20th Anniversary Programming InCONVERSATION WITH MERCE

Baryshnikov Arts will continue its 20th Anniversary year with IN CONVERSATION WITH MERCE: New Arrangements, a program of four dances with choreography by Merce Cunningham, one on film and three performed live.

Each piece is an arrangement of material drawn from larger works choreographed by Merce Cunningham, offering an opportunity to revisit and reimagine iconic work spanning five decades.

This is the third in a series of “In Conversation” programs co-produced by Baryshnikov Arts and the Merce Cunningham Trust, which take existing Cunningham works as inspiration for dialogue with new choreographies, choreographic arrangements, films, or music. “In Conversation” is historically significant as Baryshnikov and Cunningham enjoyed decades of creative collaboration, mutual admiration, and friendship. Baryshnikov Arts also has deep connections with Merce Cunningham and his artistic and life partner John Cage, with a rehearsal studio named after them, a former Cage-Cunningham Fellowship, and numerous presentations of their work over 20 years. The announcement of IN CONVERSATION WITH MERCE: New Arrangements comes on April 16 in recognition of the late choreographer’s date of birth. 

IN CONVERSATION WITH MERCE: New Arrangements will be held on June 18 at 7 PM. Ticket prices are $35 orchestra/$25 balcony. A $4 fee will be added to all ticket prices.

PROGRAM:

Beach Birds: A New Arrangement is a film of an adaptation of Cunningham’s Beach Birds (1991) performed at Rockaway Beach in August 2023 as part of Sasha Okshteyn’s Beach Sessions Dance Series. Directed and edited by Alex Munro, the film captures a cast of eleven dancers performing Cunningham’s iconic movement on the rocks and shoreline. The dancers wear costumes after the original design by Marsha Skinner. Arranged and staged by Patricia Lent and Rashaun Mitchell, this work was developed in part during a 2023 Baryshnikov Arts residency.

Signals with Loops, arranged and staged by Jean Freebury and Patricia Lent, combines two solos from Signals (1970) with excerpts from Loops (1971), a solo Cunningham described as “an Event for one.” Sienna Blaw performs the Signals solo originally danced by Cunningham, and Eve Jacobs performs the Signals solo originally danced by Susana Hayman-Chaffey. The original music for Signals, entitled First Week of June, was a collaborative work by John Cage, Gordon Mumma, and David Tudor. The recordings used for this performance were made in 1994 for White Oak Dance Project’s production of Signals. For that production, Mikhail Baryshnikov danced Merce Cunningham’s solo.

XOVER: Duet for Six is a new arrangement of the central duet from XOVER (2007), the final Cage/Cunningham/Rauschenberg collaboration. The duet, originally danced by Jules Cunningham & Daniel Madoff, and Emma Desjardins & Brandon Collwes, is performed here by six dancers in a new arrangement by Collwes. Anaïs Maviel performs an original composition. The costumes reference the white unitards designed by Rauschenberg. XOVER: Duet for Six was developed in part at Baryshnikov Arts.