The Merce Cunningham Studio, located on the corner of Bethune and Washington Streets in New York City’s West Village, offers daily "open level" classes in Cunningham Technique™. The Studio was home to the Merce Cunningham Dance Company for nearly four decades. Following the Company's final performances on December 31, 2011, the studio will remain open until April 1, 2012. Cunningham Technique will continue to be taught around NYC.
                                                                 

“My work, or at least what I attempt to do, is to take each person for what they are, both in the teaching and in the making of dances, and try to find out what it is they are as dancers, and make that come out.”    Merce Cunningham (1967)

Class Info

Elementary

Monday - Friday

6:00pm - 7:30pm

This class is for students new to the Studio who have had previous dance training. Students learn the back exercises, how to make changes of weight, and combinations of back positions and weight changes in moving phrases.

Single Class $15

Elementary/ Intermediate

Monday - Saturday

11:00am - 12:30pm

This class is open to all, and will move at a faster pace than the Elementary class, building on strength, clarity of movement, rhythmic and spatial dynamics. Familiarity with the series of back exercises is desirable, but not required.

The Technique

Cunningham Technique™ is a rigorous, but not codified, training technique for dancers, and places an emphasis on acquiring strength, clarity, and precision. Daily repetition of principles in a variety of exercises promotes understanding of the aesthetic unique to Cunningham’s work. Maximum use of the spine and torso are key. Concepts of space and time exist in a relative framework, one that differs from other contemporary dance techniques. Cunningham Technique™ makes demands on students not only in physical terms, but also in terms of developing mental resilience.

Class Policies

• Class observers are welcome at the discretion of the registrar
• Latecomers will be admitted at the discretion of the teacher
• Classes are not transferable or refundable

For any questions or further information please write us at:

rafael@merce.org

ROBERT SWINSTON, Director of Choregraphy, was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and attended Middlebury College and The Julliard School, where he received a B.F.A. in dance. He danced with the Martha Graham Apprentice Group, the José Limón Dance Company, and with Kazuko Hirabayashi Dance Theatre. He joined MCDC in August 1980 and became assistant to the choreographer in July 1992. Since Merce Cunningham’s death in July 2009, Swinston assumed the role of director of choreography, overseeing the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, the Cunningham Repertory Understudy Group, and the Company’s work with the Cunningham Educational Outreach Program. Since 1998, Swinston has assisted in various Cunningham archival reconstructions including Suite for Five (1956-58), Summerspace (1958), and Ocean (1994), and the recent revivals of Squaregame (1976), Duets (1980), and Roaratorio (1983) for the Legacy Tour. He has assisted in the staging of Cunningham works on other companies, including Boston Ballet, White Oak Dance Project, Rambert Dance Company, and New York City Ballet. In 2003, Swinston received a “Bessie” Award for his performance in the revival of Cunningham’s How to Pass, Kick, Fall, and Run. In 2009, Swinston was named a trustee for the Merce Cunningham Trust.

PATRICIA LENT, Director of Licensing, was a member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company (1984 to 1993) and White Oak Dance Project (1994 to 1996). She has been on the faculty of the Merce Cunningham Studio since 1988, teaching technique classes and workshops, and staging work from the repertory. Staging projects include the reconstruction of Fabrications for MCDC’s 50th Anniversary season, Duets for North Carolina School of the Arts, Scramble for Repertory Dance Theater, MinEvent for Cornish College of the Arts, and Roaratorio for MCDC’s Legacy Tour. From 1998 to 2007, Lent taught second and third grade at P.S. 234 in lower Manhattan. Her essay in Forever After: New York City Teachers on 9/11, describes her class trip to an MCDC rehearsal, which inspired the development of the Studio’s Educational Outreach Program. Lent holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia, and an M.S.Ed. from Bank Street College of Education. In 2009, she was named a trustee for the Merce Cunningham Trust.

LOUISE BURNS has performed, choreographed, and taught throughout the world. She was a member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in the 1970's and 80's performing in such pieces as Duets, Inlets 2, Channels/Inserts and Summerspace. Her choreography has been performed by the Danish National School for Theatre & Dance, the Tasmanian Dance Company of Australia, Compagnie Coline of France, Western Australian Academy for Performing Arts, and several dance departments. Ms. Burns has been guest director of the modern dance program at University of Montana; senior lecturer & head of contemporary dance at WAAPA, Australia; originating faculty at P.A.R.T.S. founded by Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker of Brussels; rehearsal director for Jean Claude Gallotta & Groupe Emile Dubois of Grenoble, France touring Ulysses and Romeo et Juliet; and guest teacher with ROSAS and DCA/Philippe Decoufle. Recently, she performed the choreography of Mel Wong, and improvised with Kenneth King and friends in the Improvisation Festival at St. Mark's Church, New York. Her degree is from the University of Hawaii with a focus in Dance Ethnology. Ms. Burns currently divides her time between New York City and Singapore.

JANET CHARLESTON found modern dance in her junior year as a biology major at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.  She then designed her BA in Dance Kinesiology and Therapy and danced with Beverly Blossom and Dancers, among others, before moving to New York City where she danced for many years in the companies of Lucinda Childs and Douglas Dunn.  She has enjoyed working with a variety of other artists as well, including Christopher Williams, David Parker, RoseAnne Spradlin, Kota Yamazaki, Robert Wilson and Philip Glass (in the 1992 world tour of Einstein on the Beach).  Her choreography has been presented at various venues in New York City, as well as in Illinois, Arizona and Chile.  Janet has taught in university settings including New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Barnard College and SUNY-Purchase, and was a visiting lecturer for two years at the University of Illinois while earning an MFA in Dance.  Abroad, Janet was a performing and teaching guest artist at the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance (SEAD) and with Palindrome Dance Company (Germany), and was a Fulbright Scholar at Universidad Mayor in Santiago, Chile.  She joined the faculty of the Cunningham Studio in 2001 - it has been an honor and a joy.

JUNE FINCH assisted Bessie Schonberg with composition classes at the American Dance Festival before receiving her MA in Dance and Performing Arts from Sarah Lawrence College. In the late 60's she joined the faculty at the Merce Cunningham Studio and became a founding member of Viola Farber's company with whom she danced and toured for many years. From 1977 to 1982, June taught independently in NYC and created five seasons of work with her group, June Finch and Dancers. In the 80's and 90's June taught and choreographed most extensively at SUNY Purchase and Cornell University, and reconstructed Merce Cunningham's Changing Steps for student dancers at North Carolina School of the Arts and Ohio State University, among many others. Since the early 90's while spending summers on Cape Cod to run a family business, June teaches and presents concerts at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum with her group Danceworks. Her contributions to the Cunningham Faculty concerts include: Frame of Reference, a dance built from a composition workshop, that was sent to represent Merce's studio at a fundraising gala at dance Theater of Harlem in 2003, and Tracings, an original piece showcased in 2010.

HRISTOULA HARAKAS, born in Connecticut, grew up in Athens, Greece where she received her BFA in Dance from the N. Kontaxaki School of Dance. She moved to New York in 1996 as a scholar of both the Alexander Onassis Foundation of Athens, Greece (1996-1999) and the Cunningham Dance Foundation (1997-1998). The summer of 2002 she joined the faculty of the Merce Cunningham Studio upon receiving both Certificates in 'Dance Technique, Repertory and Performance' offered by the Studio. Hristoula is a 2006 "Bessie" award recipient for her performances in Maria Hassabi’s choreographic work, who she's been working with since 2003. As a member of the Donna Uchizono Co. (2003-2010) she has taught technique and repertory workshops in New York Dance Studios and Universities around the States and has had the honor to dance alongside Mikhail Baryshnikov and Jodi Melnick in Leap To Tall, a trio choreographed by Ms. Uchizono. In recent years she has performed and collaborated with Jeremy Nelson and Louis Lara, Amanda Loulaki, Levi Gonzalez, Judith Sanchez and Chantal Yzermans among others. Hristoula is a Certified Pilates Instructor teaching at BodyTonic, N.Y.

CAROL TEITELBAUM, Faculty Chair, was a member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company from 1986 to 1993. She received an M.F.A. in Dance from the University of Michigan and danced in the Lucinda Childs Dance Company and the Manuel Alum Dance Company before joining MCDC. Ms. Teitelbaum has staged Cunningham repertory at State University of New York at Purchase, Barnard College, Ballet de Lorraine, and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. She has taught master classes and held guest teaching positions at many institutions, including La Guardia High School of the Performing Arts, the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program, the University of Michigan, and the Conservatoire de Paris. Ms. Teitelbaum is a certified Feldenkrais Practitioner.

JEAN FREEBURY, Studio Programs Manager, faculty member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Studio since 1996 and SUNY/Purchase since 2008. Former member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company 1992-2003. She received her training at The Alberta Ballet School, North Carolina School of the Arts and London Contemporary Dance School. She was awarded a Canada Council Grant to study in New York at the Merce Cunningham Studio in 1991. She has also taught workshops, and staged Merce Cunningham’s work at various institutions most recently for The American Dance Festival in 2010 (Inlets 2) and in Feb. 2011 for the University of Michigan (MinEvent). She has also danced for Ellen Cornfield, Douglas Dunn, Glen Rumsey, Kota Yamazaki, Elke Rindfliesch and currently with Pam Tanowitz.

JEFF MOEN began his dance training at the National Academy of Arts. He holds a BS in Comprehensive Music Education from the University of Illinois. He has danced with American Dance Machine, NY Theatre Ballet, Saeko Ichinohe, Robert Kovitch, and many others. He teaches intensive workshops throughout Japan in August and December. He is also a judge for the Akita Contemporary Dance Competition. Mr. Moen's recent choreography has been praised by the New York Times, Village Voice and DanceViewTimes. He also makes origami art.

BANU OGAN was born in Ankara, Turkey and grew up in Bloomington, Indiana where she studied ballet with Lila Higgins and won a National Society of Arts and Letters Career Award in dance. In 1991, Banu graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was a member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company from 1993 to 2000 and originated roles in ten new works. Since leaving the company she has performed in pieces by former Cunningham dancers Foofwa d'Imobilite, Ashley Chen, and Glen Rumsey and she has also worked with The Seldoms, a Chicago-based dance company directed by Carrie Hanson. Banu has been a faculty member of the Merce Cunningham studio since 1998 and has also taught technique class and repertory workshops in Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Japan, Brazil and Turkey. She has re-staged Cunningham's work for the Royal Swedish Ballet, for students at New World School for the Arts in Miami, Florida; for ATON/Dino Verga Danza in Rome, Italy; for students at Columbia College, Chicago; and the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. She is currently a full-time faculty lecturer at Columbia College as well as performing and teaching at the Juilliard School.

YUKIE OKUYAMA began her dance training in Tokyo at the age of three. Her professional career began with the Tokyo Ballet Group in 1972. Ms. Okuyama performed with the Tokyo Ballet Group through 1986, where many roles were created especially for her. She began choreographing during that time, and was the recipient of many major awards from the Japan Contemporary Dance Association and the Tokyo Shimbun. Ms. Okuyama moved to New York in 1986 and joined the faculty of the Merce Cunningham Studio in 1987, where she continues to teach. She also regularly guest teaches throughout Japan. She has been featured in the magazines Dance Fax and Dance Teacher for her skills as a master teacher. Ms. Okuyama is still performing. She has been a member of the Saeko Ichinohe Dance Company since 1986, performing throughout the country and abroad. Ms. Okuyama enjoys designing and sewing dance costumes. She has created costumes for the companies of Pam Tanowitz, Anita Cheng, Saeko Ichinohe, Mary Seidman, and Jeff Moen, among others.

DANIEL SQUIRE trained in dance with Dorothy Stevens & Louise Browne, then at White Lodge & the Rambert school. He has worked with Ian Spink, Michael Clark, Matthew Hawkins, John Scott, Kimberly Bartosik and Merce Cunningham. He teaches the technique—and sets the work—of Merce Cunningham internationally. He has also trained in acting at The Barrow Group, Atlantic Acting School, & (in Shakespeare) at RADA. He co-stars in Jill Kathryn Awbrey's upcoming feature Pretty Broken Things.

Accompanists

KEVIN GARCIA is a Detroit-born drummer, percussionist, composer, and arranger. Kevin currently performs and records with Duncan Sheik, Gato Loco (Coconino y De Bajo), Wheatus, MC Frontalot, Kerrigan/Lowdermilk, Clinton Curtis, Pape Armand Boye, and Egypt 2000. Kevin was the principal drummer/actor for the Broadway musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, and the drummer for the new musical Whisper House by Duncan Sheik. Kevin won the PASIC award for best collegiate performance in 1999. Kevin currently accompanies dance for the Merce Cunningham Studio, Steps On Broadway, Limon-Peridance, Marymount College, Hunter College, Barnard College (2003 composition artist in residence), Sean Curran, and Milton Myers among many other inspiring dancer/choreographers.

MOSHE GOLDBERG started playing piano at age 5 on a five-octave saloon piano and now, age 69, graduated to a seven and a half real piano. During that time he accompanied modern dance classes at the Cunningham and Graham studios, Juilliard, Pearl Lang, Viola Farber, Jose Limon, Marjorie Mazia, and Dan Waggoner. In the classical ballet field he has played for Corvino, Maggie Black, Jocelyn Lorenz, and STEPS on Broadway.

PAT RICHTER comes from New York City, has a B. Mus. from the Eastman School of Music, and an M. Mus. from the Manhattan School of Music. "I started improvising at age six when my teacher said, I have to hold a half-note for two counts, and I said, "Why? the composer isn't here." I've been changing other people's music ever since then, and thanks to Merce, have been playing my own music since I started accompanying him in 1967. When I lived in Las Vegas, I went into a recording studio and improvised for an hour, which became the music for Cunningham's TV video, Deli Comedia.