ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S REMARKS
From Merce Cunningham, Artistic Director

There were two pleasant gatherings for the Company and Philadelphia friends during our residency. The first, after the opening night performance, was at the home of Jill Bonovitz and her husband, Sheldon-a house full of art works. A beautiful delicate glass work by Jill was at my eye level as I sat talking with Sage Cowles.

The second party was at the home of Eileen Rosenau. Her residence is on the edge of Philadelphia. It is a handsome house encircled by apple trees. Eileen said that in the spring they are surrounded by blossoms.

HUDSON VALLEY PROJECT

AT THE MERCE CUNNINGHAM STUDIO:

Experiments in the Studio: An MCDC new music series. This edition of the series features performances by Newton Armstrong, David Linton, Maria Chavez and Stephan Moore. Monday, June 23, 8:30pm. Free.

 

AT DIA:BEACON:

Open Company Rehearsal. Friday, May 16, 2008. Time, 3:30pm. Free with museum admission.

 

John Cage Reading Room: Work With Words. A presentation consisting of various items that relate to Cage's work with words, including publications (books, essays, magazine articles), selected art works that make use of language (such as Not Wanting to Say Anything About Marcel, and pages from the John Cage/Lois Long Mushroom Book), and archival materials (original manuscripts and sketches) relating to the exhibited works. Selected by Laura Kuhn, Director of the John Cage Trust at Bard College. In conjunction with the exhibition, an array of materials (audio, video, and print) will be available for sale in the Dia:Beacon Bookshop. Sunday, May 18-Monday, May 26, 2008. Dia:Beacon Bookshop Library. Open during regular museum hours, 11am-6pm, Thursday-Monday. Free with museum admission.

 

Family Day. MCDC representatives will team with Dia visiting artists to provide a new installment of the popular movement-based tour of the museum. Activities will be indoors and outdoors, weather permitting. The program is limited to 40 people. Children (age 6+) must be accompanied by an adult. Sunday, May 18, 12pm. Free with museum admission. Call 845.440.0100 x33 to reserve a space.

 

MCDC's Hudson Valley Project, in partnership with the Dia Art Foundation, Bard College, and the John Cage Trust at Bard College has been made possible, in part, through major support from the New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropic Advisors. Additional support has been provided by Melissa and Robert Soros, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, and through public support from the National Endowment for the Arts which believes that a great nation deserves great art.

 

DIFFERENT VOICES ON MONDAYS WITH MERCE

From Elliot Caplan, Director and Editor of Mondays with Merce

I am pleased to have been asked to participate in the upcoming Mondays with Merce program. It has been ten years since I was last in that room--"that room" is the Merce Cunningham Studio. That magnificent room housed the first Bell Laboratory experiments in the electronic signal that became known as "television". That room also knows the dance of Merce Cunningham- the years of rehearsals and classes, the magnificent piano of Pat Richter, the artists who have collaborated with Merce on design and music, the audiences who were lucky enough to get one of the one hundred fifty seats for ninety minutes of uninterrupted performance, which featured ideas not seen anywhere else. That studio even remembers a solo created and performed by Merce one evening while lying on his back in the middle of the floor. The Studio is also featured in most of the films we made since the 1970s and in the film CRWDSPCR, 1996 ("Crowd Spacer"), where we recorded in that room for a period of one year. The finished film is as much a portrait of the light in the room as it is a record of the making of the dance. We are fortunate to have the possibility of adding to this history through a new series of half-hour programs representing Merce's on-going commitment to the extension of dance through new media and technology. In these programs we celebrate Merce's work and the opportunity to bring new ideas to new audiences.

Caplan is currently Professor of Film, Department of Media Study, and Director, Center for the Moving Image, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.  His work in documentary, art filmmaking, and performance with choreographer Merce Cunningham and composer John Cage is internationally recognized. 

 

From Nancy Dalva, Associate Producer/Writer for Mondays with Merce

I am the Associate Producer/Writer for Mondays with Merce (This unofficially means being the Den Mother/Hostess for the project). My responsibilities include the outside-the-studio content of the shows, which will contain interviews with Merce Cunningham and his collaborators in the fields of music and the visual arts. There will also be interviews with choreographers who have been influenced by Merce, former Company dancers who are now choreographers, and Company dancers, past and present. Another component is gathering historical material from our archives. My favorite part of Mondays with Merce is being in the Merce Cunningham Studio in Westbeth, watching rehearsals and Company classes from the sidelines, or on the video screens, and getting tips from Merce.

Nancy Dalva is the Senior Editor/Writer for 2wice Editions, writes "The Letter from New York" for danceviewtimes.com, and reviews books for The New York Observer.

 

Mondays with Merce Technical Equipment

From Christopher Young, Production Manager/Systems Operator for Mondays with Merce

The Mondays with Merce equipment installation is complete and test shooting is underway. When you come into the Merce Cunningham Studio, you now see, hung from strategically chosen locations, 4 HDV cameras, which will discreetly capture footage of the dancers during class and rehearsals. People from all around the world will be able to view a Living Master at work from inside his studio, via the internet. These cameras are capable of shooting high quality video in either 1080i or 720p format with a frame rate of 24 to 60 frame/sec. Two cameras are wide angle shots of the whole studio, one positioned above the mirrors where the dancers face during class and the other situated on the side. The other two cameras have complete remote control capabilities. One will be focused on Merce and the other will be used as a dancer spotlight to highlight the exercises and give people an opportunity to view the technique up close.

 

Mondays with Merce Support

Cunningham Dance Foundation is deeply grateful to the numerous visionary sponsors who have lent their support to this unparalleled program.  We wish to extend our profound thanks to the following individuals and institutions:

• Pamela Kramlich, who facilitated the earliest stages of this project through underwriting a feasibility study with the Bay Area Video Coalition;
• The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, whose partnership, guidance, and major funding provided the initial resources for Mondays with Merce to be realized;
• The Rockefeller Foundation, who selected Mondays with Merce as one of sixteen inaugural recipients of the New York City Cultural Innovation Fund;
• The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation and the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation for their pioneering spirit in recognizing the national significance of this initiative;
• And The Booth Ferris Foundation, for providing the vital resources to ensure that Mondays with Merce will continue beyond its inaugural year.
   

The Mondays with Merce Team

Merce Cunningham, Artisic Director - Trevor Carlson, Executive Producer

Lynn Wichern, Producer - Elliot Caplan, Director and Editor

Nancy Dalva, Associate Producer/Writer - Christopher Young, Production Manager/Systems Operator

Ana Keilson, Film and Video Archive Assistant

 

MERCE ON THE ROCKS

See Ocean, performed in the Rainbow Quarry, near St. Cloud, Minnesota
(an hour northwest of Minneapolis)

For tickets call 612.375.7600 or visit walkerart.org/tickets

 

Experience the monumental staging of Merce Cunningham's landmark work Ocean

like never before-inside a granite quarry 100 feet below the earth's surface. This once-in-a-lifetime production of Cunningham's most ambitious work, featuring the full 14-member Company, incorporates an electronic score by David Tudor and Andrew Culver's orchestral score, inspired by John Cage's initial work on the project. Music will be performed by 150 classical instrumentalists from the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra, including other guest players from across the state of Minnesota, who will encircle the audience at the bottom of the quarry. Acclaimed filmmaker and longtime Cunningham collaborator Charles Atlas will stage a five-camera shoot of the entire production, thanks to the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

 

*For information on Merce on the Rocks packages, including Minneapolis-based activities and accommodations, please contact Keith Butler at 212.255.8240 x18 or keith@merce.org

 

This engagement of Ocean is a co-production of the Cunningham Dance Foundation and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, with the Benedicta Arts Center at the College of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, MN and the University of Minnesota-Northrop Auditorium. Major support has been provided by Sage and John Cowles. The filming of Ocean is made possible through major support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Additional funds provided by The Ford Foundation and Save America's Treasures, a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

 

UPCOMING RESIDENCIES

 

Barbican, September 29-October 4, 2008: In addition to five repertory performances at the Barbican Centre, the residency, co-produced by the Barbican and Dance Umbrella, will also include the staging of an Event for students from the London Contemporary Dance School (facilitated by former MCDC dancer Jeannie Steele) a professional panel discussion on dance and technology, film screenings at the Barbican Centre, and more. The Barbican Centre and Dance Umbrella have generously offered to serve as a co-commissioners for Merce's next creation, which will receive its European premiere at the 2010 BITE Festival. The Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Joyce Theater have also joined as commissioners and will present the piece's world premiere in 2009. MCDC extends its gratitude to all four institutions for their support.

 

Berkeley, November 3-16, 2008: Anchored by four repertory performances, this two-week engagement with Cal Performances at the University of California, Berkeley, will potentially involve UC Berkeley's Consortium for the Arts, the Center for New Media, the Berkeley Art Museum, the Pacific Film Archive, the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, and numerous UC Berkeley academic departments such as Dance, Music and Composition, Math, and Engineering.

 

Barcelona, TBD 2009: This February, Trevor Carlson and Kevin Taylor traveled to Barcelona, Spain and met with the Instituto de Cultura de Barcelona (ICUB) regarding a collaboration of a scale that will live up to Merce's significant tradition of bringing together artists and partners across multiple artistic fields. Jordi Marti, the Director of the ICUB, gathered representatives from Mercat de les Flors, Festival de Barcelona Grec, Grup Instrumental BCN, Teatre Lliure, Barcelona Centre for Contemporary Culture, and the Sonar Music Festival. The vision is to unite these institutions, among others, around the work of Merce Cunningham and John Cage, and along with Barcelona's rich community of local artists, to create a unique residency experience with the city of Barcelona. Please stay tuned for developments and look for Barcelona on MCDC's 2009 season.

HUDSON VALLEY PROJECT

In January, as part of the ongoing Hudson Valley Project, the Company presented a second series of Beacon Events within the galleries devoted to Walter De Maria's Equal Area Series. Also part of the residency, filmmaker Elliot Caplan conducted a workshop on dance on camera for students of the Beacon High School Film and Video program, and the John Cage Trust inhabited the Dia:Beacon Learning Lab where artist Ray Kass and writer Ken Silverman made special guest appearances. Nearly 50 children and parents participated in a Family Day museum movement tour, and Merce Cunningham and Dia Curator Lynne Cooke offered a post-Beacon Event public conversation.

 

EXPERIMENTS IN THE STUDIO: AN MCDC NEW MUSIC SERIES

On Monday, March 31, 2008 the fifth concert in the series Experiments in the Studio was held at the Merce Cunningham Studio. The evening featured the work of composer/performer and MCDC Musical Director Takehisa Kosugi. Kosugi has performed worldwide with MCDC since 1977 and has been the Company's Musical Director since 1995. The concert marked his first solo appearance in New York City since 1988 and coincided with his 70th birthday celebration. The program included 3 electro-acoustic compositions: Multiplex (world premiere), Organic Music (1962), and South E.V. (1999).

On Monday May 5, 2008 Richard Teitelbaum, Miguel Frasconi, Marina Rosenfeld and David Behrman performed the sixth concert in the series.

 

Experiments in the Studio celebrates Merce Cunningham's commitment to commissioning more new music by American composers than any other single choreographer, and the historic relationship between Merce Cunningham and John Cage, Founding Music Director of MCDC. The composer/performers in this series represent a vibrant history of avant-garde music and multiple generations of contemporary composers working and performing together, from the 1950s through today. Next up in the series will be Newton Armstrong, David Linton, Maria Chavez and Stephan Moore on Monday June 23, 2008.

 

REVIVAL OF SECOND HAND (1970)
On Choreography: Former MCDC dancers and original cast members Carolyn Brown, Sandra Neels, and Valda Setterfield worked with the current Company on restaging the original choreography for Second Hand.

 

On John Cage's Score, Cheap Imitation

From Laura Kuhn, Executive Director of the John Cage Trust at Bard College:

Cage composed the first two movements of the composition known as Cheap Imitation in 1947, under the original title Socrate, by reworking the first two movements of a 1918 music drama of the same name by the French composer Erik Satie. However, Satie's publisher in Paris, Editions Salabert, who held copyright, refused to grant Cage license. This was a disaster in the making, since the new Cunningham dance, for which the work was composed, had already been choreographed! Cage was compelled to do a bit of ingenious rewriting, following the same phrase and rhythmic structure he'd originally employed, but using chance operations to effectively replace each note with a new tonal value (as well as dynamics throughout). What resulted was a melodically original work, one independent of Satie's original score, and aptly renamed Cheap Imitation. It was first heard on January 9, 1970, on the stage of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, as accompaniment to the Cunningham dance, itself playfully entitled Second Hand.

Cheap Imitation is an extremely melodic work, written in conventional notation. Cage must have been pleased with the results, because in 1972 and 1977, respectively, he made two more arrangements, one for orchestra and one for solo violin. Another version, one for violin and piano, begun in 1977, was left incomplete.

 

On Costume Recreation

From Anna Finke, MCDC Wardrobe Supervisor

In order to replicate the costumes for Second Hand, I consulted with Jasper Johns's staff. In Johns's original design, each person wears a single color except for the edge of the arm and leg, where the next color bleeds in to show the color succession. The orange woman becomes a bit yellow, the yellow man becomes a bit green, etc. When the dancers line up you see the full spectrum. In re-making the costumes, we had to test dyes and fabrics, both of which have come a long way since 1970.

 

On Lighting Recreation

From Christine Shallenberg, MCDC Lighting Director

I began working on the lighting by researching the design created by Rick Nelson, the Company's Lighting Designer at the time of Second Hand's premiered. Watching black and white, fuzzy videos of the work at BAM in 1970, there were certain elements that stood out in the transitional moments. The original lighting was simple, reflecting the three distinct sections of the piece. In the revival of the work, I have tried to keep true to this simplicity, highlighting the mood shifts in the dance without over-embellishing. In rehearsals at Westbeth on a beautiful sunny day, Merce said that, for the duet section, he wanted the lighting to be like the low afternoon sunlight streaming through the windows. My design aimed to re-create the sun, so that audience members could simply enjoy the dancers and their amazing performance.

 

MERCE MY WAY:
BARYSHNIKOV PHOTO EXHIBIT

The opening of Mikhail Baryshnikov's photography exhibit, Merce My Way, took place at Mark Seliger's West Village studio on March 15, 2008. Baryshnikov has generously offered to make one of the prints from the series available, in a limited edition of 20, to benefit the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. To inquire about purchasing a print please contact: Trevor Carlson, Executive Director, Cunningham Dance Foundation, Inc., 55 Bethune Street, New York, NY 10014, (212) 255-8240 x17 or trevor@merce.org.

 

HISTORY MATTERS

On Monday, March 24, 2008 the fourth installment of History Matters—a series developed by Assistant to the Choreographer Robert Swinston—was presented in the Merce Cunningham Studio. MCDC and distinguished artists examined the creative life of Merce Cunningham during the 1980s by discussing dances, filmdances and videodances of that period. Noted panelists Merce Cunningham, MCDC Archivist David Vaughan, Patricia Lent (MCDC dancer 1984–1993) and filmmaker Elliot Caplan guided audience members through a program including excerpts of filmdances Channels/Inserts (1981, Charles Atlas) and Coast Zone (1983, Charles Atlas), and videodances Points in Space (1986, Caplan) and Changing Steps (1988, Caplan). In addition, members of MCDC and the Repertory Understudy Group performed excerpts of Fielding Sixes (1980), Trails (1982), Roaratorio (1983), and Doubles (1984).

 

LOOPS

On February 26, 2008, Merce released the choreography of Loops (1971), his solo dance for hands, under a Creative Commons license, which allows anyone to study, perform, and even remix the work for non-commercial purposes. The choreography was motion-captured by The OpenEnded Group, who used it as the basis for their abstract digital portrait of Merce, also entitled Loops (2001-8). In addition to making the motion-capture data available, the OpenEnded Group also released the code for its artwork as open source. The "Loops Preservation Project," which was underwritten by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and conducted in association with the New York Library for the Performing Arts, aimed not only to preserve and document the dance and the digital artwork, but also to create "living wills" for the choreography and the software that would allow their perpetuation-and propagation-far into the future.

 

PHILADELPHIA

From Jorge Fiffe, Director of Individual Giving and Special Events

While unacknowledged, the truth about touring for the Company and support staff is that they often find themselves, for weeks on end, away from their friends and families. However, due to the generosity of Board members and supporters of MCDC, we are sometimes brought into the comfort of the homes of those that we consider extended family. We are welcomed wholeheartedly to enjoy those small details that enrich our lives: a delectable meal, little conversations that carry a great weight and most importantly, camaraderie. Such events took place during the MCDC's engagements in Philadelphia, when Board members Jill Bonovitz and Eileen Rosenau welcomed local friends as well as the Company into their homes in Philadelphia and Bryn Mawr, respectively.

After Thursday evening's performance on February 28th, Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz were hosts to delicious aperitifs with a variety of wines, the perfect start to refreshing ones palate for the salmon meal. The Bonovitz's home is immediately inviting to guests, with a nearly life-size wooden sculpture of a couple hand-in-hand staring almost directly towards the front door. It is the invitation inside to a collection of amazing pre-Columbian ceramics, as well as the work of Jill herself who is an artist who works primarily with clay and makes ethereal pieces that dynamically play with there/not there notions about objects.

Thoughtfully cared for-as if guests at a bed and breakfast, Eileen held a brunch for the Company at her home in Bryn Mawr the next morning. Amidst works by artists like Cindy Sherman, Andy Warhol, Lucas Samaras and many others-the Company was fed a delightful and hearty home-cooked chili. With an estate quickly loosening its grip of the winter chill, it was relaxing to walk among the awesome sculptures around Rosenau's house. Of these, I think the most prominent and arresting to her guests was likely Dan Graham's Heart Pavilion.

In sharing some details from these events, I hope that I can properly communicate the importance of the movements behind the footsteps: Merce has not only created one of the greatest oeuvres in choreography, but an opus built by a family that is well-nurtured and cared for.

 

Columbia College Chicago Dance Center
Hires Paige Cunningham
By Bonnie Brooks, Department Chair, The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago

MCDC dance alum Paige Cunningham (2000-04) was recently appointed to a tenure track position at The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago effective August, 2008. She will be The Dance Center's modern technique coordinator. Currently on a guest lecturer appointment there, Paige set a Cunningham MinEvent on ten Dance Center students last fall. She is currently developing and teaching a new course offering contemporary ballet to upper division dancers.  She also set her own work, Johnny Is Always Thirsty, on student dancers for the faculty concert in December. (It got raves!) Paige completed her MFA in Dance at University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana in spring, 2007. She is delighted to find an educational and artistic home in Chicago. The Dance Center, Merce's primary presenter in Chicago, is equally delighted to have her on board. Congratulations, to Paige and also to the Dance Center for making such a stellar hire.

SALLIE BLUMENTHAL

Throughout her life, Sallie Blumenthal has been a champion of the performing arts as evidenced in both her professional life and civic involvement. Sallie began her education at Bard College in New York's Hudson Valley before transferring to Sarah Lawrence College, where renowned dance instructor Bessie Schönberg served as her advisor. Sallie's professional life began working for the Music Corporation of America (formerly the Leland Hayward Agency) in the literary department, where she worked with well-established representatives such as Kay Brown, Maynard Morris and Harriett Kaplan. From MCA, Sallie moved on to working with theatre producers Alexander H. Cohn and Kermit Blumgarten. Over the years of her work with these industry titans, Sallie went on to take part in approximately 20 Broadway productions including Agnes de Mille's The Girl in Pink Tights and Jerome Robbins' Peter Pan with Mary Martin. Sallie's career progressed to the film world where, in 1963, she was instrumental in helping to establish the New York Film Festival. Her connection to the Festival continues to this day through her involvement as a member of the Board of the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

From her earliest days, Sallie has been a true dance lover, dating to her first performance of Martha Graham at the age of 7. Her introduction to Merce Cunningham came in 1958 while Merce was in residence during a summer session at Connecticut College and, as such, she became an early advocate for the MCDC. She is a longtime supporter and an original subscriber of the New York City Ballet, is a former trustee of the Martha Graham Dance Company, and currently serves on the committee for the Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Sallie has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Cunningham Dance Foundation since 1984.

 

PAUL L. WATTIS, III

We were fortunate to meet Paul through his late grandmother, Phyllis Wattis, who was Merce's penpal in the last years of her life. Paul inherited her love of visual art, particularly the work of Robert Rauschenberg. We are delighted that he also became interested in Merce's work at the same time.

Paul is President of Wattis & Company, a general contracting firm whose business is based in San Francisco. In 2003 he was named a Director of the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation. In addition to the Cunningham Dance Foundation, Paul is also on the boards of: the Berkeley Art Museum, Katherine Delmar Burke School, Ohlhoff Recovery Programs and the San Francisco Ballet. Paul is a graduate of the University of San Francisco, majoring in History. Paul served in the United States Armed Forces for four years. He currently resides in San Francisco, California, with his wife Anne and their four children.

EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH

From Mary Lisa Burns, Director of Education

A recent Friday provided ample evidence of the liveliness of classes at the Studio and its Outreach programs. There were two special classes (taught by Cunningham Studio faculty member Janet Charleston) for visiting students from Denmark's Idraetsskolerne I Oure, who came with Eva Tarp, their teacher and friend of the Cunningham Studio. In addition, ten students visiting from Shenandoah University with their teacher, Kimberly Gibilisco, participated in the 10am class taught by Cunningham Studio Faculty Chair Carol Teitelbaum.

In addition to our regularly scheduled classes and rehearsals, we had a visit from thirty middle school students from I.S. 528, and their teacher, Denise Brown. They watched the end of Carol Teitelbaum's Advanced class, were introduced to a bit of Cunningham technique and chance methods of composition, taught by Mary Lisa Burns and Markella Kafellonitou, and then viewed the Cunningham Repertory Understudy Group perform Signals. We enjoyed meeting them, and hope to host future visits from P.S. 528!

 

RESIDENCY AT THE NEST+M SCHOOL

From John Hinrichs, MCDC Repertory Understudy Group member

The Repertory Understudy Group (RUG), along with Mary Lisa Burns, Taylor McLean, and Markella Kafellonitou recently completed an eight-week residency at the NEST+m school on the lower east side of Manhattan. NEST+m (New Explorations in Science, Technology, and Math) is a K-12 public school where students regularly take a weekly dance class as part of their curriculum. The RUGs came in to teach Cunningham-based classes and lead activities three days a week to the school's fourth grade students.

Over the eight-week period, the NEST+m students learned about the fundamentals of a Cunningham technique class, experimented with chance in making choreography, and explored the computer program DanceForms with the help of former MCDC dancer Jonah Bokaer and MCDC Executive Director Trevor Carlson. These weekly activities were used to help the students create dances in small groups. Over the eight weeks, the accumulated material developed into longer dances that the students performed at the Cunningham Studio in early April.

from Robert Swinston, Assistant to the Choreographer

TOURING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Not all tours involve traveling to mundane or exotic locales in domestic or foreign lands. From time to time we perform in and around the New York metropolitan area. This past year we have been day tripping to Beacon, NY where Merce has choreographed and the Company has performed two site-specific Beacon Events staged in individual galleries of the Dia:Beacon museum. Six more are to come. May's Beacon Event will engage Bruce Nauman's work. The majority of the Company travels by train, but I have had the pleasure to drive from my home in Rockland County across the Bear Mountain Bridge into Dutchess County along beautiful Route 9D, passing through Garrison and Cold Spring to Beacon. I was interested to learn more about the history of Beacon.

Beacon, situated on the east bank of the Hudson River at the foot of stately Mount Beacon, is located 59 miles north of New York City in Dutchess County and is approximately 90 miles south of Albany. Incorporated on May 15,1913, by combining the old villages of Fishkill Landing and Matteawan, the City of Beacon was so named to commemorate the historic Beacon fires which blazed forth from the summit of the Fishkill Mountains warning the Revolutionary Armies of the movement of the British Troops.

Rich in history, Beacon and surrounding territory was the scene of much activity during the Revolutionary War. The Madam Brett House (Teller Homestead) built in 1709 by Catherine and Roger Brett is the oldest house in the county. Washington, LaFayette, Von Steuben, and other distinguished patriots were guests under its roof, and supplies were stored there during the Revolution.

From the first gristmill established by Madam Brett in 1709 through the present, there has always been a wide variety of industrial businesses to bolster the economic growth in the community. Most of the original sites were along the Fishkill Creek because of its abundant waterpower. Other mills followed, grinding grain for New York City. In the 1800's cotton mills and a factory that built cotton machinery were erected. River freighting and dockyard building created businesses near the adjacent shipyards. The Hudson River Railroad, now the MTA & Conrail, came through in 1851, and in 1866 the Dutchess & Columbia Railroad Company laid tracks along the Fishkill Creek.

In the early 1900s Beacon was considered the hat center of the state, manufacturing fine wool hats. Another major industry in the early 1900s was brick making and many of the buildings in New York City, including the Empire State and Rockefeller Center, used the local product. In 1928 the National Biscuit Company built a plant for the manufacturing of its cartons and wrappings.

In the past ten years Beacon has had a renaissance of sorts as sections of the historic main street buildings were restored to their 19th century luster. Scenic Hudson, an environmental group, recognized something unique about Beacon beyond its natural beauty and purchased a 1,000-acre river view property adjacent to an already existing state park. They have continued to buy land and with the participation of Beacon's residents, developed the waterfront property called Beacon Landing. Scenic Hudson then acquired another 12-acres of land at the confluence of the Fishkill Creek, which runs through the city, to the Hudson River. They named it the Madam Brett Park, where a trail provides a nearly two-mile walk along the Creek and natural waterfront marshland.

As fate would have it, in the late 1990s Michael Govan, the Director of the Dia Art Foundation, the Manhattan-based contemporary art museum, was flying in a prop plane through the Hudson Valley, when he spied upon a large empty factory building on 26 acres of land at the steep side of the Hudson River. Mr. Govan decided that this would be the perfect location for Dia's permanent collection. The state and local government contributed $2.8M of the $15M it took to pay for the renovation and The International Paper Company donated the former National Biscuit Company's industrial 1920 saw tooth roof sky-lit building, creating a natural light environment for the artwork on display. 60,000 visitors come to Beacon every year to view the collection, which includes the 430-foot expanse of Andy Warhol's Shadows paintings. We were most fortunate to have performed in the Warhol gallery during MCDC's first series of performances. The second series was performed in and around the Walter de Maria galleries.

From David Vaughan, MCDC Archivist

As Merce and the company left Chandigarh in the Punjab during the 1964 world tour, the government functionary who had been in charge of their arrangements said, "If we had known how good you were, we would have treated you better."

From David Vaughan, MCDC Archivist

Early in December 2007 we were back at the Thèâtre de la Ville in Paris for a week of performances of a program consisting of CRWDSPCR, Crises, and eyeSpace. After the Sunday matinee Bénédicte and her partner, Arlette, gave us a party in their Studio, with Julie George. There was one more date: a single performance (same program) in Reims, where the Christmas market was in full swing. The New Year began with the next Beacon Events, in the Walter De Maria galleries, on January 12 and 13, 2008, featuring new costumes by Anna Finke. The Company returned to Stanford University in Palo Alto, California at the end of the month for two shows on January 25 and 26. Then it was back to Europe for a single performance in the beautiful city of Bruges/Brugge, Belgium, on February 9, as part of a John Cage festival, followed by three performances in Toulouse, France, February 12-14. In both of these places XOVER received further performances. At the end of the month the company traveled to Philadelphia for two performances at the Annenberg Center on February 28 and 29. In late March, the Company premiered the revival of Second Hand in Washington DC at the new Harman Center for the Arts.

From David Vaughan, MCDC Archivist

Members of the company and staff said good bye to Stacy Sumpman at a luncheon at the Paris Commune on December 20, 2007. She left not by her own choice; her husband, Jeremy, is in the National Guard and is serving in Afghanistan. She came to us originally as a student in the classes, and started in the Cunningham Archives on work-study. She soon became indispensable and was appointed a member of the staff, with the title of Archival Assistant, though I would prefer to call her my colleague, since she took over the film and video archive, organized and catalogued it. She was the one who knew what we have, and where it is. She also took over the project to scan and copy Merce's choreographic notes, one of the most important projects of the archives. Merce gave her freedom to go into his back room and bring out notes, many of which none of us knew existed. In fact Stacy has served the Company in more capacities than most people-and I would add with wonderfully quiet efficiency. She became the Company videographer, shooting studio performances and rehearsals and often performances as well. She was a member of the RUG, and she has worked with other choreographers. She is a member of the Studio faculty, in fact she taught her last class (for the time being) just the other morning. She has been a very important part of the Outreach program-the one who leads the children who visit the Studio in their own movement classes. Maybe because she is the mother of an enchanting little girl, Linnea, she knows how to communicate with them. Dear Stacy, you and Jeremy and Linnea leave us with our heartfelt wishes for your future health and happiness. Come back and see us. Stacy has moved to Lynchburg, Virginia: 4715 Boonsboro Road #22, Lynchburg, VA 24503. Her email is sumpman@att.net.

Jonah Bokaer (former MCDC dancer) presented The Invention of Minus One at the Abrons Arts Center, March 12-16, 2008. The dancers were Holley Farmer (MCDC Dancer), Rashaun Mitchell (MCDC Dancer), and Banu Ogan (former MCDC Dancer). Music was by Christian Marclay (MCDC collaborator), d'cor by Michael Cole (former MCDC Dancer), lighting by Aaron Copp (former MCDC Lighting Director), and costumes by Isaac Mizrahi.

 

Keith Butler (MCDC Director of Development) lead the Fundraising segment of Dance Theater Workshop's Laboratory in Arts Management, which provides emerging arts managers with hands-on experience in tour management, booking, fundraising, and marketing.  This will be Keith's third year as a teacher with this program.

 

Trevor Carlson (MCDC Executive Director) served as one of three panelists for the Jerome Foundation in March, 2008.

 

Janet Charleson (MC Studio Faculty) and Jean Freebury (former MCDC Dancer, current MC Studio Faculty) performed in Kota Yamazaki/Fluid Hug-Hug at the Ailey Citigroup Theater, February 13-17, 2008.

 

Brandon Collwes (MCDC Dancer), Dylan Crossman (RUG), and Abi Sebaly (MCDC Director of Special Projects) choreographed and performed new work in Pocket Works, a group show, along with fellow choreographers Christi Mueller (Former MCDC staff), Kimberly Young, and Sara Edwards. Performances were Friday, April 11 and Saturday, April 12 at the Merce Cunningham Studio. Performers included, among many others, Beth Brandt (MCDC Administrative Assistant), Julie Cunningham (MCDC Dancer), Emma Desjardins (MCDC Dancer), and Kevin Taylor (MCDC Assistant to the Executive Director/ Office Manager). Stephan Moore (MCDC Sound Engineer and Music Coordinator) presented a new score for Kimberly Young's piece, and Daniel Squire (MCDC Dancer) created a film for Brandon Collwes's work.

 

Dylan Crossman (RUG), Glen Rumsey (former MCDC Dancer), and Melissa Toogood (RUG) performed in Pam Tanowitz's Dream Sequence (No Secrets), in the New York City Center Studio 5, March 4-8, 2008.

 

The Cunningham Repertory Understudy Group (RUGs) performed a MinEvent in the EFSD (Emergency Fund for Student Dancers) Benefit Conceert in the Merce Cunningham Studio March 1 and 2, 2008. They also performed the MinEvent together with versions of Doubles and Deli Commedia in Fridays @Noon at the 92nd Street Y, March 14, 2008.

 

Alan Good (former MCDC Dancer) has shown work at Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn, February 9, 2008, and a work in progress at 525 West 22nd Street, March 15, 2008.

 

Ana Keilson (MCDC Film and Video Archive Assistant) showed film installations with The _____ Collective, in the Cunningham Studio, April 4 and 5, 2008; as part of the Progressive Arts Network at the Bushwick Starr (same dates); at Dixon Place, as part of the "Underexposed" series, April 19, 2008; and in a show curated by Daniel McCusker at the Green Street Studio in Cambridge, Massachusetts (film and solo) the weekend of April 25 and 26, 2008.

 

Two new works for Piano and Electronics, by John King (MCDC Composer/Musician) and Stephan Moore (MCDC Sound Engineer and Music Coordinator) were premiered on March 13, 2008 at the University of Arizona in Tucson by pianist Michael Dauphinais. Dauphinais joined the Company in the performance of John Cage's Four3 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center last year. John King's 23 Rubai'yat and Stephan Moore's Moving Target comprised a program called Soundscapes that was a featured program of the University of Arizona's School of Music, and was accompanied by class visits and a public lecture by Moore.

 

Stephan Moore's evening-length score for the dance Center of Sleep by choreographer Yanira Castro was premiered at Dance Theater Workshop in New York City, February 27-March 1, 2008.

 

Koji Mizuta (MCDC Dancer) performed with Kazuko Hirabayashi Dance Theatre, in the Merce Cunningham Studio, March 13-16, 2008.

 

Jeff Moen and Yukie Okuyama (both MC Studio Faculty) performed with the Saeko Ichinohe Dance Company at the Ailey Citigroup Theater, March 29 and 30, 2008. Yukie Okuyama also designed costumes.

 

Gus Solomons Jr. (former MCDC Dancer) played the title role in a production of Shakespeare's Othello at the Bank Street Theatre in January 2008.

 

Melissa Toogood (RUG) and Jonah Bokaer (former MCDC Dancer) performed in Anne Carson's reading/performance, String Talks, at New York University's Skirball Center on February 8, 2008.

Annemarie van Matt and Sonja Sekula: Dunkelschwestern (Dark sisters) opened at the Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau, Switzerland, on January 27, 2008 and ran through April 13, 2008. Sekula's costume for Merce Cunningham in Dromenon (1947) and in Solo (1975) is in this show.

 

Jasper Johns: Gray opened at the Metropoliltan Museum of Art on February 5, 2008 and ran through May 4, 2008. Drawings by Jasper Johns were also exhibited at the Matthew Marks Gallery.

 

Merce My Way: The Merce Cunningham Dance Company in Photographs by Mikhail

Baryshnikov opened at 401 Projects, 401 West Street, on March 18, 2008 and ran through May 4, 2008.

 

ReFusing Fashion: Rei Kawakubo, a retrospective of Commes des Gar'ons designer Rei Kawakubo at the Detroit Museum of Contemporary Art includes the costumes that she created for Scenario (1997). The exhibition opened February 8, 2008, and ran through April 20, 2008.