For Merce Cunningham’s 100th birthday, an exceptional Night of 100 Solos

The Los Angeles Times reviews the CAP UCLA performance

April 17, 2019

To commemorate the centennial of Merce Cunningham, the Merce Cunningham Trust coproduced Night of 100 Solos, the largest Cunningham Event ever created. A total of 75 dancers from around the world will be divided over three stages in London, New York City, and Los Angeles for one night only on Merce’s 100th birthday, April 16, 2019. CAP UCLA presented the Los Angeles performance, with set design by UCLA Design Media Arts Professor Jennifer Steinkamp. The LA Times calls the project a "simply overwhelming experience."

"Merce Cunningham died 10 years ago at 90. He was easily the greatest choreographer of the second half of the 20th century and a teeny bit into the 21st. He left behind an enormous body of work. He passed on new techniques of movement to generations of dancers, while his profound ways of thinking about the meaning of movement have much broader implications for art and how we might better look at life.

Yet all of it, in a manner of speaking, vanishes into air, as Cunningham himself was known to almost do as a young dancer who didn’t leap so much as seemingly fly. He questioned everything, legacy included. He also made his wishes known that when he died, the company would continue for two years (for the sake the dancers’ employment more than anything else) then disband. He stood for invention, not continuation.

That, however, didn’t mean the Merce Cunningham Trust was about to pass up one of the greatest legacies in dance since the dawn of Terpsichore. It celebrated Cunningham’s 100th birthday Tuesday night with the gargantuan “Night of 100 Solos: A Centennial Event.” Three 90-minute programs were presented that evening — one in London, another in New York and the third at Royce Hall presented by Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA. At each venue, 25 dancers took on a total of 100 solos Cunningham choreographed throughout his long career."— Mark Swed, April 17, 2019

This post is an excerpt. Read the full article on the Los Angeles Times website.

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