- Additional Authors
- Found In
- Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
- Description
- 2 streaming audio files (113 minutes total) : digital, stereo
- Summary
- Streaming file 1, Aug. 28: Merce Cunningham speaks with David Vaughan about performing with Nina Fonaroff in Martha Graham's Imagined wing (1944) while in the Martha Graham Dance Company; more on the Graham Company; Fonaroff's trip to Seattle and Cornish College of the Arts where Cunningham was a student; they view Fonaroff's photographs of Bennington College performances and of Cunningham with the Graham Company; Cunningham speaks about developing the technique of Torse (1976) through teaching class exercises related to it; his own work on the choreography of Torse, including figuring out phrases using the I Ching [Yi jing; ancient Chinese divination text] prior to teaching the dancers with the help of his notes; [inaudible, Cunningham speaks away from the microphone]; more on teaching Torse to the dancers and the similarities with teaching Fielding sixes (1980); Cunningham speaks about his inspirations for Squaregame (1976); finishing Squaregame while on tour; briefly, the duet in Squaregame and the locations the [Merce Cunningham Dance Company] performed while on tour to Australia in 1976; the Squaregame movement theme of dragging; changes to the parts and angles of the duffle bags for the Squaregame video (1976); the large space requirements for Squaregame; Cunningham speaks in detail about the choreographic procedures he used in creating Squaregame; an alternate ending to the Squaregame video; Cunningham's considerations for the camera arrangements in filming Squaregame, and dance on camera in general; the costume design of using primary colors for the couples; determining the entrances and exits for the six dancers; the re-use of movements from Squaregame in his Travelogue (1977); more on choreographing Travelogue especially in relation to Bob [Robert Rauschenberg]'s props [at times Cunningham is inaudible]; the stage placement of dancer Robert Kovich in Travelogue; working on the order of Travelogue; changes he has made to Travelogue; some of the themes Cunningham explored in Travelogue including referencing vaudeville; [ca. 42:00 abruptly ends and new recording begins at what sounds like an airport based on background noises]; Cunningham speaks with Vaughan about discussing the props for Travelogue with Rauschenberg; more of Rauschenberg's ideas for the props; ways that the prop design influenced the dance; [ca. 45:18 abruptly ends and new recording begins]; Cunningham continues to speak with Vaughan about the Travelogue props; Cunningham tells a brief anecdote about his mother flying through India; Cunningham speaks about Morris Graves' stage design for Inlets (1977); choreographing Inlets, especially in relation to the stage design; how the still moments and ambience of Inlets reminds Cunningham of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States; Vaughan quotes a mesostic written by John Cage and performed at City Center; [ca. 55:01 abruptly ends and new recording begins]; Vaughan describes a moment in Inlets; Cunningham briefly describes what it feels like to dance within that moment of Inlets.
- Streaming file 2, Sep. 3: Merce Cunningham speaks with David Vaughan about his Exercise pieces (1975, 1978, 1980) and the re-use of phrases for Events and Changing steps (1973); the structure of Exchange (1978) as related to the "old Company" and "new Company"; Cunningham speaks about the phrases in the first part of Exchange then using chance to determine if the phrases repeat in the second part; more on the choreography of Exchange including his original inspiration and the ending; the challenges of using a notebook to record choreographic notes; Cunningham recalls a conversation with Jasper Johns about the stage design of Exchange; Vaughan's impression of the urban tone of Exchange; they discuss a costume jacket that was never used for Exchange; Cunningham tells an anecdote on Johns' delivery of the costumes for Exchange; Cunningham speaks about the three sections and tells an anecdote about a lift of dancer Catherine Kerr in Exchange; Cunningham speaks about the hidden tango in the beginning of his solo, Tango (1978); briefly, Cage's score for Tango; Cunningham tells an anecdote about clarifying the cue for his entrance; the origin of the television set in Tango; Cunningham speaks about the movements with changeable order from Tango that he re-uses as solos during his Events; more on the choreography for his five solos within Events, including the "50 looks" choreographic component; how he choreographs the solos during the Company's rehearsal breaks; briefly, the section called "pantomime" in the Events of fall 1978, performed in Denver and Minneapolis; Vaughan briefly recalls the difference between the Denver and Minneapolis Event performances; Cunningham speaks about the origin and development of the "50 looks"; Event movement material that he re-uses from Loops (1971); characteristics of each of the five solos for Events [at times Cunningham moves away from the microphone to demonstrate movement]; [ca. 44:06, recorder stops and restarts]; Cunningham speaks about his re-use of components from other works for Events; they speak briefly about Vaughan's upcoming, first NEA [National Endowment for the Arts] panel; Cunningham speaks about creating work regardless of grant money support; [ca. 48:40 recording ends and new recording begins]; Cunningham speaks about the choreography for Roadrunners (1979), including his inspiration taken from poses; the chance procedures used in the choreography of Roadrunners; more on choreographing Roadrunners, including specific examples from rehearsals.
- Alternative Title
- Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection. Audio materials.
- Subject
- Genre/Form
- Interviews.
- Sound recordings.
- Note
- Title provided by cataloger based on audition and handwritten notes on original cassette and container.
- Handwritten notes on original cassette and container: "1. Interview with Merce Cunningham, 28 August 1980 ; 2. Interview with Merce Cunningham 3 September 1980".
- David Vaughan interviews Merce Cunningham, probably in New York, New York, on August 28, and September 3, 1980. This interview was created as research for David Vaughan's book, Merce Cunningham: Fifty years (New York, Aperture).
- Sound quality is mostly good to fair; there are occasional background noises, at times the interviewee speaks away from the microphone and is difficult to hear, and there is a low level ringing throughout streaming file 2.
- Donor's inventory number: C375.
- Access (note)
- Patrons can access streaming audio only on site at NYPL Research Libraries.
- Source (note)
- Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation
- Linking Entry (note)
- Forms part of the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
- Call Number
- *LTC-A 1198
- OCLC
- 900293223
- Author
Cunningham, Merce, interviewee.
- Title
Interview with Merce Cunningham, 1980-08-28/1980-09-03.
- Production
August 28 and September 3, 1980.
- Playing Time
005717 005558
- Type of Content
spoken word
- Type of Medium
audio
- Type of Carrier
audiocassette
online resource
- Digital File Characteristics
audio file
- Event
Recorded in, [New York, New York], 1980 August 28 and September 3.
- Restricted Access
Patrons can access streaming audio only on site at NYPL Research Libraries.
- Original Version
Archival original: (1 audio cassette (113 minutes) : analog) in *LTC-A 1198.
- Linking Entry
Forms part of the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
- Local Note
Transferred from original analog cassette by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company; two preservation files were created based on the cassette sides: C375a, and, C375b.
- Source
Gift; Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, 2011-2012.
- Connect to:
- Added Author
Vaughan, David, 1924- interviewer.
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, donor.
- Added Title
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection. Audio materials.
- Found In:
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
- Research Call Number
*LTC-A 1198