Merce Cunningham: the man who changed contemporary dance

Introduction 

Merce Cunningham was an American choreographer who has become a single influence in the contemporary dance across the world. He was well versed in demonstrating the routines by performing the dances, where he helped his team perfect the movements in both the techniques displayed and the timing ( Felice et al., 2016) . His craft of choreography involved devising movement sequences and structuring these movements in a bid to create the art of dance. He was well known in working closely with his dancers, where he devised the movement material while he drew on the individual style and creativity. In this paper, there will be an analysis of the works of Cunningham that stand out and the personal style he presented. It will also describe the historical background of the choreographers and an analysis of what made them famous. 

Works that Stand out the Most 

Cunningham was intrigued by the potentiality of the random phenomena, which became the determinant of his structure. He gained his inspiration from the pursuit of pure movement that was devoid of the significant implications. He developed choreography by chance, where he made a selection of isolated movements using random methods as those seen in the event of casting a dice ( Felice et al., 2016) . The most formidable performance was that of the sixteen dances for soloist and company of three , where he constructed the patterns. The Suite by chance was also a choreographic dance that was created to the level of an electric score. The two choreographic designs vary significantly in the mood even though the alterations and contrasts in movement characterize them. 

The Personal Style 

The choreographer used the chance procedures as the creation that defined his style. In this procedure, the order of the steps was anonymous until when the actual performance begins and is highly determined by probability ( Felice et al., 2016) . The best example where he uses this personal style is in the Suite by Chance, where he tosses a coin to determine how to assemble the choreographed sequences. The choreographer used indeterminacy, where his pieces comprised of different sections that needed thorough rehearsal before putting them in a specific order at the chosen time. 

Background and State of Fame 

Cunningham launched his Merce Cunningham Dance Company (MCDC) in 1953 when he was inspired by the radical approach to space that had been developed among leaders. The company went ahead to forge distinctive styles that were a reflection of his techniques. Having started training in the art of choreography at the age of 12, Cunningham and his company illuminated the possible limitlessness of human body movement ( Felice et al., 2016) . The original choreographic company was made up of the formidable dancers such as Carolyn Brown, Viola Farber, and Remmy Charlip. It was also made up of other musicians like John Cage, while this collaboration led to the establishment of his dance foundation in 1964 that was meant to support his artistic work. With its headquarters in West Village, the company faced dissolution in 2012. 

Conclusion 

It is evident that the choreographer is the foundation for reaching out to the goals of the artistic director. The choreographer maintains the standards and the artistic integrity of the company through the fulfillment of the criteria that works within the overall aims of the company. An analysis of a choreographer like Merce Cunningham shows that success in the field of application requires high levels of skills in devising the sequence of movements while it also requires one to structure these movements in the creation of the dance work. Most of the choreographers work in collaboration with the dancers in the course of devising these movement materials. They also draw on the style and creativity of dancers in inventing the movements. 

References 

Felice, M. C., Alaoui, S. F., & Mackay, W. E. (2016, July). How Do Choreographers Craft Dance? Designing for a Choreographer-Technology Partnership. In  Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium on Movement and Computing  (p. 20). ACM.