Merce Cunningham Dance Company Legacy Tour

The Legacy Tour of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company includes Suite for Five, Antic Meet, and Sounddance.

September 9 and 10 at 8 pm
September 11 at 2 pm
Tickets: $55, 45, 35, 25

The legendary Merce Cunningham Dance Company (MCDC) returns to the Hudson Valley one last time before it disbands at the conclusion of its final world tour in December. MCDC’s engagement at Bard provides an extraordinary opportunity to see Cunningham’s choreography performed by the last dancers he personally trained, in a program that illuminates his groundbreaking collaborations with his life partner, John Cage, and artist Robert Rauschenberg.

The iconic Antic Meet (1958) captures the exuberant spirit that existed between Cunningham, Cage, and Rauschenberg for nearly 60 years. In this comedic work, Rauschenberg’s witty costumes come back to life with Cunningham’s vaudeville-like choreography and a playful composition by Cage that makes generous use of multiple forms of notation and different types of music making. Suite for Five (1956), in contrast, is one of the modernist trio’s most beautiful works, remarkable for its sustained solos and serene, sculptural quality. The explosive Sounddance (1975) closes the program, with David Tudor’s powerful score in perfect accord with the vigorous, fast-paced dance for the full company.

The revival and preservation of Antic Meet are made possible through the generous support of Jeanne Donovan Fisher and the National Endowment for the Arts, and co-commissioned by the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Special thanks to the Thendara Foundation for its support of these performances.

Antic Meet (1958)
Choreography by Merce Cunningham
Music by John Cage, Concert for Piano and Orchestra
Décor and costumes by Robert Rauschenberg

Suite for Five (1956–58)
Choreography by Merce Cunningham
Music by John Cage, Music for Piano
Costumes by Robert Rauschenberg
Lighting by Beverly Emmons

Sounddance (1975)
Choreography by Merce Cunningham
Music by David Tudor, Toneburst
Décor and costumes by Mark Lancaster