Monday, November 19, 2007

1.) Merce Cunningham, John Cage's partner and lover, used many of John Cage's methods/theories and applied them to dance instead of music-theater.

Inspired by Albert Einstein's words "there are no fixed points in space," Cunningham developed a method of creating known as "Chance Operations"...Cunningham would create a number of dance phrases and use methods such as dice, cards, or coins to determine order, number of repetitions, direction and spatial relation.

Although considered an abrogation of artistic responsibility by some, Cunningham was thrilled by a process that arrives at works that could never have been created through traditional collaboration. This does not mean, however, that Cunningham holds every piece created in this fashion is a masterpiece. Those dances that do not "work" are quickly dropped from repertory, while those that do are celebrated as serendipitous discoveries. In this fashion chance operations are similar to improvisation, used as a tool of creation by many artists.

...in Cunningham's choreography, dancers do not necessarily represent any historical figure, emotional situation, or idea.


from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merce_Cunningham

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

2.) The Cornish College of the Arts, as close by as the Seattle area, influenced by Montessori ideas, has had the following very notable faculty/alumni: John Cage, Bill Frisell, Meredith Monk, Merce Cunningham, and, uh, Steve White of The Blue Man Group.

see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_College_of_the_Arts
and http://www.cornish.edu/




No comments: