The review today by Alastair Macaulay of the New York Times includes his assessment of two Merce Cunningham works -- "RainForest" (1968) and "Pond Way" (1998) -- that were performed in November at Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Macaulay saw them at Brooklyn Academy of Music, where the dance company performed Cunningham works over the past week. Caroline Palmer wrote about the pieces for the Star Tribune when she saw them at the Walker.
Macaulay also describes a piece by Cunningham called "Split Sides" (2003), with music of Radiohead and Sigur Ros, a bit of which is seen in the video above. Makes me wish I could have seen that piece, too. Macaulay notes that "Split Sides," which includes a big solo full of "unimaginable feats," was originally created by Cunningham for dancer Jonah Bokaer, who some may remember did a memorable solo at the opening weekend of the Cowles Center in Minneapolis in September. This video clip shows Bokaer talking about and performing part of "Split Sides."
Merce Cunningham Dance Company performed in Seattle Oct. 27, 2011. Photo for the Star Tribune by Cliff Despeaux.
