The Choreography of Merce Cunningham
Choreographer Merce Cunningham was an experimentalist who, in his final years, was almost routinely hailed as the world’s greatest living choreographer. Cunningham productions-many of them collaborations with composer John Cage-aroused much controversy. Three aspects of Cunningham’s choreographic theories were especially provocative: his use of chance and indeterminacy(not precisely determining the completion of his works but leaving some choices up to the performers); his treatment of stage space; and his tendency to regard the components of a dance production as independent entities.
Wishing his dances to possess some of the unpredictability of life itself, Cunningham began to make choreographic use of chance. For Cunningham, chance did not mean chaos, and his dances were not improvisations or free-for-alls. Typically, he prepared in advance a multitude of movement possibilities-more than he may actually have needed in a work-and then decided which sequences(groups of movements) he would use by some simple device, such as flipping a coin. Or he would choreograph works in which the episodes might be performed in any order. Since Cunningham prepared so much, one might ask why he bothered with chance at all. He would reply that chance can reveal to a choreographer ways of combining movements that the rational, conscious mind might not have otherwise thought of on its own. All people are, to some extent, prisoners of their mental habits. But Cunningham believed that through chance, choreographers could free themselves from habit and discover attractive new movement sequences.
A theatrical preoccupation with indeterminacy is perhaps to be taken for granted in an age of mechanical formats, such as films, recordings, and television. One characteristic of the mechanical is fixity: once something is on film, it will stay that way forever-or at least until the film decays. But even when live performers are trying to speak the same words, sing the same music, or dance the same steps, every live performance differs, if only slightly, from every other live performance. Therefore, it can be argued that in his concern for indeterminacy, Cunningham was calling attention to the indeterminacy inherent in all live theater.
A second characteristic of Cunningham’s choreographic approach was his treatment of stage space. Whereas many dances are structured around a central focus-a ballerina or danseur, or a hero or heroine, who may be framed by an ensemble- Cunningham gave equal importance to all parts of the stage. Corners and sides were as important as center stage, and many things happened simultaneously in different stage areas. Instead of being choreographically guided toward a single point, the spectator’s eye was left free to roam as it pleased across a field of activity.
Finally, Cunningham regarded the components of a production- movement, music, decor-as coexisting independent entities. The dancers’ steps were not phrased to coincide with the musical phrases; the scenery did not illustrate the choreography. Dance, music, and scenery simply occurred in the same space and time. The most radical manifestations of Cunningham’s belief in the independence of theatrical elements occurred in what he termed “Events.”These 90-minute productions, performed without intermission, consisted of choreographic sequences from dances already in the Cunningham repertoire. Yet the sequences were not presented to the audience as detached excerpts. Instead, they were woven together and performed to musical scores other than those for the works from which they derived. Thus, Events presented old movements in a new context, and the change of context often drastically altered the effect of the movements. Through his Events, Cunningham emphasized that everything is subject to change.
Each of Cunningham’s dances managed to have its own special mood. Although there is nothing really tropical about Rainforest, the choreography is sensuous, and Andy Warhol’s decor of floating silver pillows somehow seems appropriate for such a lush creation. Quartet,which,despite its title,is a dance for fiveone outsider keeps trying in vain to join a group of four people-can be interpreted as an image of social exile or the gulf between generations. Cunningham’s dances consist of many different elements, but like objects in a landscape, they may cohere to produce an unmistakable atmosphere.
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Choreographer Merce Cunningham was an experimentalist who, in his final years, was almost routinely hailed as the world’s greatest living choreographer. Cunningham productions-many of them collaborations with composer John Cage-aroused much controversy. Three aspects of Cunningham’s choreographic theories were especially provocative: his use of chance and indeterminacy(not precisely determining the completion of his works but leaving some choices up to the performers); his treatment of stage space; and his tendency to regard the components of a dance production as independent entities.
The word “controversy” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Aexcitement
Bdisagreement
Cadmiration
Dinterest
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Wishing his dances to possess some of the unpredictability of life itself, Cunningham began to make choreographic use of chance. For Cunningham, chance did not mean chaos, and his dances were not improvisations or free-for-alls. Typically, he prepared in advance a multitude of movement possibilities-more than he may actually have needed in a work-and then decided which sequences(groups of movements) he would use by some simple device, such as flipping a coin. Or he would choreograph works in which the episodes might be performed in any order. Since Cunningham prepared so much, one might ask why he bothered with chance at all. He would reply that chance can reveal to a choreographer ways of combining movements that the rational, conscious mind might not have otherwise thought of on its own. All people are, to some extent, prisoners of their mental habits. But Cunningham believed that through chance, choreographers could free themselves from habit and discover attractive new movement sequences.
According to paragraph 2, a single Cunningham dance varied from performance to performance in terms of the
Atotal number of sequences it contained
Btotal number of dancers it involved
Corder in which its different parts were presented
Dimprovised movements added by dancers
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Wishing his dances to possess some of the unpredictability of life itself, Cunningham began to make choreographic use of chance. For Cunningham, chance did not mean chaos, and his dances were not improvisations or free-for-alls. Typically, he prepared in advance a multitude of movement possibilities-more than he may actually have needed in a work-and then decided which sequences(groups of movements) he would use by some simple device, such as flipping a coin. Or he would choreograph works in which the episodes might be performed in any order. Since Cunningham prepared so much, one might ask why he bothered with chance at all. He would reply that chance can reveal to a choreographer ways of combining movements that the rational, conscious mind might not have otherwise thought of on its own. All people are, to some extent, prisoners of their mental habits. But Cunningham believed that through chance, choreographers could free themselves from habit and discover attractive new movement sequences.
Why does the author comment that “All people are, to some extent, prisoners of their mental habits”?
ATo explain why Cunningham typically did so much advance preparation for a production
BTo help explain why Cunningham was interested in using chance in his works
CTo provide evidence that Cunningham’s dances were not improvisations or free-for-alls
DTo argue that Cunningham wanted his dances to reflect some of the unpredictability of life
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A theatrical preoccupation with indeterminacy is perhaps to be taken for granted in an age of mechanical formats, such as films, recordings, and television. One characteristic of the mechanical is fixity: once something is on film, it will stay that way forever-or at least until the film decays. But even when live performers are trying to speak the same words, sing the same music, or dance the same steps, every live performance differs, if only slightly, from every other live performance. Therefore, it can be argued that in his concern for indeterminacy, Cunningham was calling attention to the indeterminacy inherent in all live theater.
The phrase “taken for granted” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Adesired
Bpraised
Cassumed
Dencouraged
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A second characteristic of Cunningham’s choreographic approach was his treatment of stage space. Whereas many dances are structured around a central focus-a ballerina or danseur, or a hero or heroine, who may be framed by an ensemble- Cunningham gave equal importance to all parts of the stage. Corners and sides were as important as center stage, and many things happened simultaneously in different stage areas. Instead of being choreographically guided toward a single point, the spectator’s eye was left free to roam as it pleased across a field of activity.
According to paragraph 4, what is one way in which staging was notable in Cunningham’s productions?
AAction might have been taking place in more than one area of the stage at the same time.
BSpectators were sometimes unable see the dancers performing in the middle of the stage
CSpectators were free to watch a production from certain areas of the stage
DDancers sometimes performed in areas of a theater other than the stage
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Finally, Cunningham regarded the components of a production- movement, music, decor-as coexisting independent entities. The dancers’ steps were not phrased to coincide with the musical phrases; the scenery did not illustrate the choreography. Dance, music, and scenery simply occurred in the same space and time. The most radical manifestations of Cunningham’s belief in the independence of theatrical elements occurred in what he termed “Events.”These 90-minute productions, performed without intermission, consisted of choreographic sequences from dances already in the Cunningham repertoire. Yet the sequences were not presented to the audience as detached excerpts. Instead, they were woven together and performed to musical scores other than those for the works from which they derived. Thus, Events presented old movements in a new context, and the change of context often drastically altered the effect of the movements. Through his Events, Cunningham emphasized that everything is subject to change.
According to paragraph 5, which of the following typified a Cunningham production?
AThe independence of the dance, music, and scenery
BThe importance of time and space
CThe repetition of the same choreographic sequences
DThe simplicity of the dance, music, and scenery
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Finally, Cunningham regarded the components of a production- movement, music, decor-as coexisting independent entities. The dancers’ steps were not phrased to coincide with the musical phrases; the scenery did not illustrate the choreography. Dance, music, and scenery simply occurred in the same space and time. The most radical manifestations of Cunningham’s belief in the independence of theatrical elements occurred in what he termed “Events.”These 90-minute productions, performed without intermission, consisted of choreographic sequences from dances already in the Cunningham repertoire. Yet the sequences were not presented to the audience as detached excerpts. Instead, they were woven together and performed to musical scores other than those for the works from which they derived. Thus, Events presented old movements in a new context, and the change of context often drastically altered the effect of the movements. Through his Events, Cunningham emphasized that everything is subject to change.
According to paragraph 5, all of the following were true of Cunningham’s “Events” EXCEPT:
AThey were performed without interruption
BThey included elements of Cunningham’s previous works.
CThey used music that was different from the music previously used with the dances.
DThe reaction of the audience changed the performance
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Each of Cunningham’s dances managed to have its own special mood. Although there is nothing really tropical about Rainforest, the choreography is sensuous, and Andy Warhol’s decor of floating silver pillows somehow seems appropriate for such a lush creation. Quartet,which,despite its title,is a dance for fiveone outsider keeps trying in vain to join a group of four people-can be interpreted as an image of social exile or the gulf between generations. Cunningham’s dances consist of many different elements, but like objects in a landscape, they may cohere to produce an unmistakable atmosphere.
Which of the following is true about “Quartet”?
AIts lush mood was similar to that of Rainforest.
BIt used a decor of floating pillows.
CIt can be interpreted as social commentary.
DIt used a total of four dancers.
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Wishing his dances to possess some of the unpredictability of life itself, Cunningham began to make choreographic use of chance. [■]For Cunningham, chance did not mean chaos, and his dances were not improvisations or free-for-alls. [■]Typically, he prepared in advance a multitude of movement possibilities-more than he may actually have needed in a work-and then decided which sequences(groups of movements) he would use by some simple device, such as flipping a coin. [■]Or he would choreograph works in which the episodes might be performed in any order. [■]Since Cunningham prepared so much, one might ask why he bothered with chance at all. He would reply that chance can reveal to a choreographer ways of combining movements that the rational, conscious mind might not have otherwise thought of on its own. All people are, to some extent, prisoners of their mental habits. But Cunningham believed that through chance, choreographers could free themselves from habit and discover attractive new movement sequences.
Look at the four squaresthat indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage
In fact, he put a great deal of planning into his productions.
Where would the sentence best fit？Click on a square sentence to the passage.
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Merce Cunningham was an experimentalist.
ACunningham felt that chance improved his creativity by helping him devise new groups of movements.
BIn Cunningham’s dances, the actions taking place in each part of the stage were equally important.
CCunningham’s Events presented the works of more traditional choreographers in new contexts
DCunningham used chance in part to express his dissatisfaction with mechanical art forms.
ECunningham staged several separate works at the same time, with each taking place on a different part of the stage.
FCunningham’s productions incorporated music, dance, and scenery as separate elements, but each work created a distinctive feeling.
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