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This performance has sold quickly! At this time, all three performances are sold out. Should any tickets become available, they will go on sale at 1:30 pm the day of the performance.

WORLD PREMIERE/HOP COMMISSION

Merce Cunningham Dance Company

Friday, OCTOBER 5 • 8 pm
Saturday, OCTOBER 6 • 2 pm & 8 pm
The Moore Theater
$30 • Dartmouth students $5

Click to download PROGRAM NOTES

An icon of American dance, Merce Cunningham is widely recognized as the greatest living choreographer. For over half a century, he has redefined the boundaries between time and space, music and dance. Showcasing his renowned collaborations with visual artists and musicians, his peerless company performs the world premiere of XOVER, juxtaposing Merce's daring choreography with a legendary John Cage score performed live, and décor by seminal visual artist, Robert Rauschenberg. The program also includes the dramatic 1960 classic Crises and eyeSpace, a synergy of technology and creative genius in which audience members create individual music scores on iPods.

ENJOY DANCE WITH YOUR OWN PERSONAL SCORE!

Merce Cunningham Dance Company audience members receive a link for a FREE download of Mikel Rouse's International Cloud Atlas, the score he created for MCDC's eyeSpace. Load the music onto your iPod or mp3 player and bring it to the theater to play in the order you choose during eyeSpace. Don't have an iPod? They'll be available on loan at the Hop performances. Also, musicians perform a live ambient soundscape for those who do not wish to use iPods. For more info, call the Hop Box Office at 603.646.2422.

Supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

“Merce Cunningham reinvented dance...He has taught us something new and powerful about how to dance and how to live.”

Mikhail Baryshnikov

RELATED EVENTS

Post-performance discussion with company members following the Friday 8 pm and Saturday 2 pm shows, The Moore Theater

THE ART OF MERCE: DARTMOUTH CELEBRATES AN ICONOCLAST

Merce Cunningham Dance Company:

The Paper Trail

Select Objects and Ephemera
September 11 – November 4
Strauss Gallery & Upper Jewett Exhibition Corridor
Gathered from the Company's extensive archive, the exhibition includes John Cage's score for Aria (featured in XOVER), Cunningham's personal choreographic notebook documenting the creation of Crises, a model of Henry Samelson's eyeSpace décor and posters with artwork by Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns.
For more info, call the Studio Art Exhibition Program at 603.646.3651.

Intermediate Level Dance Master Class

Tuesday, October 2 • 12 pm
Straus Dance Studio • $10
An introduction to Cunningham's movement vocabulary with MCDC's Robert Swinston. Enrollment limited to 25, ages 16+
To register, call the Hop Box Office at 603.646.2422 or sign up online.

Motion Capture in Action

Tuesday, October 2 • 5:30 pm
Warner Bentley Theater • Free
A real-time motion-capture demonstration in which an MCDC dancer is fitted with markers and his movement captured live and transferred to an animated model.
For more info, call Hop Outreach at 603.646.2010.

Vaughn Recital Series: Cage Music

Wednesday, October 3 • 12:30 pm
Faulkner Recital Hall • Free
Christian Wolff, Cunningham/Cage collaborator and Strauss Professor Emeritus of Music/Professor of Classics, leads an ensemble of faculty and student musicians in this celebration of John Cage's musical legacy.
For more info, call the Music Department at 603.646.3531.

Montgomery Fellow Lecture: In Conversation with Merce Cunningham

Wednesday, October 3 • 7 pm
The Moore Theater • Free
The legendary choreographer is joined by Laura Kuhn, director of the John Cage Trust, for a spirited conversation about Cunningham's groundbreaking career.
Reception to follow, Strauss Gallery.
For more info, call Hop Outreach at 603.646.2010.

Video Screening/Discussion

Thursday, October 4 • 12:00 pm
Wilson 205 • Free
Beach Birds For Camera (Dir. Elliot Caplan, USA, 1993, 28 minutes) features an MCDC dance choreographed specifi cally for the camera. Join a discussion moderated by Prof. Amy Lawrence, Dartmouth Department of Film & Television Studies. Light lunch provided.
For more info, call Hop Outreach at 603.646.2010.

Setting the Stage: Merce Cunningham's Four Key Discoveries

Friday, October 5 • 6:30 pm
Top of the Hop • Free
In this pre-performance panel discussion, Kuhn, MCDC archivist David Vaughn and Hopkins Center director Jeff James consider the evolution of Cunningham's major artistic discoveries.
For more info, call Hop Outreach at 603.646.2010.

Outdoor Film Screening

Saturday, October 6 • 6:30 pm
Bedford Courtyard, Hood Museum of Art
Free
The Hood celebrates MCDC's work with an outdoor screening of the dance film Channels/Inserts (Dir. Charles Atlas, USA, 1982, 32 minutes). The film will be shown continuously throughout the evening and refreshments and live entertainment will be offered. Rain location: Hood Museum of Art.
For more info, call the Hood at 603.646.2808.

The Dr. Allen W. Root Contemporary Art Distinguished Lecture

Wednesday, October 10 • 5:30 pm
Arthur M. Loew Auditorium • Free
Bonnie Clearwater, Executive Director and Chief Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami discusses Cunningham's connections to the contemporary art world. Reception to follow, Kim Gallery.
For more info, call the Hood Museum of Art at 603.646.2808.