American choreographer Merce Cunningham, widely considered one of the greatest choreographers of his generation, has died at the age of 90.
Cunningham, whose dance company has been a regular feature at the Barbican in recent years, died of natural causes at his home on Sunday 26 July.
Trained in ballroom and tap before he moved on to modern dance, Cunningham created his dance company, for which he choreographed around 200 pieces, in 1953. His pioneering spirit saw him dispense with many of the conventions of dance, including storytelling and the exploration of relationships, to focus all attention on the dance itself. Among the many accolades garnered in his lifetime, Pictures, performed by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, won a Laurence Olivier Award in 1985.
In addition to his own company, Cunningham’s work has been performed by New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Zurich Ballet and the Rambert Dance Company, among many other companies. His collaborators have ranged from John Cage, who was also his life partner, to Radiohead and Sigur Rós.
Speaking in response to Cunningham’s death, Louise Jeffreys, Head of Theatre at the Barbican said: “What a life Merce Cunningham had. He always embraced the new. He transformed his artform. He was creating new work right up until the last minute. His artistic collaborators are like a roll call of some of the most influential musicians and visual artists of the last 70 years. And he was always such good company! I can hear his distinctive voice in my head saying, as he always did after every premiere at the Barbican, “Thank you for supporting my work.” I was always amazed that he remembered to thank us since it felt like a privilege to be a co-commissioner for his work and for him to be at the Barbican. Plans have long been in place to present his last work, co-commissioned by the Barbican, with Dance Umbrella in October next year. His loss is felt now but will be even more apparent then – it’s hard to believe that he won’t be here.”
The news of Cunningham’s death has come as the dance world recovers from the death of German dancer and choreographer Pina Bausch, who passed away at the end of June, five days after being diagnosed with cancer.
MA