- Additional Authors
- Found In
- Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
- Description
- 2 streaming audio files (78 minutes total) : digital, stereo
- Summary
- Streaming file 1, Dec. 7: Begins abruptly, Merce Cunningham speaks with David Vaughan about creating Westbeth (1974), his first video collaboration with Charles Atlas; more on each of the sections in Westbeth, including the use of three cameras in the shooting and the incorporation of material from Suite for five (1956); changes made to Westbeth for the Dance in America series filming and for live performances as part of Events; Cunningham speaks about the complicated steps and longer phrases in Rebus (1975) that originated in his technique classes; the challenge for dancers to learn and independently maintain complicated steps; his attempts to push the boundaries of complexity in his choreography; concurrent to Rebus rehearsals, structuring his classes with accompanist, Pat Richter, to explore phrasework with different timelines; Cunningham briefly speaks about creating his own role in Rebus; his scheme to shift the repertory around and the challenges of re-mounting Rebus, including rehearsing the work and re-learning the steps; the origins of collaborating with Nam June Paik on Merce by Merce by Paik (1973), and creating the piece, including why it was a solo for Cunningham; briefly, after filming Merce by Merce by Paik, returning to Paris to re-stage Un jour ou deux (1973); choreographing Torse (1976) by use of the I Ching for the ordering the steps and phrases; Cunningham describes the process by which he adds dancers to later versions of Torse; checking the steps against his choreographic notes; the repetition of the steps and variations in spacing for Torse; ends abruptly.
- Streaming file 2, Feb. 4: Begins abruptly, Merce Cunningham speaks with David Vaughan about the critic Nigel Gosling's comparison of Cunningham to Sergei Diaghilev in his collaborative work with visual artists; briefly, collaborating with [Isamu] Noguchi on the Seasons (1947); he speaks about a practical reason why his visual design and musician collaborators work independently; Bob [Robert] Rauschenberg's creation of the backdrop for Summerspace (1958) and props for Travelogue (1977); Cunningham speaks about how his collaboration with Charles Atlas on dance for camera requires closer working processes; rehearsing the piece Locale (1977) with Atlas and his cameras prior to the dancers' involvement; more on the process of creating Locale, including pre-planning edit cuts and working with two cameras for a section; Cunningham explains why he didn't use chance methods in Locale mainly due to the technical challenges of working with dance on camera; briefly, on creatively engaging the restrictions of dance on camera; his re-use of sections from dance on camera pieces in his Events; the process of transferring works from film to stage such as for Locale, and, Fractions (1978); Cunningham speaks about how the editing process with Atlas has revealed images that the eye misses in a live dance; briefly, the current piece Cunningham is choreographing, Duets (1980); briefly, on the Irish folk drumming music Cage recorded for Duets; more on the choreography of Duets; rehearsing Roadrunners (1979) and the challenge of keeping the shapes particular; Cunningham expresses his hope that audiences will come to see the works; ca. 27:08, abruptly ends and new recording begins; Cunningham speaks with Vaughan about the re-construction of Landrover (1972) using his notes and videotapes; his conceptions that inspired Landrover; the compromises that working with dance on camera requires by its limitations; ends abruptly.
- Alternative Title
- Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection. Audio materials.
- Subjects
- Genre/Form
- Interviews.
- Sound recordings.
- Note
- Title provided by cataloger based on audition and handwritten note on original cassette.
- Handwritten note on original cassette: "1. Interview with Merce Cunningham, 7 December 1980 ; 2. Interview with Merce Cunningham (for Sorce) 4 February 1980".
- David Vaughan interviews Merce Cunningham, probably in New York, New York, on February 4, and December 7, 1980. This interview was created as research for David Vaughan's book, Merce Cunningham: Fifty years (New York, Aperture).
- Sound quality is mostly good; at times the interviewee is muffled or speaks away from the recording microphone but is mostly audible.
- Donor's inventory number: C370.
- Access (note)
- Patrons can access streaming audio only on site at NYPL Research Libraries.
- Source (note)
- Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation
- Linking Entry (note)
- Forms part of the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
- Call Number
- *LTC-A 1193
- OCLC
- 900292851
- Author
Cunningham, Merce, interviewee.
- Title
Interview with Merce Cunningham, 1980-02-04/1980-12-07.
- Production
February 4 and December 7, 1980.
- Playing Time
004637 003050
- Type of Content
spoken word
- Type of Medium
audio
- Type of Carrier
audiocassette
online resource
- Digital File Characteristics
audio file
- Event
Recorded in, [New York, New York], 1980 February 4 and December 7.
- Restricted Access
Patrons can access streaming audio only on site at NYPL Research Libraries.
- Original Version
Archival original: (1 audio cassette (78 minutes) : analog) in *LTC-A 1193.
- Linking Entry
Forms part of the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
- Local Note
Transferred from original analog cassette by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company; two preservation files were created based on the cassette sides: C370a, and, C370b.
- Source
Gift; Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, 2011-2012.
- Connect to:
- Added Author
Vaughan, David, 1924- interviewer.
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, donor.
- Added Title
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection. Audio materials.
- Found In:
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
- Research Call Number
*LTC-A 1193