Sounddance

Sounddance could easily be considered one of Merce Cunningham’s most beloved pieces, by audiences and critics alike! Cunningham created Sounddance upon his return after spending nine weeks with the Paris Opera Ballet in 1973 where he created Un Jour ou Deux. Back with his own dancers, he created a work in opposition to ballet’s uniformity and unison. He choreographed a fast and vigorous « organized chaos. The stage is divided in the middle of its depth by a gracefully draped plush gold curtain, designed by artist Mark Lancaster. This division or compressing of the space adds to the overlapping and frenetic choreography, as ifwe were seeing a miniature dance cosmos through a microscope. The dancers enter the stage as if thrust from the curtain, and at the end of the dance, with their exit, they are swallowed by it, as though they were being sucked into a wind tunnel. Musician and composer David Tudor created a powerful and driving score or Sounddance. It provides the perfect energetic accompaniment to Cunningham’s fast paced choreography