The iDANZ staff and members of the iDANZ community are sincerely taken by the passing of yet another one of our greatest dance innovators, Merce Cunningham.

Today, I received a heartfelt email from choreographer, Trisha Brown, who too is deeply saddened by Cunninham's death and wanted to share the following statement: 

"I am filled with great sorrow upon the loss of dear Merce.  We all adored him.  Merce and I were transports from the West Coast and shared a connection through our roots in the Pacific Northwest.  Our houses were accustomed to speaking old Chinook jargon, a dialect of the Indian sea traders in Washington.  It’s based largely on Nootka which is used as a lingua franca from Alaska to Oregon.  For me, Merce will always be a “Tillicum,” which translates as ‘old friend.’” -Trisha Brown

iDANZ and our social network, though catering to the younger professional dancer, understands how important a legend such as Merce Cunningham can impact even the young professional dancer's life today.  Cunningham's timeless works have been required study for countless university programs and conservatories.  His model of creating dance vocabulary independent, not relying on the rhythm or story implied by music, is a construct still used in current modern works by many of our most prominent choreographers.  It's too bad that many of our young dancers will not be able to meet Mr. Cunningham or be in his presence during a workshop or talk now that he has passed; however, there is so much this man has left us that will keep his legacy known to numerous generations of dancers for many years.  

Several years ago on a crisp, Fall day, I saw Mr. Cunningham in passing at the studio, but, because of my youthful timidity (more like naivety) fresh out of college, I just did not have the guts to actually just walk up and speak to him.  I did not know what to say.  I look back and I can only think, such a shame . . .  Now that I am slightly older, I realize more and more how important it is to cherish our great ones, especially while they are still with us.  As for Mr. Cunningham, there is so much I know now and APPRECIATE, more clearly, that I and many others probably took for granted (or kept inside) and should have expressed more openly while Mr. Cunningham was still alive.  So, on behalf of iDANZ and the iDANZ family, I would like to finally express, with much gratitude and profound respect, what I should have said that crisp, Fall day . . .   

Thank you, Mr. Cunningham for being so inspiring, for committing your LIFE to the craft, artistry and creation of dance and for blessing us with your works for countless dancers to study for generations to come.  Thank you for building an institution, a place for us to grow, learn, share, and perform not only your work, but the work of the dance community at-large.  Thank you for having the courage to build some of the most beautiful studios in NY, the creative insight to equip your studio for use as a black box theater, and to GENEROUSLY offer it to the dance community for rental at what may be one of the most affordable rates in the city.  Thank you for providing a school to carry-on your technique, the Cunningham technique, to all the generations of dancers that make that pilgrimage to NY to see what "that guy" (yes, you, Mr. Cunningham) they read in college is all about.  And last, but not least, probably your most inspiring gift of all, thank you, Mr. Cunningham for being that creative pioneer that proves that it's o'kay to live outside the confines of the box, freeing the "slaves-of-the-eight," by showing us that there is more to dance than 4/4 time.    Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mr. Cunningham.  You are and always will be a national treasure to us.    

Candice Rox, Senior Editor
www.iDANZ.com

 "You have to love dancing to stick to it. It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive. It is not for unsteady souls." -Merce Cunningham, photo and quote from www.Merce.org

 iDANZ would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the Cunningham family, the dancers, and the Cunningham Dance Foundation for this great loss.  Mr. Cunningham will surely be missed.

To read a biography of Mr. Cunningham and a background of his company, Merce Cunningham Dance, please visit www.Merce.org.