Dance
Oceanography
By Nancy Dalva“Could you make a dance in the round?” John Cage asked Merce Cunningham before the James Joyce/John Cage Festival in Zurich, in June 1991. Cage had in mind a dance performed in the middle of a circular space, surrounded by the audience and then musicians, in concentric circles. There being no suitable venue at the Swiss event, Cage’s idea was set aside, and a little more than a year later, he died, quite unexpectedly.
The Meaning of “Live”
By Sarah MaxfieldWhat makes a performance live? Is it a shared energy in a single space at the same time? Is it the smell of sweat? Is it simply an agreement between performer and audience?
Mark Morris Versus The Music
By Ryan WenzelSetting dance to Beethoven has historically raised a few eyebrows in the dance world. George Balanchine, a great lover of music, went so far as to describe Beethoven’s heavy-sounding music as “unchoreographable” and never once during his prolific career used the composer’s work.
