May 11, 2007
Merce Cunningham Dance Company
Site-Specific, Participatory Experiences
Join us for a Moment with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company on Saturday, May 19th: The Orange County Performing Arts Center celebrates the unique character of its new multi-venue Performing Arts Center Campus by presenting the remarkable Merce Cunningham Dance Company. The evening-length experience will feature company performances and multi-media happenings in multiple locations at the Performing Arts Center that will showcase the profound impact of this major American Artist.
7:00 PM – Samueli Theater: Bonnie Brooks, Dance Department Chair, Columbia College Chicago: “How to Watch a Cunningham Concert: Eight Entry Points and Three Exit Strategies”. Join dance scholar Bonnie Brooks as she presents the core concepts of the Cunningham Aesthetic in an informal lecture/demonstration that will demystify the Cunningham aesthetic for the newest audience members and deepen the experience for those who have seen the company in the past.
8:00 PM – Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall:
Merce Cunningham Dance Company performs an Event in the new Concert Hall. To celebrate this new space, the company creates a 30-minute, site specific performance. Musicians John King and William Winant will provide the sound component.
8:30 PM – Plaza Courtyard- ‘Beach Birds for Camera’: Adjacent to the new Richard Serra sculpture, view one of Merce Cunningham’s most important film dances, Beach Birds for Camera (1993, directed by Eliot Caplan), projected onto the wall of the Segerstom Hall at a majestic scale never seen before. The score will be performed live by John King, Stephan Moore, William Winant and Michael Dauphinais. While watching, visit one of the iPod stations to pick up your iPod Shuffle before you enter the next venue, Segerstrom Hall.
9:00 PM – Segerstrom Hall
The Merce Cunningham Dance Company performs Merce’s latest work, eyeSpace in the West Coast Premiere. Mikel Rouse has created an innovative score that incorporates the use of iPod Shuffles, digitally sampled sounds of John Cage’s prepared piano, and an environmental soundscape that will be performed live by MCDC musicians and projected throughout the theater. Decor and costumes are by Brooklyn-based painter Henry Samelson.
9:30 PM – Plaza Courtyard— ‘Playground-MinEvent’
It’s a “Happening!’ Return your iPod to the iPod Stations in the Plaza Courtyard and immerse yourself in ‘Playground – MinEvent; a one-of-a-kind Multi-Media Experience especially created just for tonight and just for you. This MinEvent will transform the Plaza Courtyard with dynamic projections, LIVE Cameras, music DJs, moving lights, and a cast of student dancers.
“Playground-MinEvent’’ is being created as a youthful Orange County 'response' to the ground-breaking work of Merce Cunningham and avant-garde composer, John Cage. Performers include UCI Dance students under the direction of Cunningham alumnus Michael Cole, plus student musicians/DJs, video artists and camera operators from Chapman University and Cal State Fullerton – all to create an Interactive LIVE Video/Soundscape full of surprises.
Posted by jo at May 11, 2007 09:12 AM
