| Description |
7 sound cassettes (9 hr., 30 min.) + 1 transcript (164 leaves) |
| Note |
Interviewed by Susan Kraft at the Dance Collection of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and other locations. |
|
For transcript see *MGZMT 3-1886. |
| Summary |
Cassette 1 (90 min.). Recorded Feb. 27, 1995. Mr. Greenberg discusses his childhood in Minnesota; his family life; first dance classes; becoming aware of homosexuality; his first choreography; the impact of Judaism on his childhood; his first experience seeing the choreography of Merce Cunningham, Twyla Tharp and others; graduating from high school early; moving to New York to attend the Juilliard School; getting hired by the Feld Ballet and being fired a few months later; working with small modern dance companies; studying at the Cunningham school; his developing interest in choreography; Cunningham's invitation to join the Merce Cunningham Dance Company; learning his parts from videotape and other experiences in the company. |
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Cassette 2 (90 min.). Recorded Mar. 6, 1995. Mr. Greenberg further discusses the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and his relationship with Mr. Cunningham; Cunningham's creative process and personality; Cunningham's choreographies Channels/Inserts and Fielding sixes; his own changing attitudes towards dance training and discussing these attitudes with Cunningham; Susan Klein and her technique; drug and alcohol use; and studying ballet with Janet Panetta. |
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Cassette 3 (30 min.). Recorded Mar. 6, 1995. Mr. Greenberg discusses his development as a dancer; new responsibilities; teaching at SUNY Purchase; his classes and philosophy of teaching; modernism; first choreography at Dance Theater Workshop; other early works and influences, including the Wooster Group; and interpretations of his work. |
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Cassette 4 (90 min.). Recorded Mar. 13, 1995. Mr. Greenberg discusseshis decision to leave the Merce Cunningham Dance Company; talk with Cunningham about his decision and other issues concerning Cunningham; his Not-about-AIDS-dance; the development of his work up to that point, involving text, movement choices, subject matter and improvisation; his brother's death; his own attempt to face up to being HIV positive in the process of creating this dance; rhythm; his choreographic process; the dancers in his company; and his choreography MacGuffin. |
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Cassette 5 (30 min.). Recorded Mar. 13, 1995. Mr. Greenberg discusses his changing work process; Cunningham's Sounddance; subjectivity and objectivity in dance; deconstructivism; the videotape of Not-about-AIDS-dance; his hopes for the piece and the development of the text. |
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Cassette 6 (90 min.). Recorded Oct. 4, 1995. Mr. Greenberg discusses his choreography MacGuffin; collaboration with lighting designer Michael Stiller; abstraction and formalism in dance; deconstruction; text; coaching his dancers; acting and dancing; issues of performance; his choreography Amnesty; ways of creating structure and movement; collaboration with composer Zeena Parkins and his own use of music. |
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Cassette 7 (90 min.). Recorded Oct. 4 and 13, 1995. Mr. Greenberg discusses the sources and development of his choreography The disco project; the relationship of disco and AIDS; his role as a performer in his own choreography; the conditions under which choreographers work; the death of Frank Maya; his curatorship at The Kitchen. Mr. Greenberg praises the dancers with whom he has worked and discusses the undervalued role of dancers and his own HIV status. |
| Local Note |
Preservation master cassette in: *MGZTCO 3-1886. |
|
Archival transcript in: *MGZMTO 3-1886. |
| Subject |
Cunningham, Merce.
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Klein, Susan T.
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Panetta, Janet.
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Stiller, Michael.
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Parkins, Zeena.
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Juilliard School. Dance Division.
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Feld Ballet.
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Merce Cunningham Dance Company.
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Wooster Group.
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Kitchen Center for Video, Music, Dance, Performance, Film, and Literature (New York, N.Y.)
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Channels/Inserts (Choreographic work : Cunningham)
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Fielding sixes (Choreographic work : Cunningham)
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Not-about-AIDS-dance (Choreographic work : Greenberg)
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MacGuffin (Choreographic work : Greenberg)
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Sounddance (Choreographic work : Cunningham)
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Amnesty (Choreographic work : Greenberg)
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Disco project (Choreographic work : Greenberg)
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Modern dance -- Technique -- Cunningham.
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AIDS (Disease)
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AIDS (Disease) and the arts.
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Disco dancing.
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Dance -- Philosophy.
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Modernism (Aesthetics)
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| Local Subject |
Klein technique.
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| Added Author |
Kraft, Susan, 1961- Interviewer.
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DHCA
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| Donor/Sponsor |
Oral History Archive. Oral History Project.
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| Call No. |
*MGZMT 3-1886 [Transcript]
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| Research Call Number |
*MGZMT 3-1886 [Transcript]
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*MGZTC 3-1886 [Cassette]
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