- Additional Authors
- Found In
- Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
- Description
- 1 streaming audio file (29 minutes) : digital, stereo
- Summary
- Merce Cunningham speaks with David Vaughan about how dance as a profession has changed since he started; Cunningham speaks about the NEA touring program [National Endowment for the Arts, Dance Program] that his [Merce Cunningham Dance] Company participated in, and ways in which it impacted the dance profession; Cunningham speaks about the increase of dance companies in France, especially as compared to his 1949 visit to Paris; briefly, his opinion on the current trends in choreography; Cunningham speaks about seeing a movie on [Jackson] Pollack [part of the Strokes of genius (1984), television mini-series], and compares dance to the abstract expressionist movement in visual art; Vaughan's brief opinion on dance developmentally lagging behind other arts; they discuss a greater public acceptance of dance; briefly, Cunningham speaks about the commodification of painting in the United States as compared to dance; briefly, on building a following for his own Company; Cunningham's opinion that dance should be shown on television more frequently, and why the public television stations backed away from showing dance; Vaughan speaks about current ballet companies performing the works of "avant garde" choreographers such as Cunningham, Lucinda Childs and Karole Armitage; Cunningham speaks about the differences between "modern dance's interest in movement and ballet's interest in ballet conventions"; Cunningham's opinion that ballet choreographers get hampered by style, with the exception of George Balanchine; they speak about ballet and steps; [ca. 18:05 recording ends and new recording begins abruptly]; Cunningham speaks about an unidentified performance that he attended; more on the Pollock movie; they speak about director Peter Greenaway's film on John Cage, [part of the Four American composers (1983), television mini-series] including its screenings at the Kitchen, New York; Cunningham speaks about the Four American composers film on Meredith Monk; Cunningham speaks about the documentary film Lillian Gish (1983) and his admiration of her; they briefly speak about Claudette Colbert; Cunningham speaks about receiving an award to be an Honorary Member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and names the other past award recipients; ends abruptly.
- Alternative Title
- Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection. Audio materials.
- Subjects
- Genre/Form
- Interviews.
- Sound recordings.
- Note
- Title provided by cataloger based on audition and handwritten notes on original cassette and container.
- Handwritten notes on original cassette and container: "Interview with Merce Cunningham, 27 April 1984".
- David Vaughan interviews Merce Cunningham, probably in New York, New York, on April 27, 1984. This interview was created as research for David Vaughan's book, Merce Cunningham: Fifty years (New York, Aperture).
- Sound quality is mostly good; there are occasional background noises and at times the interviewee is slightly muffled.
- Donor's inventory number: C377.
- Access (note)
- Patrons can access streaming audio only on site at NYPL Research Libraries.
- Source (note)
- Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation
- Linking Entry (note)
- Forms part of the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
- Call Number
- *LTC-A 1200
- OCLC
- 902650601
- Author
Cunningham, Merce, interviewee.
- Title
Interview with Merce Cunningham, 1984-04-27.
- Production
April 27, 1984.
- Playing Time
002928
- Type of Content
spoken word
- Type of Medium
audio
- Type of Carrier
audiocassette
online resource
- Digital File Characteristics
audio file
- Event
Recorded in, [New York, New York], 1984 April 27.
- Restricted Access
Patrons can access streaming audio only on site at NYPL Research Libraries.
- Original Version
Archival original: (1 audio cassette (28 minutes) : analog) in *LTC-A 1200.
- Linking Entry
Forms part of the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
- Local Note
Transferred from original analog cassette by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.
- Source
Gift; Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, 2011-2012.
- Connect to:
- Added Author
Vaughan, David, 1924- interviewer.
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, donor.
- Added Title
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection. Audio materials.
- Found In:
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
- Research Call Number
*LTC-A 1200