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Items Grand Central Dances

Grand Central Dances: Merce Cunningham Dance Company rehearsal and interview, 1987-10-09

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Library division & collection with this item:

LIBRARY DIVISION
Jerome Robbins Dance Division

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COLLECTION
Merce Cunningham Video Archive

This Item

Grand Central Dances

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Title
Grand Central Dances: Merce Cunningham Dance Company rehearsal and interview, 1987-10-09
Names
Cunningham, Merce (Creator)
Cunningham, Merce (Interviewee)
Collection

Merce Cunningham Video Archive

Dates / Origin
Date Created: 1987-10-09
Library locations
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Shelf locator: *MGZIDF 3751
Topics
Cunningham, Merce
Event (Choreographic work : Cunningham)
Choreographers
Modern dance
Rehearsals
Genres
Filmed dance
Interviews
Notes
Content: Title provided by cataloger, based on original container label; statement of responsibility and credits taken from documents provided by Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation.
Performers: Merce Cunningham, interviewee; unknown interviewers. Rehearsal dances performed by members of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.
Venue: Recorded 1987, October 9. Grand Central Station, New York City.
Acquisition: Gift; Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, 2011-2012.
Physical Description
Videocassette
Extent: 1 videocassette (VHS) (57 min.) : sound, color ; 1/2 in.
Description
Rehearsal footage and an audio-only interview with Merce Cunningham conducted during rehearsals for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company's contribution to the event Grand Central Dances. This performance was part of an evening created by the arts organization Dancing In The Streets in which multiple dance companies and individual dancers performed at various locations within and around Grand Central, providing free entertainment for all passing through the station. The Cunningham piece for which rehearsals are shown is, per a contemporary New York Times review, simply titled "Event". During this rehearsal footage, the off-screen voices of the unknown director and camerapeople filming the event can be heard. Following the rehearsal footage and a couple of sound checks, there is an audio-only interview with Merce Cunningham regarding the piece and the event. Topics in order of discussion include: the genesis of the piece for the Grand Central Dances project; the challenges and positive aspects of performing in an open, uncontrolled environment such as Grand Central Station; audience response and the chance to expose new audiences to dance that are provided by a free, spontaneous attendance event; the need of any special choreography for the unique space; the ways in which space and time were incorporated into the choreography; Cunningham's personal view of Grand Central Station and whether the act of creating this piece has changed that viewpoint at all; the music created for the piece; how dancers handle performing in an open space where the public surrounds them and has direct access to them; the relationship between the music for the piece, generated as a free-form composition by the musicians as the performance was taking place, and Cunningham's choreography.
Type of Resource
Moving image
Languages
English
Identifiers
RLIN/OCLC: 922889456
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b20809310
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 9fa6c3d0-a9ab-0133-1679-60f81dd2b63c
Rights Statement
This item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Item timeline of events

  • 1987: Created
  • 2024: Found by you!
  • 2025

MLA Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Grand Central Dances" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1987. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/ab16cf00-a9ab-0133-bd83-60f81dd2b63c

Chicago/Turabian Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Grand Central Dances" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/ab16cf00-a9ab-0133-bd83-60f81dd2b63c

APA Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. (1987). Grand Central Dances Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/ab16cf00-a9ab-0133-bd83-60f81dd2b63c

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/ab16cf00-a9ab-0133-bd83-60f81dd2b63c | title= (moving image) Grand Central Dances, (1987)|author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=April 27, 2024 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>

Grand Central Dances