TitleInterview with Valda Setterfield, 1982-06-05
NamesMerce Cunningham Dance Company (Associated name)Setterfield, Valda (Interviewee)Vaughan, David, 1924- (Interviewer)
CollectionMerce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection. Audio materials
Dates / OriginDate Created: 1982-06-05
Library locationsRodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded SoundShelf locator: *LTC-A 1473
TopicsCunningham, MerceDilley, BarbaraSetterfield, ValdaMerce Cunningham Dance CompanyAeon (Choreographic work : Cunningham)Changing steps (Choreographic work : Cunningham)Crises (Choreographic work : Cunningham)Field dances (Choreographic work : Cunningham)RainForest (Choreographic work : Cunningham)Second hand (Choreographic work : Cunningham)Walkaround time (Choreographic work : Cunningham)
GenresInterviews
NotesContent: David Vaughan interviews Valda Setterfield, probably in [New York, New York], on June 5, 1982. This interview was created as research for David Vaughan's book, Merce Cunningham: Fifty years (New York, Aperture).Content: Title and date provided by cataloger based on audition and handwritten note on original container and cassette.Content: Handwritten note on original original container: "Chris Komar / Valda Setterfield". Handwritten note on original original cassette: "B. Valda Setterfield ; 5 June 1982".Content: Contains side b of the archival original cassette.Venue: Originally recorded in, [New York, New York], 1982 June 5.Acquisition: Gift; Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, 2011-2012.
Physical DescriptionAudiocassetteExtent: 1 audiocassette (43 minutes) : analogSound quality is mostly good; there are background noises.
DescriptionBegins abruptly; Valda Setterfield speaks with David Vaughan about her time in the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and how Merce Cunningham made roles for the specific dancers; she speaks about Cunningham's shift towards creating ensemble based works and gives an example of how her role in Rebus (1975) was danced by another dancer for a tour; she speaks about how difficult the unison material in Aeon (1961) was for the original cast; they speak about how the turnover of dancers in Setterfield's later years may have influenced Cunningham to create for ensemble; Setterfield speaks about the original quality of Second hand (1970) and the subtle use of individual dancers within it; she speaks about the private way Cunningham approached his choreography; she speaks about how Cunningham choreographed her solo in Walkaround time (1968) without demonstrating the movement; the chart Cunningham made for her role in Walkaround time; she gives examples of some of the directions Cunningham gave for her solo in Changing steps (1973); she speaks about the challenges of re-teaching her Changing steps solo to other dancers; more on the challenges of teaching original roles to new dancers; she speaks about her intuitive understanding of how to dance her part in the trio for Changing steps; she speaks about being a new dancer in the Cunningham Company and how she learned parts; she speaks about learning her part in Summerspace (1958) and tells an anecdote about a private session with Cunningham; she speaks about learning Viola Farber's role in Crises (1960) while Farber was injured; she speaks about Cunningham's approach to choreography, and how he paid attention to unique details in both his dancers and in life; she tells an anecdote about Cunningham's quick mind and a rehearsal of Scramble (1967); she speaks about being an understudy for the Company while they were in residency at Connecticut College and how this gave her a personal connection with Cunningham; she speaks about the American Ballet Theatre's performances of Duets (1980); she speaks about the revivals of Cunningham's older works and ways that the new versions differ from the originals; Setterfield speaks about learning, along with Meg Harper, Barbara [Dilley's] role in RainForest (1968) including the challenges of dancing it and the quality Setterfield brought to the part; she speaks about performing Farber's part in Field dances (1963) in Chicago and a conversation she had with Cunningham about ways to approach the performing of it; [brief recording break]; Setterfield speaks about Cunningham's innovations and contributions as a choreographer; [brief recording break]; Setterfield gives a statement about Cunningham's energy; ends abruptly.
Type of ResourceSound recording
LanguagesEnglish
IdentifiersRLIN/OCLC: 914488118NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b20750283Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 941deac0-b90a-0133-e9ba-60f81dd2b63c
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