MERCE CUNNINGHAM'S AVANT GARDE DANCE TROUPE

For any viewer, one of the greatest things about Cunningham's dances is that you don't have to "get" anything. Devoid of narrative and emotional trappings, they're about possibility, exploring movement for its own sake. The dancers don't even hear the music when they're learning the steps -- not that it would matter, since the scores are famously uncountable. And when it all comes together, you're free to free associate: even the backdrops encourage your mind to wander. If you can resist the urge to impose meaning onto the movement, the effect is liberating -- especially in an era when so much dance is either a rant, a tragedy or a soul-searching journey.

In the late 80s when I was a student in the University of Texas' Department of Drama, I missed Merce Cunningham because I, in my ignorance, scoffed at dance as an artform and did not realize how cool his avant garde choreography actually is. I missed him this time around in Houston because I had no idea he was going to be here.

Damn.

Read the review. It sounded like a great show. Click here.

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