For all of you that were lucky enough to secure a ticket for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company’s performance of The Legacy Tour before it sold out will probably agree with me one hundred percent; even weeks after their residence with Hancher has ended, I find myself still asking the question, “Did that really happen?”
Four years ago, back when I was deciding which college to attend, one of the only reasons that I had doubts about attending the University of Iowa was the fact that it was in Iowa. I was worried that with the career to which I aspired—a professional dancer—a smaller community such as Iowa City wouldn’t have the same opportunities as New York City, Chicago, or Los Angeles in respect to viewing dance performances. Growing up in the Chicago land area, a professional dance performance was only a train ride away. As I got more involved in the Iowa City arts community, I learned that really wasn’t the case at all. There is an abundance of dance all around Iowa from Ballet Quad Cities, to Poetic Rebound Performance Company, to the phenomenal dance companies that travel to Iowa through Hancher events. Guests such as Ballet West II and the Bayanihan Philippine National Dance Company have already come this season, and prior years have boasted such phenoms as The Joffrey Ballet Company, Paul Taylor Dance Company, and Luna Negra Dance Theatre.
However, what I find to be the icing on the cake (besides the insane student discount prices) is that Hancher’s educational branch organizes master dance classes, educational speeches, and lecture demonstrations for UI students and the greater Eastern Iowa area communities. Because Hancher is an organization that dedicates itself to furthering the education of UI students, each residency is specialized towards spreading knowledge of the arts.
The Merce Cunningham Dance Company’s Iowa performance was a once in a lifetime opportunity. When I say “once in a life time” opportunity, I literally mean I will never be able to see them perform live again, because after this tour the company is disbanding. With that said, it was also utterly amazing. It astounds me that even without our auditorium up and running, Hancher was still able to bring one the greatest modern companies to Iowa City. We were lucky enough to witness the Company’s “Event” performance — one part of the larger Legacy Tour — shown only a few stages throughout the two-year farewell to Merce. For the entire 75 minutes of choreography I sat at the edge of my seat; partially because it was the only way I could see over the massive man sitting in front of me, but mostly because I was experiencing a performance that I had only ever dreamed about seeing. Every rehearsal I witnessed leading up to the performance had been done without music and a defined structure, so I felt as though I was able to be a spectator in part of their creative process. Needless to say, it was pretty darn cool.
It seems to be the case this season that when Hancher’s big dance events are left to chance the weather, the weather will act up and Hancher will not win. After the monumental snow storm that hit most of the Midwest, a few of our planned educational speeches with Bonnie Brooks, President and Executive Director of Dance/USA at Columbia College Chicago were canceled. However, once she was able to get in town, she presented inspiring and informative lectures to UI dance major students in the form of a pre-show lecture and other speeches on the life’s workings of Merce Cunningham. I areally enjoyed hearing her speak. Another really great event was the showing of Split Sides, a film on Cunningham that was presented at the Bijou Theatre with guest David Vaughan, the Cunningham archivist. Brooks and Vaughan were instrumental figures during the Cunningham residency.
My absolute favorite educational activity planned with the Cunningham residence was the master class with Robert Swinston for Majors Modern III and IV dancers in the Department of Dance. (I am currently taking Majors Modern IV, so I got to participate in the class!) Since Cunningham’s death in 2009, Swinston has served as the director of choreography and remains an active member of the company—which he has been part of for 31 years! Many professional dancers’ performance careers only last about ten to fifteen years; he’s pretty inspirational, huh? Swinston is an iconic figure in the world of dance, and being in the same room with him—let alone taking class from him—was an honor and the closest any of us will get to working with Cunningham himself. At the end of the class he left saying, “When dancing, try and reproduce a feeling over and over again, that is the only way you will ever learn.” That is the concept Cunningham used to begin his investigations of dance, and hearing such wisdom first hand was influential.
This residency with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company has been, so far, the highlight of my season. I am eternally grateful to Hancher for giving me, my fellow dance majors, and the community of Iowa City such a life changing experience. I know for certain that I will never forget seeing this company perform. This event, hands down, is on my “Top 10 Greatest Experiences” list.
-- Kim Chmielewski
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