Dancing with Merce Cunningham - Marianne Preger-Simon

Dancing with Merce Cunningham

By: Marianne Preger-Simon

Paperback | 20 March 2019

At a Glance

Paperback


RRP $55.77

$42.83

23%OFF

or 4 interest-free payments of $10.71 with

 or 

Aims to ship in 10 to 15 business days

When will this arrive by?
Enter delivery postcode to estimate

Dancing with Merce Cunningham is a buoyant, captivating memoir of a talented dancer's lifelong friendship with one of the choreographic geniuses of our time. Marianne Preger-Simon's story opens amid the explosion of artistic creativity that followed World War II. While immersed in the vibrant arts scene of postwar Paris during a college year abroad, Preger-Simon was so struck by Merce Cunningham's unconventional dance style that she joined his classes in New York. She soon became an important member of his brand new dance troupe--and a constant friend. Through her experiences in the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Preger-Simon offers a rare account of exactly how Cunningham taught and interacted with his students. She describes the puzzled reactions of audiences to the novel non-narrative choreography of the company's debut performances. She touches on Cunningham's quicksilver temperament--lamenting his early frustrations with obscurity and the discomfort she suspects he endured in concealing his homosexuality and partnership with composer John Cage--yet she celebrates above all his dependable charm, kindness, and engagement. She also portrays the comradery among the company's dancers, designers, and musicians, many of whom--including Cage, David Tudor, and Carolyn Brown--would become integral to the avant-garde arts movement, as she tells tales of their adventures touring in a VW Microbus across the United States. Finally, reflecting on her connection with Cunningham throughout the latter part of his career, Preger-Simon recalls warm moments that nurtured their enduring bond after she left the dance company and, later, New York. Interspersed with her letters to friends and family, journal entries, and correspondence from Cunningham himself, Preger-Simon's memoir is an intimate look at one of the most influential companies in modern American dance and the brilliance of its visionary leader.
Industry Reviews
"[Preger-Simon's] gossamer light memoir is about a season of calm weather, unbuffeted by worldly success. . . . She often reprints letters she wrote to friends or family-so the book can sometimes have the tenor of a cheery postcard even as she is taking part in historic events." -New York Times Book Review

"[An] affecting new memoir."-New York Review of Books







More in Arts & Entertainment Biographies

Love Stories - Trent Dalton

Hardcover

RRP $34.99

$31.75

Born A Crime : Stories from a South African Childhood - Trevor Noah
How to Make Gravy - Paul Kelly

RRP $24.99

$23.75

Bright Shining : how grace changes everything - Julia Baird
The Pasta Queen : A Just Gorgeous Cookbook - Nadia Caterina Munno
Crying in H Mart - Michelle Zauner

$19.99

Ciao Bella! : Six Take Italy - Kate Langbroek

RRP $24.99

$23.75

I'm Glad My Mom Died - Jennette McCurdy

RRP $34.99

$31.75

The Woman in Me - Britney Spears

RRP $49.99

$39.95

20%
OFF
Uses for Obsession : A Chef's Memoir - Ben Shewry

RRP $34.99

$33.25

My Animals, and Other Animals : A memoir of sorts - Bill Bailey
Entrances and Exits - Michael Richards

RRP $34.99

$31.75

The Voice Inside - John Farnham

RRP $49.99

$29.95

40%
OFF
What I Ate in One Year : (And related thoughts) - Stanley Tucci

RRP $45.00

$37.25

17%
OFF
The Whole Truth - Jackie O

SIGNED COPY

RRP $49.99

$38.75

22%
OFF
Didion & Babitz : A Belletrist Book Club Pick - Lili Anolik