“Antic Meet” will be one of three pieces presented during the Merce Cunningham Dance Company’s final Joyce season (photo by Richard Rutledge)
Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
March 22-27, $10-$59
212-242-0800
www.joyce.org
www.merce.org
When legendary dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham died in July 2009 at the age of ninety, he left behind a Legacy Plan for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, centered around a two-year international Legacy Tour that would end with the troupe disbanding at the end of 2011, culminating with a New Year’s Eve farewell performance in New York City. But first the Legacy Tour brings the company, which was formed in 1953, to the Joyce, where they initially appeared in 1984, and will consist of three works. Antic Meet (1958), which has not bee seen in more than forty years, showcases Cunningham’s extensive collaboration with artist Robert Rauschenberg, who designed the décor and costumes; the ten-part piece is set to “Concert for Piano and Orchestra” by John Cage, Cunningham’s longtime partner onstage and off. Quartet (1982) is a dance for five people — four of whom interact with and ignore a single male dancer, originally portrayed by Cunningham — set to David Tudor’s “Sextet for Seven.” And 1993’s CRWDSPCR, created with Cunningham’s DanceForms software, features a score by John King (“blues 99”) and décor, costumes, and lighting by Mark Lancaster, all developed individually of one another. The Legacy Tour will return to the city July 16 for the daylong Merce Fair at the Lincoln Center Festival, which will include 1980’s Duets and 1976’s Squaregame in addition to workshops, video installations, and more.