The Tamesis
Photo: Anne van Alshout
As for the atmosphere created by Merce Cunningham’s resurrection Travel notes (1977) – with the Trisha Brown Dance Company performing Setup and reset as part of the plan Dancing with Bob: Rauschenberg, Brown and Cunningham– It’s “so weird, so juggling, so fun,” says Kirstin Kapustik, the company’s executive director. John Cage’s score intertwines bird calls, phone recordings, and marathon races; Rauschenberg’s set includes a movable train with chairs and bicycle wheels, billowing fabric backdrops, and costume elements that fan out like the spokes of an umbrella. Andrea Weber, director of licensing and operations at the Merce Cunningham Trust, said Cunningham’s notes on the choreography were sparse, but “he kept talking about the parade” — literally, like the arrival of the clothesline, but also a sense that he and Rauschenberg were venturing into burlesque new territory.
“I just see these as moments of joy,” said Francine Hind, director of archives at the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, which is celebrating the centennial of the artist’s birth. Reinstalling these stage productions has its own practical challenges. new production Setup and reset The costumes alone required delving into various collections—unearthing Rauschenberg’s now-unavailable silkscreens, combing through photo negatives, and analyzing remnants of early garments—in order to recreate the fabrics. But there is value in reviving historical dance. “Merse has really embraced this,” Weber said, explaining that he welcomes the new generation of interpreters and often adjusts programming to accommodate. In this age of doomscrolls, we can also take lessons from the easy friendships facilitated by the lo-fi technology of the time. Brown used to answer the phone at Cunningham’s studio. “That’s how she and Rauschenberg met,” Capstick said. That’s right, Snyder replied: “Sadly to our archives, he loved to make phone calls!”
Van Cleef & Arpels’ “Dance Reflections” will be on view until March 21st.
