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Quote by Merce Cunningham

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The Dancer and the Dance

This book delves into the world of dance, examining the passion, dedication, and emotional depth of dancers and choreographers as they navigate their artistic journeys. more

Author

Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham

Merce Cunningham was an outstanding dancer, choreographer, and pioneer of modern dance. Born on April 16, 1919, in the United States, he passed away on July 26, 2009. Cunningham was renowned for his unique dance style and innovative contributions to the art of dance, breaking the constraints of traditional dance and introducing elements of randomness and chance, which had a profound impact on the development of modern dance. more

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“My friends and I had taken dancing lessons, although none of us would ever admit it. In those depression days, a friend of my mother was trying to make a living by teaching dancing in the evening, in an upstairs dance studio. There was a back door to the place, and she arranged it so the young men could come up through the back way without being seen.”

“The ballet. I saw in the fugitive beauty of a dancer's gesture a symbol of life. It was achieved at the cost of unending effort but, with all the forces of gravity against it, a fleeting poise in mid-air, a lovely attitude worthy to be made immortal in a bas-relief, it was lost as soon as it was gained and there remained no more than the memory of an exquisite emotion. So life, lived variously and largely, becomes a work of art only when brought to its beautiful conclusion and is reduced to nothingness in the moment when it arrives at perfection.”