"He has taught us something new and powerful about how to dance and how to live."-Mikhail Baryshnikov

Universally acknowledged as one of the greatest creative forces and true artistic masters of our time, dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham stood at the forefront of the American avant-garde for nearly sixty years. He radically reinvented the possibilities of dance and developed his company as a platform for multidisciplinary artistic exploration with an array of stellar collaborators including John Cage, David Tudor, Robert Rauschenberg, Bruce Nauman, and Andy Warhol.

We are pleased that this Legacy Tour will have its first concert at the Wexner Center, where Cunningham and composer John Cage, his partner in life and art, were honored as recipients of the Wexner Prize in 1993. Showcasing work from Cunningham's early years and his more recent triumphs, the program features Crises from 1960, a dance set to prescient music for player pianos by American maverick composer Conlon Nancarrow with costumes by Robert Rauschenberg, and Split Sides, a thrilling recent piece with an electronic score composed by vanguard indie bands Radiohead and Sigur Rós.

Cunningham called Crises an "adventure in togetherness." Its spectrum of powerful turning, torquing, and twisting partnering, punctuated by unexpected contrasts and counterbalances of form, underscore the tension points in our closest relationships. The New York Times called its remounting, "most present tense and modern...it looks astonishingly fresh. You watch with your heart in your mouth."

The equally engrossing Split Sides utilizes Cunningham and Cage's principles of chance procedures to order its events and elements, juxtaposing this improvisational spark with dancing of clarity and exquisite precision. In a New Yorker review, dance critic Joan Acocella wrote, "I don't think any choreographer in the world gives us a closer look at the truth. Beauty without reasons, and without anxiety over the lack of reasons: that may be what life was like before we started to make it up. Sometimes, when I look at Cunningham's stage, I think I'm seeing the world on the seventh day, with everything new and just itself-before the snake, the tears, and the explanations."

Join us for this special occasion to celebrate the life and work of Merce Cunningham, a major innovator in the world of dance whose bold exploratory concepts and vital spirit will continue to resonate across all the arts for years to come.