Making History March 9 & March 10

The Merce Cunningham Dance Company performs at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 9 & at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 10. These performances mark the historic return of this internationally recognized company to WNC where it gave its first performances at Black Mountain College in 1953, and they provide a unique and rare opportunity for local arts patrons and enthusiasts of modern dance to catch this company of exceptional renown and caliber in a setting as intimate as the Diana Wortham Theatre.

Both evenings feature work ranging from the early years of the company to Cunningham's most recent creation eyeSpace, which will have had its world premiere just two weeks earlier. Cunningham is known for incorporating technology into his dance works and eyeSpace is no exception. For this piece, audience members will each access the score by Mikel Rouse via an individual iPod. Those who bring their own iPods can download the score from a site that will be provided to all ticket purchasers the week of the show, or iPods will be provided at the theatre before the performance.

The Merce Cunningham Dance Company's March 9 & 10 Mainstage Dance Series performances are part of a year-long project, "Black Mountain College: A Community Celebration 2006/07" that marks the 50th anniversary of the 1956 closing of the famed creative enclave at Black Mountain.

"Black Mountain College: A Community Celebration 2006/07" is organized by the Asheville Art Museum, in collaboration with the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, Diana Wortham Theatre, UNC Asheville and other arts organizations.

Purchase tickets now for the best seats and be part of the audience for these historic performances. To date, dance patrons are traveling from as far away as New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee to see this renowned company.

Merce Cunningham

Choreographer, dancer, company founder, and Black Mountain College participant, Merce Cunningham is a giant of American modern dance, known for his precise, intricate, and highly original choreography.

Since forming the world-renowned Merce Cunningham Dance Company at Black Mountain College he has choreographed nearly 200 original works for his company, which have been presented by New York City Ballet, the Ballet of the Paris Op?ra, American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, White Oak Dance Project, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Zurich Ballet and Rambert Dance Company, among others.