Crises (1960)

Floor Three, Susan and John Hess Family Theater

Crises (1960)
Performance by dancers from the Merce Cunningham Trust Fellowship Program, reconstructed and staged by Jennifer Goggans

First performed at the Thirteenth American Dance Festival in the summer of 1960, Crises was described by Cunningham as “an adventure in togetherness.” Choreographed for four women and one man, the dance focused on physical contact between the dancers. The physical entanglements came both through holding each other and being held, and through elastic bands, worn around a wrist, an arm, a waist or a leg, which connected the dancers in various positions. Cage noted, “This is a dramatic, though not a narrative, dance concerned with decisive moments in the relationship between a man and four women.” Conlon Nancarrow’s musical score reinforced the dance’s harsh atmosphere with an assortment of jangling rhythms, and Rauschenberg’s costumes were leotards in various shades of red, evoking the romance of the piece.
― David Vaughan, from the Merce Cunningham Trust Dance Capsules.  

Part of Anywhere in Time: A Conlon Nancarrow Festival, co-curated by Dominic Murcott and Jay Sanders, Curator and Curator of Performance.

June 19
2 pm, 7 pm

June 20
2 pm, 4 pm

Tickets for this program are required, and include the cost of admission ($22 adults, $18 seniors, free for members). Due to limited capacity, visitors are strongly encouraged to purchase tickets in advance. Tickets may still be purchased online until two hours before the program begins. Any remaining tickets will be sold at the door on a first-come, first-served basis.