Mondays with Merce Continues in 2011 with Atlas Film Premieres

The Cunningham Dance Foundation (CDF) and the Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) continue their programming partnership "BAC Flicks: Mondays with Merce" with a series of events throughout winter and spring 2011. Conceived to enrich New York City audiences' understanding of Cunningham's work and creative process, "BAC Flicks: Mondays with Merce" showcases video and film dances from the Cunningham archive that illuminate the choreographer's groundbreaking experimentation with dance on camera and his partnership with filmmaker Charles Atlas. The series launched in October 2010, and screenings are held one Monday each month. Tickets are available at www.smarttix.com or 212-868-4444; full ticketing information follows below. Details about the final season of "BAC Flicks: Mondays with Merce" screenings, to be presented in fall 2011, will be announced later this year.

The 2011 season begins on January 10 with the New York premiere of Ocean, Cunningham's final film collaboration with Charles Atlas, which documents Merce Cunningham Dance Company's monumental performance of the work in September 2008 on the floor of the Rainbow Granite Quarry in Waite Park, MN. The filming of Ocean was made possible with the support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the NEA's Save America's Treasures grant program.

Each installment of "BAC Flicks: Mondays with Merce" begins with a screening of Mondays with Merce-the pioneering web series from which the BAC program takes its name. Each Mondays with Merce webisode provides a behind-the-scenes look at MCDC, with footage of the Company in rehearsal and performance, exclusive interviews with Merce and artistic collaborators, and video from the Merce Cunningham Archives. Since its public launch in January 2009, the series has served as a crucial platform for the preservation of Cunningham's work and the Merce Cunningham Technique^TM, and has helped CDF share Cunningham's vision with new audiences and dance enthusiasts around the world. New episodes documenting the Company's travels and the revival of seminal Cunningham works continue to be produced throughout the course of the Legacy Tour, and are available to watch on Classical TV and at http://www.merce.org/about/mondays-with-merce.php.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE FOR WINTER / SPRING 2011
"BAC Flicks: Mondays with Merce" is part of the Baryshnikov Art Center's series of film screenings with related discussion. Now in its second season, the new programming partnership will be presented monthly on Mondays through to the end of the Legacy Tour in December 2011.

Monday, January 10, 2011, 7pm
New York Premiere of Ocean (1994), a film by Charles Atlas (2010, 100 minutes, color)
Merce Cunningham Dance Company
Choreography by Merce Cunningham
Conceived by Merce Cunningham and John Cage
Music: Andrew Culver, Ocean 1-95; David Tudor, Soundings: Ocean Diary
Décor and Costumes by Marsha Skinner
Lighting by Aaron Copp

Ocean, the last film Charles Atlas made with Merce Cunningham, beautifully captures the monumental performance in September 2008 of Cunningham's landmark work on the floor of the dramatic Rainbow Granite Quarry in Waite Park, MN. Commissioned by the Walker Arts Center with the Benedicta Arts Center of the College of Saint Benedict and Northrop Dance at the University of Minnesota, MCDC performed the piece in the round 150 feet below ground, surrounded by 150 musicians from the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra performing the orchestral score realized by Andrew Culver (inspired by John Cage) and an electronic score by David Tudor.

Monday, February 7, 2011, 7pm - Double Feature
U.S. Premiere of Sounddance (1975), a film by Charles Atlas (2008, 20 minutes, color)
Merce Cunningham Dance Company
Choreography by Merce Cunningham
Music by David Tudor, Toneburst
Décor and costumes by Mark Lancaster

U.S. Premiere of Pond Way (1998), a film by Charles Atlas (2006, 24 minutes, color)
Merce Cunningham Dance Company
Choreography by Merce Cunningham
Music by Brian Eno, New Ikebukuro (for three CD players)
Costumes by Suzanne Gallo
Lighting by David Covey

Cunningham created Sounddance after spending nine weeks working with the Ballet of the Paris Opéra. When he returned to his own company, he "felt like doing something vigorous, fast, complex." This iconic work explodes onto the stage like fireworks, with David Tudor's percussive score in perfect accord. A contemplative yet lively nature study, Pond Way features an abstract of Roy Lichtenstein's Landscape With Boat as its backdrop and a mesmeric score by Brian Eno. An episode of the pioneering web series Mondays with Merce will precede the films, and the evening includes a talk with a guest artist led by Nancy Dalva, producer and writer for Mondays with Merce.

Monday, April 4, 2011, 7pm
World premiere of eyeSpace (2006), a film by Charles Atlas (2007, 40 minutes, color)
Merce Cunningham Dance Company
Choreography by Merce Cunningham
Music by David Behrman
Décor and Costumes by Daniel Arsham
Lighting by Josh Johnson

This silvery dance unfolds to a score by David Behrman, with costumes and sets by contemporary visual artist Daniel Arsham. An episode of the pioneering web series Mondays with Merce will precede the film, and the evening includes a talk with guest artists led by Nancy Dalva, producer and writer for Mondays with Merce.

Monday, May 2, 2011, 7pm - Double Feature
U.S. Premiere of Crises (1960), a film by Charles Atlas (2008, 23 minutes, color)
Merce Cunningham Dance Company
Choreography by Merce Cunningham
Music by Conlon Nancarrow, Rhythm Studies #1, 2, 4, 7 and 6
Costumes and lighting by Robert Rauschenberg, reconstructed by Megan Byrne

World premiere of Native Green (1985), a film by Charles Atlas (2008, 18 minutes, color)
Merce Cunningham Dance Company
Choreography by Merce Cunningham
Music by John King, Gliss in Sighs
Décor and Costumes by William Anastasi
Lighting by Dove Bradshaw

For Native Green, a lively sextet made in honor of the dance critic Edwin Denby, Cunningham used chance operations to devise movements for each body part - legs, torso, arms, head - and combined them sequentially, again using chance procedures. In Crises, a dance for four women and one man featuring costumes by Robert Rauschenberg and a score by Conlon Nancarrow, the dancers' bodies are intertwined as they hold one another, and elastic bands worn around a wrist, an arm, a waist, or a leg connect them, leading to dramatic entanglements. An episode of the pioneering web series Mondays with Merce will precede the film, and the evening includes a talk with guest artists led by Nancy Dalva, producer and writer for Mondays with Merce.

Ticketing for "BAC Flicks"
Tickets: $15
To purchase tickets go to www.smarttix.com or call 212-868-4444

Buy tickets to four or more events during BAC's spring 2011 season to save 20% on the order total. Offer valid through January 31, 2011.

About the Baryshnikov Arts Center
The Baryshnikov Arts Center is the realization of a long-held vision by artistic director Mikhail Baryshnikov, who sought to build an arts center in Manhattan that would serve as a gathering place for artists from all disciplines. BAC's opening in 2005 heralded the launch of this mission, establishing a thriving creative laboratory and performance space for artists from around the world. BAC's activities encompass a robust residency program augmented by a range of professional services, including commissions of new work, as well as the presentation of performances by artists of excellence at varying stages of their careers. In tandem with its commitment to supporting artists, BAC is dedicated to building audiences for the arts by presenting contemporary, innovative work at affordable ticket prices. In February 2010, BAC opened the Jerome Robbins Theater, which serves as an organic extension of the existing center, featuring multi-disciplinary work, emerging talent, and International Artists, and including artist-centered activity that fosters creative exploration.

Additional information is available at www.bacnyc.org.

About the Cunningham Dance Foundation and the Legacy Plan
The Cunningham Dance Foundation is dedicated to sustaining and advancing the creative work of Merce Cunningham (1919-2009)-choreographer, teacher and artist-through support of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and Repertory Understudy Group; the Merce Cunningham Studio, which provides training in Cunningham Technique^TM and oversees the Studio Performance Program for Young Artists and Educational Outreach; and the Merce Cunningham Archives. In 2009, the Foundation launched Mondays with Merce a pioneering web series that provides the public with behind-the-scenes access to Cunningham's creative process.

The Cunningham Dance Foundation's precedent-setting Legacy Plan delineates the future of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and ensures the preservation of Merce Cunningham's artistic legacy. The multifaceted plan includes the celebratory two-year Legacy Tour, and also supports career transition for the dancers, musicians, and staff who have invested their time and creative efforts into the realization of Cunningham's vision, and provides for the creation of digital "Dance Capsules" that will bring Cunningham's work to life for future generations. The Legacy Plan is supported by an ongoing $8-million capital campaign.

Additional information is available at www.merce.org.