Merce Cunningham Endowed Scholarship In Dance Announced

The Merce Cunningham Trust, on the occasion of the 103rd anniversary of Cunningham's birth, has announced the Merce Cunningham Endowed Scholarship in Dance at Purchase College, SUNY, continuing the Trust's robust efforts to support the future of the dance field and the artists and administrators who will envision and realize it. This grant, funded by the Merce Cunningham Trust and matched by a generous Purchase College donor, is designed to provide financial support to an upper-level dance student to ensure they have resources necessary to complete their studies.

The Cunningham legacy enjoys a long and fruitful partnership with Purchase College, which began when Mel Wong, a member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company (MCDC), taught in the Dance Department's earliest days. Cunningham dancer Carolyn Brown was Dean of the college's Conservatory of Dance from 1980-82. Over the years, more than 20 Purchase alumni danced in MCDC or with the Repertory Understudy Group, and 19 MCDC members have taught at Purchase. Many Purchase students have also participated in Merce Cunningham Trust classes and workshops, and in special projects including the monumental 2019 event Night of 100 Solos: A Centennial Event, for which the Trust invited performers of vastly diverse genres and backgrounds to perform Cunningham solos.

The scholarship builds on recent strategic efforts by the Merce Cunningham Trust to increase its impact not only by expanding access to Cunningham's body of work specifically, but also-in keeping with Cunningham's belief in collaboration, and in empowering other artists-by providing critical support to young dancers and dance professionals. The Trust is making these investments in the future of the field as part of its mission to maintain and keep relevant the legacy of Merce Cunningham by sharing it with the public.

The Trust has sought to continually expand access to his repertory. It has recently partnered with wide-ranging companies such as Dance Theatre of Harlem, Philadanco, Houston Ballet, and Company Wayne McGregor to develop new ways to present Cunningham work to the public. Expanding on a successful idea from Night of 100 Solos, the organization has also been giving rights for excerpts of dances, free of charge, directly to dancers, who may perform the work within a company context or on their own. These include Sara Mearns (New York City Ballet) and Jacquelin Harris and Chalvar Monteiro (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater). Through its flexible In Conversation program, the Trust partners with local organizations that choose participating artists in a range of disciplines for commissions to intensively engage with, and respond to, Cunningham repertory. After a fruitful In Conversation in 2021, with Jacquelin Harris and Chalvar Monteiro performing solos and duets from Landrover (1972) and Kyle Abraham and Liz Gerring presenting world premieres inspired by the work, Baryshnikov Arts Center and the Trust are discussing collaborating on a future In Conversation.

In December 2021, the Trust announced the initial Barbara Ensley Award, which annually offers financial support ($10,000 per recipient), a personal mentor, free Cunningham classes, a free license to perform a Cunningham solo, and other forms of professional support and development to BIPOC dancers transitioning from their studies to the professional dance world. For example, the inaugural recipients, Morgan Amirah Burns and Alex Larson, have been invited to join a professional development program led by dancer-choreographer David Thomson that focuses on financial literacy and the business aspects of building and maintaining a career in today's environment.

On the administrative side, the Trust now offers a part-time annual fellowship for an aspiring administrator of color to become immersed in the Trust's work and participate in its various activities to oversee Cunningham's legacy. Lay'la Rogers is the first Rights and Administrative Associate this year.

About the Merce Cunningham Trust

The Merce Cunningham Trust was established by Merce Cunningham in 2000 and recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation in 2002. The Trust serves as the custodian of the work of Merce Cunningham and its mission is to preserve, enhance, and maintain the integrity of that choreographic and other artistic work, and make such works available for the benefit of the public. In 2012, the Trust established headquarters at New York's City Center.

The Trust offers a program of classes and activities, including daily classes in Cunningham Technique at New York's City Center and the Cunningham Fellowship, awarded to former Company members to reconstruct a Cunningham work during a multi-week intensive workshop. The Trust licenses Cunningham works to leading dance companies and educational institutions worldwide, and partners with cultural institutions to mount special projects, performances, and exhibitions that celebrate Cunningham's artistic achievements.

From September 2018 through the end of 2019, the Trust celebrated the 100th anniversary of Merce Cunningham's birth, honoring a century of artistic expression through events, presentations, and discussions about Cunningham, dance, and his influence on culture.

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