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Merce Cunningham (Mercier Philip Cunningham), 1919–, American modern dancer and choreographer, b. Centralia, Wash. Cunningham studied with Martha Graham and was a soloist in her company from 1940 to 1955. He presented his first work in 1942 and formed his own company in 1953, beginning to create innovative dances to the music of avant-garde composers, including his longtime friend and musical director John Cage. His best-known early works include Suite by Chance and Symphonie pour un homme seul (both 1952), which reveal his spare, expressive style. His works are composed of abrupt changes and suspensions of motion, some performed by autonomously moving dancers in chance sequence, and occur in a decentralized stage space. Cunningham is especially known for his collaborations with contemporary American artists, including Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jasper Johns, who have created sets and costumes for his productions. His later works include Locale and Duets (both 1980); Fabrications (1987); Trackers (1991), the first work he created with the aid of a computer; Crwdspcr (1994); Installations (1996); Scenario (1997); Biped (1999); and Way Station (2001).
See his The Dancer and Dance (1985); biography by D. Vaughan (1997); studies by J. Klosty (1975), R. Kostelanetz, ed. (1992), and G. Celant, ed. (1999); film documentary, Merce Cunningham: A Lifetime of Dance (2002), dir. by C. Atlas.
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