Cunningham to perform one last time in Israel

In early June, as part of the 2011 Israel Festival, Merce Cunningham Dance Company will visit Jerusalem for a particularly unique engagement.

By ORI J. LENKINSKI
Cunningham 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Cunningham 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
In early June, as part of the 2011 Israel Festival, Merce Cunningham Dance Company will visit Jerusalem for a particularly unique engagement. This is the legendary troupe’s final world tour, as was clearly outlined in Merce Cunningham’s last will and testament. Always a forward thinker, a few short months before his death in 2009, Cunningham delineated a master plan for his dancers and artistic staff.
They would embark on the Legacy Tour, which would include stops in cities that had been important to the ensemble in their half-century existence. One of the distinguished stops, luckily, is Israel. MCDC will perform one show at the Jerusalem Theater, a best of the groundbreaking choreographer’s repertory, and five “events”, or site-specific performances, at the Israel Museum.
Upon completing this tour on New Year’s Eve 2011 in New York City, the troupe will forever disband, leaving only videos and a plethora of memories in its wake.
The performance at the Jerusalem Theater will take place on June 6. Events will take place from June 9-11. For tickets, visit www.israel-festival.org.il.