Begin Anywhere, IAC Trailer

Begin Anywhere, Irish Arts Center, New York
New work by John Scott and Mel Mercier
commissioned by Irish Arts Center
Four solos by Merce Cunningham
by arrangement with the Merce Cunningham Trust
Begin Anywhere is a response to the inspirations and methodologies of legendary American choreographer Merce Cunningham and composer John Cage. John Scott, the award-winning Irish contemporary choreographer who has had extensive dialogue with Merce Cunningham Dance Company across the years, and Mel Mercier, the Tony-nominated composer and sound designer-and an original musician in John Cage and Merce Cunningham’s Roaratorio-debut a new piece inspired by their shared histories within Cunningham and Cage’s artistic universe. This world premiere will be preceded by Four Solos by Merce Cunningham, an arrangement of choreography by Cunningham-Changeling (1957), Solo (1975), and excerpted solos from RainForest (1968) and Travelogue (1977)-presented in a continuous dance event with music by John King.
Begin Anywhere Credits
Choreography: John Scott
Composition: Mel Mercier and the musicians
Dancers: Morgan Amirah Burns, Vinicius Martins Araujo, Boris Charrion, Magdalena Hylak, François Malbranque, and Ryan O’Neill
Musicians: Mel Mercier, Kevin McNally, Mick O’Shea, and Claudia Schwab
Cassette Tape Audio: Danny McCarthy
Lighting Designer: Joe Levasseur
Chief LX: Gus Papagiannis
Costume Designer: Gabriel Berry
Soundscore voices:
Former members of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company: Louise Burns, Karen Eliot, Victoria Finlayson, Catherine Kerr, David Kulick, Joseph Lennon, Patricia Lent, and Kristy Santimyer-Melita; Dancer with the Merce Cunningham Trust: Sienna Blaw
Soundscore Audio Engineering: Donncha Moynihan
Four Solos Credits
An arrangement of four solos choreographed by Merce Cunningham: Changeling (1957), Solo (1975), and excerpted solos from RainForest (1968) and Travelogue (1977)
Choreography: Merce Cunningham
Music: John King, 100tone candles
Costume for Travelogue: after the design by Robert Rauschenberg
Lighting Design: Joe Levasseur
Choreography staged by: Ashley Chen (Changeling, RainForest), Cheryl Therrien (Solo), Andrea Weber (Travelogue)
Choreography arranged by: Patricia Lent
Dancers: Morgan Amirah Burns (Travelogue), Boris Charrion (Solo), François Malbranque (Changeling, RainForest)
Choreography by Merce Cunningham © Merce Cunningham Trust. All rights reserved.
"You do not separate the human being from the actions he does or the actions which surround him, but you see what it is like to break these actions up in different ways, to allow passion-and it is passion-to appear for each person in his own way"-MERCE CUNNINGHAM
"Begin anywhere"-JOHN CAGE