Bennington Remembers Merce Cunningham (1919-2009)
The Bennington College community mourns the loss of friend and pioneering dance choreographer Merce Cunningham, who died on Sunday, July 26, at the age of 90 years old.
A soloist with dance legend Martha Graham's company and a frequent summer visitor to the Bennington campus, where Graham taught in the School of the Dance, Cunningham's first four works were performed at the College in 1942.
After five years of working with Graham, Cunningham went on to form the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in 1953, choreographing nearly 200 works for the company over the next 53 years.
His company has toured around the world and his innovative techniques are still taught today at the Cunningham Studio in New York, at professional studios, and at colleges and universities internationally.
For more on the life and work of Merce Cunningham, click here.