Blair Percussion VORTEX celebrates John Cage and Merce Cunningham

(Photo of John Cage and Merce Cunningham by Jack Mitchell, used by permission of the John Cage Trust)

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY – NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, USA

BLAIR PERCUSSION VORTEX

Michael Holland, Artistic Director

“ ‘Downtown’ ain’t just for New Yorkers anymore.” –Nashville Scene

VORTEX celebrates JOHN CAGE with former dancers of the MERCE CUNNINGHAM DANCE COMPANY

8 p.m. SUNDAY, APRIL 1 — VORTEX PERFORMANCE, INGRAM HALL

Witness history.  Make history. Join VORTEX and Artistic Director Michael Holland in the centennial birthday celebration of John Cage and his 50-year collaboration with Merce Cunningham. Rare archival photographs, audio clips, and film footage let Cage and Cunningham speak to you as VORTEX performs with former members of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, just off their international farewell Legacy Tour.

PLUS: 

A groundbreaking restaging of "lost" work Fads and Fancies in the Academy, by Company Rose of Nashville, Tenn., Marsha Barsky and Erin Law, choreographers. Created by Cage with 1940s modern dance pioneer Marian Van Tuyl, the piece was initially subtitled A Gentle Satire on Progressive Education. 

For the first time since the original performances, Company Rose and VORTEX renuite Cage’s uncharacteristically rhapsodic program music with new choreography conceived by Barsky and Law and informed by Van Tuyl’s film footage and personal notes.

CONCERT PROGRAM

Speech

Suite for Toy Piano

Fads & Fancies in the Academy  (A Gentle Satire on Progressive Education). Choreography by Marsha Barsky and Erin Law, informed by original 1940 choreography and notes of Marian Van Tuyl.

Inlets

Water Walk

MinEvent

Featuring VORTEX with former dancers of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company

Amores

Child of Tree layered with The Wonderful Widow of 18 Springs & Nowth Upon Nacht

Credo In Us

FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

THURSDAY, MARCH 29:

3 p.m. — PANEL DISCUSSION, TURNER RECITAL HALL

REVOLUTIONARIES IN THE ACADEMY! John Cage and Merce Cunningham:  A conversation on Form, Composition, and Creativity

A dialogue on the intersection of music and dance, featuring Jennifer Goggans, former dancer with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company; Dr. Michael Slayton, chair of the Blair School of Music Composition Department; Joy Calico, Associate Professor of Musicology at Blair; and Michael Holland, Artistic Director of VORTEX.

5-6:30 p.m. — DANCE STUDIO, MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM

CUNNINGHAM DANCE TECHNIQUE. Former Merce Cunningham dancer

Jennifer Goggans leads this class focused on the dance technique developed by Merce Cunningham.

FRIDAY, MARCH 30:

5-6:30 p.m. — DANCE STUDIO, MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM

CHANCE, CREATIVITY, & CUNNINGHAM TECHNIQUE. Former Merce Cunningham dancer Jennifer Goggans leads this class on the intersection of Cunningham Technique with creativity and chance operations.

SUNDAY, APRIL 1: BLAIR SCHOOL OF MUSIC – 2400 BLAKEMORE AVENUE

1:30-5 p.m. — CHORAL REHEARSAL HALL, BLAIR SCHOOL OF MUSIC

JOHN CAGE: A MINI SYMPOSIUM

1:30-2:30 p.m. “John Cage and the Conundrum of Politics," David Patterson, musicologist (Chicago)

2:30-3:30 p.m. “John Cage and Fluxus," Amelia Winger-Bearskin, performance artist (VU)

3:45-4:15 p.m. “John Cage and Marian van Tuyl, choreographer, at Mills College," Joanna G. Harris, PhD, dance historian, archivist at Marian van Tuyl Collection. Talk will include a screening of Horror Dream.

4:15-5 p.m. “John Cage and Avant-Garde Film." Screening of In Between and one 11 with 101, followed by discussion with Stan Link, composer (VU); and Jonathan Rattner, filmmaker (VU).

7 p.m. — CAGE MUSICIRCUS, INGRAM LOBBY & PLAZA

 (You won’t hear a thing. You’ll hear everything!)

7:40 p.m. — PRE-CONCERT TALK, INGRAM HALL

8 p.m. — VORTEX PERFORMANCE, INGRAM HALL

See above for details.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION & EVENTS:  (615) 322-7656