Merce Cunningham — a dancer and choreographer — was a major figure in the modern dance world from the 1950s until his death in 2009.  Following his death, his dance company began the process of winding down.  The company’s two-year legacy tour concludes this month, at which point the company will disband and all rights to the Cunningham choreography will revert to the Merce Cunningham Trust. 

Tonight I was fortunate enough to see one of these final performances by the company of dancers that Cunningham personally trained.  They performed three pieces — one from 1958, the others from the mid-1970s.  Each piece was highly original, with elements of humor and a strong dose of the absurd — including a delightful segment involving a four-sleeved sweater without a neck-hole (a photo of which was available on the Kennedy Center website)…

I don’t have a sufficiently sophisticated knowledge of dance, especially modern dance, to give a more in-depth critique.  However, I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed the performance.  The combination of a remarkable performance with the sense of farewell and ending made it particularly moving.