As a dancer with Compagnie CNDC-Angers/Robert Swinston for the past four years, Anna Chirescu changed the way she approached taking on new challenges.

“Robert is an American who works in France, where the culture is very different. He says that French people talk and think much, but in America it’s much more about the doing. He’ll say, ‘Don’t talk. Don’t think about it. Just do it. And by just doing it, you will understand.’ So that’s something that I try to apply to myself with Cunningham technique. Instead of thinking about it over and over again, I try to just do it and accept that it won’t be perfect the first time or maybe the second time either.”

Robert Swinston danced with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company for 30 years. He directs the National Contemporary Dance Center in Angers, France, and is the artistic director of Compagnie CNDC-Angers.