Merce Cunningham in Changeling (1957)
The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston brings a long-lost Merce Cunningham work to life in its new exhibition, Leap Before You Look: Black Mountain College 1933–1957. Former Cunningham dancer Silas Riener revived Changeling, a 1957 chance dance once thought to be lost, via recently discovered archival footage. For the exhibition, Riener worked closely with the Merce Cunningham Trust to reconstruct Changeling and a series of other works from Cunningham’s early years at Black Mountain College. The works will be performed by Boston Conservatory and Harvard University students.
The exhibit, open October 10–January 24, 2016, also features visual art, music and written work that celebrate the history of Black Mountain College. See works by some of Cunningham’s frequent collaborators, like painter Robert Rauschenberg and composer John Cage, alongside the weekly live performances and archival video footage of Cunningham dancing.
Photo by Richard Rutledge, courtesy of The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston
