FLOOR CENTER FOR DANCE
Saturday, November 23 | 12:30-2pm


Cunningham Technique class with former Cunningham company dancer Robert Swinston.

Cunningham Technique develops clarity, strength and flexibility in both the spine and legwork. The torso and legs are used either in coordination or opposition to one another. Spatial awareness is gained by implementing multiple changes of direction within a single phrase where any point in the space can be the dancer's front. In more advanced work, various parts of the body move simultaneously in multiple directions. A variety of meter and tempo are given throughout the class to build a foundation for rhythmic precision and dynamic movement.

Robert Swinston danced with Merce Cunningham Dance company for thirty-one years. He joined the Company in August 1980 and became Assistant to the Choreographer in July 1992. Following Cunningham's death in July 2009, he was named Director of Choreography, and oversaw the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, the Repertory Understudy Group and its work with the Cunningham Educational Outreach Program until the closure of the Company in 2011. Beginning in 1998 he oversaw many Cunningham archival reconstructions for MCDC and staged Cunningham works on other companies, including Boston Ballet, White Oak Dance Project, Rambert Dance Company, New York City Ballet, Bayerische Staatsballet and the Paris Opera Ballet. In 2003, Swinston received a "Bessie" Award for his performance in the revival of Cunningham's How to Pass, Kick, Fall and Run. In January, 2013 Swinston became Artistic Director of the Centre National de Danse Contemporaine (CNDC) in Angers, France where he continues to share the Cunningham Legacy.

Robert has overseen Cunningham repertory for more than 25 years.