Merce Cunningham? There's an app for that

Triple kudos to 2wice Arts Foundation for gracing us with a mesmerizing glimpse into the nearly undescribable imagination of Merce Cunningham and his dancers. Merce wasn't merely an artist; he was a force of nature who forever altered our perception of what choreography, dance, movement, and their intersection with visual art and music meant. That the individual elements never (or very rarely) met until performance time will always remain shocking and radical.

2wice deserves thrice the accocolades for releasing 2wice; Merce Cunningham Event:

1) Careful attention is paid to the choice of photographs, newly filmed video and minimal yet illuminating text.

2) The IPad app experience is seamless. It allows you to concentrate on the dances, dancers and costumes without the interruption of page turning. 2wice didn't simply reproduce images or text from their previously released books. As you scroll across the screen, each of the Event images unfurl as if on a continuous roll of film. The spell of the current Event is only broken by the black screened introduction of the next Event. I found myself repeatedly moving the images slowly back and forth. I was choreographing my experience of the app.

3) The app is FREE. That's right, no cost. You just have to own an IPad (and you ought to anyway but that's a post for another day).

If you enjoy the app, consider supporting the good work of 2wice. "The 2wice Arts Foundation is a non profit organization that supports the visual and performing arts. The Foundation, which began in 1989, has its headquarters in the legendary New York City Center. The work of the Foundation is to publish editions2wice, 2wice Magazine and 2wice Books. These award winning publications share an emphasis on photography, dance, design, performance, fashion and architecture."

Update on Monday, July 11, 2011 at 05:35PM by Robert Bielecki

and speaking of Merce:

Merce Cunningham Dance Company
Licoln Center Festival presents "Merce Fair,"
7/16 from 10am to 10pm