Performance History

This section lists all known performances for which Robert Rauschenberg served as choreographer or as a primary organizer (bold italics), and all performances on which he collaborated (in regular italics). Brackets indicate unofficial or former titles. Chosen primarily for their discussion on Rauschenberg’s contribution, reviews of performances are ordered by date of publication. As some reviews may refer to multiple performances, those given below have been selected and placed within the Performance History as they address the artist’s particular involvement; some reviews may refer to subsequent stagings. The performance history dating through 1997 is based on the version that appears in Walter Hopps and Susan Davidson, Robert Rauschenberg: A Retrospective (New York: Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 1997). Based on new research, the document has been updated by Jennifer Sarathy with staff at the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.

 

For works choreographed by Rauschenberg:

  • All sets, costumes, and other stage elements are designed by the artist, unless otherwise noted.
  • The dates and locations of all known performances of Rauschenberg’s works are given.
  • Full program information is provided when available.
  • Subsequent casts of restaged works are provided when information is available

 

For works by other choreographers:

  • Performances are listed according to the dates of Rauschenberg’s participation.
  • If the year of the premiere differs from the year of Rauschenberg’s participation, the year of the premiere is listed in parentheses following the performance title.

 

For larger programs comprised of multiple performances:

  • Program titles are underlined when Rauschenberg has broader participation, for example, providing lighting for all performances.
  • General credits and program information are listed in advance of individual performances.
  • Specific dates for individual performances in larger programs are provided in parentheses.

 

1952

John Cage, untitled event [Theater Piece No. 1], Black Mountain College, near Asheville, North Carolina. Performers included: R. Buckminster Fuller, Cage, Merce Cunningham, Charles Olson, Rauschenberg, M. C. Richards, Dorothea Rockburne, David Tudor, and a film (likely) by Nick (Nicola) Cernovich.

 

1954

Paul Taylor, Jack and the Beanstalk, Paul Taylor Dance Company, A Theater for New Dance, Music, and Design, Henry Street Playhouse, New York, May 30. Presented by Dance Associates. Set and costumes by Rauschenberg. Lighting by Marc May. Music by Hy Gubernick. Performed by Donald Boiteau, Joan Coddlington, Anita Dencks, Viola Farber, Alec Rubin, Leslie Snow, and Taylor.

 

Merce Cunningham, Minutiae, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York, Dec. 8. Set (the Combine Minutiae) by Rauschenberg. Costumes by Remy Charlip. Lighting by Scott Hale, later version by Nick (Nicola) Cernovich. Music by John Cage. Performed by Carolyn Brown, Charlip, Cunningham, Anita Dencks, Viola Farber, Jo Anne Melsher, and Marianne (Preger) Simon.

  • Lewis, Horst. “Merce Cunningham and Company.” Dance Observer (New York) 22, no. 2 (Feb. 1955), p. 24.

 

1955

Paul Taylor, Circus Polka, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Master Institute Theater, New York, March 15. Costumes by Rauschenberg. Lighting by Marc May and John Robertson. Music by Igor Stravinsky. Performed by Taylor and David Vaughan. Original set by Rauschenberg. Revised version by George Wilson.

Merce Cunningham, Springweather and People, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, May 24. Costumes by Remy Charlip in collaboration with Ray Johnson, Rauschenberg, and Vera Williams (redesigned by Rauschenberg in 1957). Music by Earle Brown. Performed by Carolyn Brown, Charlip, Cunningham, Anita Dencks, Viola Farber, and Marianne (Preger) Simon.

  • Bernstein, Harry. “Merce Cunningham and Company.” Dance Observer (New York) 25, no. 1 (Jan. 1958), p. 10.
  • Manchester, P. W. “The Season in Review.” Dance News (New York) 32, no. 1 (Jan. 1958), p. 7.

Paul Taylor, Little Circus, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Master Institute Theater, New York, June 6. Adapted from Taylor’s Circus Polka (1955). Set and costumes by Rauschenberg. Lighting by John Robertson. Music by Igor Stravinsky. Performed by Therese Cura, Charlene Davis, Sandra Keery, Marian Sarach, Taylor, and David Vaughan.

 

1956

Paul Taylor, 3 Epitaphs, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Master Institute Theater, New York, March 27. Costumes by Rauschenberg. Lighting by Nick (Nicola) Cernovich. Music from an early recording of New Orleans jazz by the Laneville-Johnson Union Brass Band, Folkways label, Music in the South. Dance performed by Therese Cura, Carol Rubenstein, Taylor, and Doris Thurston. Revised version: Four Epitaphs, Henry Street Playhouse, New York, May 6.

Paul Taylor, The Least Flycatcher, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Henry Street Playhouse, New York, May 6. Costumes and music by Rauschenberg (commissioned score). Performed by Taylor.

Paul Taylor, Untitled Duet, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Henry Street Playhouse, New York, May 6. Costumes by Rauschenberg. Performed by Anita Dencks and Taylor.

Merce Cunningham, Suite for Five in Space and Time, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Ind., May 18. Costumes and lighting by Rauschenberg. Music by John Cage. Performed by Carolyn Brown, Remy Charlip, Cunningham, Viola Farber, and Marianne (Preger) Simon. Revised version: Suite for Five, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York, Jan. 12, 1957: Set and costumes by Rauschenberg. Lighting by Beverly Emmons.

  • Lloyd, Margaret. “Merce Cunningham and His Dancers.” Christian Science Monitor (Boston), Dec. 16, 1957.
  • Mellers, Wilfrid. “Tranquillity.” New Statesman (London), July 31, 1964, p. 160.

Merce Cunningham, Nocturnes, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Lee, Mass., July 11. Set and costumes by Rauschenberg. Music by Erik Satie. Performed by Carolyn Brown, Remy Charlip, Cunningham, Viola Farber, Bruce King, and Marianne (Preger) Simon.

  • Bernstein, Harry. “Merce Cunningham and Company.” Dance Observer (New York) 25, no. 1 (Jan. 1958), p. 10.
  • Hering, Doris. “American Dance Festival: #11.” Dance Magazine (New York) 32, no. 10 (Oct. 1958), pp. 33–35, 64, 73–74.
  • Hall, Fernau. “Merce Cunningham and Dance Company.” Ballet Today (Surrey, England) 14, no. 16 (Oct. 1964), pp. 9–10.
  • Marks, Marcia. “Merce Cunningham and Dance Company.” Dance Magazine (New York) 39, no. 4 (April 1965), pp. 32–33.

Paul Taylor, Tropes, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Master Institute Theater, New York, Dec. 4. Set and costumes by Rauschenberg. Performed by Taylor to recorded folk music.

 

1957

Paul Taylor, The Tower, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Kaufmann Concert Hall, 92nd Street YM-YWHA, New York, Feb. 10. Set by Rauschenberg. Costumes by Jasper Johns. Music by John Cooper. Performed by Lorraine Crocket, Anita Dencks, Barbara Janezic, Carol Rubenstein, Taylor, and Matt Turney.

  • Guthman, Louise. “Paul Taylor and Company.” Dance Observer (New York) 24, no. 4 (April 1957), pp. 57–58.

Paul Taylor, Seven New Dances, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Kaufmann Concert Hall, 92nd Street YM-YWHA, New York, Oct. 20. Artistic collaboration by Jasper Johns and Rauschenberg. Set and costumes by Rauschenberg and Taylor, who is listed under the pseudonym George Tacet. Lighting by Tharon Musser. Epic: Performed by Taylor to automated telephone time announcements; Events I: Performed by Toby Armour, Donya Feuer, and Cynthia Stone to wind sounds; Resemblance: Performed by Taylor to music by John Cage; Panorama: Performed by Armour, Feuer, and Stone to heartbeat sounds; Duet: Performed by Toby Glanternik and Taylor to music by Cage; Events II: Performed by Feuer and Stone to rain sounds; and Opportunity: Performed by Taylor to “noise.”

  • Horst, Lewis. “Paul Taylor and Dance Company.” Dance Observer (New York) 24, no. 9 (Nov. 1957), p. 139.

Merce Cunningham, Changeling, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York, Nov. 30. Set, costumes and lighting by Rauschenberg. Music by Christian Wolff. Performed by Cunningham.

  • Manchester, P. W. “The Season in Review.” Dance News (New York) 32, no. 1 (Jan. 1958), p. 7.
  • Bernstein, Harry. “Merce Cunningham and Company.” Dance Observer (New York) 25, no. 1 (Jan. 1958), p. 10.
  • Hering, Doris. “American Dance Festival: #11.” Dance Magazine (New York) 32, no. 10 (Oct. 1958), pp. 33–35, 64, 73–74.
  • Hall, Fernau. “Merce Cunningham and Dance Company.” Ballet Today (Surrey, England) 14, no. 16 (Oct. 1964), pp. 9–10.

Merce Cunningham, Labyrinthian Dances, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York, Nov. 30. Set and costumes by Rauschenberg. Music composed by Josef Matthias Hauer. Music directed by John Cage, and performed by David Tudor on piano. Dance performed by Carolyn Brown, Remy Charlip, Cunningham, Viola Farber, Bruce King, and Marianne (Preger) Simon.

  • Lloyd, Margaret. “Merce Cunningham and His Dancers.” Christian Science Monitor (Boston), Dec. 16, 1957.
  • Manchester, P. W. “The Season in Review.” Dance News (New York) 32, no. 1 (Jan. 1958), p. 7.
  • Bernstein, Harry. “Merce Cunningham and Company.” Dance Observer (New York) 25, no. 1 (Jan. 1958), p. 10.

 

1958

Paul Taylor, Rebus, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Little Theater, Douglass College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, March 18. Set and costumes by Rauschenberg. Music by David Hollister. Performed by Toby Armour, Phena Darner, Toby Glanternik, and Taylor.

Merce Cunningham, Antic Meet, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Eleventh American Dance Festival, Connecticut College, New London, Aug. 14. Set and costumes by Rauschenberg. Lighting by Nick (Nicola) Cernovich, later by Rauschenberg. Music by John Cage, performed on piano by David Tudor with accessory noise-makers connected to electrical circuits. Dance performed by Carolyn Brown, Remy Charlip, Cunningham, Viola Farber, Cynthia Stone, and Marilyn Wood. Revised version: Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York, Jan. 12, 1957: Set and costumes by Rauschenberg. Lighting by Beverly Emmons.

  • Hering, Doris. “American Dance Festival: #11.” Dance Magazine (New York) 32, no. 10 (Oct. 1958), pp. 33–35, 64, 73–74.
  • Sorell, Walter. “The American Dance Festival.” Dance Observer (New York) 30, no. 7 (Aug.–Sept. 1963), pp. 102–03.
  • Porter, Andrew. “Merce Cunningham—2.” Financial Times (London), July 30, 1964, p. 22.
  • Buckle, Richard. “Invitation to the Chance.” Sunday Times (London), Aug. 2, 1964, p. 20.
  • ———. “The Smell of Peaches.” Sunday Times (London), Aug. 9, 1964, p. 23.
  • Hofmann, Wilfred. “Cologne: Merce Cunningham.” Ballet Today (Surrey, England) 14, no. 16 (Oct. 1964), p. 18.
  • Voien, Guelda. “The Last Dance: The Merce Cunningham Troupe Unearths a Rare Work.” New York Observer, March 9, 2011.

Merce Cunningham, Summerspace, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Eleventh American Dance Festival, Connecticut College, New London, Aug. 17. Set, costumes and lighting by Rauschenberg. Music by Morton Feldman. Performed by Carolyn Brown, Remy Charlip, Cunningham, Viola Farber, Cynthia Stone, and Marilyn Wood.

  • Manchester, P. W. “Dance in Review.” Dance News (New York) 33, no. 1 (Sept. 1958), p. 16.
  • Hering, Doris. “American Dance Festival: #11.” Dance Magazine (New York) 32, no. 10 (Oct. 1958), pp. 33–35, 64, 73–74.
  • Buckle, Richard. “The Smell of Peaches.” Sunday Times (London), Aug. 9, 1964, p. 23.
  • Barnes, Clive. “Dance: ‘Summerspace’: Cunningham, the Sea-Green Incorruptible, Triumphs with City Ballet Production.” New York Times, April 15, 1966, sec. B, p. 45.
  • Anderson, Jack. “Peppy Hops and Rustling, as ‘Summerspace’ Swamps the Senses.” New York Times, June 8, 2000, sec. E, p. 5.
  • Brown, Carolyn. “Merce Cunningham and the Language of the Body.” New York Times, March 25, 2001, pp. 1, 18.
  • ———. “Summerspace: Three Revivals.” Dance Research Journal (Birmingham) 34, no. 1 (Summer 2002), pp. 74–82.

Paul Taylor, Images and Reflections, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Kaufmann Concert Hall, 92nd Street YM-YWHA, New York, Dec. 20. Set and costumes by Rauschenberg. Lighting by Tharon Musser. Music by Morton Feldman. Performed by Toby Armour, Phena Darner, Viola Farber, and Taylor.

  • Hering, Doris. “Paul Taylor and Dance Company, 92nd Street ‘Y,’ Dec. 20, 1958.” Dance Magazine (New York) 33, no. 2 (Feb. 1959), p. 27.

 

1959

Merce Cunningham, From the Poems of White Stone, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Festival of Contemporary Arts, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, March 14. Costumes by Rauschenberg. Music by Chou Wen-chung. Poems by Chiang Kuei. Performed by Carolyn Brown, Remy Charlip, Cunningham, Judith Dunn, Viola Farber, and Marilyn Wood.

Merce Cunningham, Gambit for Dancers and Orchestra, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Festival of Contemporary Arts, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, March 14. Set and costumes by Rauschenberg. Music by Ben Johnston. Performed by Carolyn Brown, Remy Charlip, Cunningham, Judith Dunn, Viola Farber, and Marilyn Wood.

Merce Cunningham, Rune, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Twelfth American Dance Festival, Connecticut College, New London, Aug. 14. Costumes and projection by Rauschenberg. Music by Christian Wolff, performed by David Tudor on piano, and conducted by John Cage. Performed by Carolyn Brown, Remy Charlip, Cunningham, Judith Dunn, Viola Farber, and Marilyn Wood.

Allan Kaprow, 18 Happenings in 6 Parts, Reuben Gallery, 61 Fourth Avenue, New York, Oct. 4, 6–10. Performed by Kaprow, Rosalyn Montague, Shirley Prendergast, Lucas Samaras, Janet Weinberger, and Robert Whitman, with the participation of artists Jim Dine, Sam Francis, Red Grooms, Dick Higgins, Jasper Johns, Lester Johnson, Alfred Leslie, Jay Milder, Rauschenberg, George Segal, and Bob Thompson.

 

1960

Merce Cunningham, Crises, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Thirteenth American Dance Festival, Connecticut College, New London, Aug. 19. Costumes by Rauschenberg. Lighting by Nick (Nicola) Cernovich. Music by Conlon Nancarrow. Performed by Carolyn Brown, Cunningham, Judith Dunn, Viola Farber, and Marilyn Wood.

  • Mellers, Wilfrid. “Tranquillity.” New Statesman (London), July 31, 1964, p. 160.
  • Hofmann, Wilfred. “Cologne: Merce Cunningham.” Ballet Today (Surrey, England) 14, no. 16 (Oct. 1964), p. 18.
  • Marks, Marcia. “Merce Cunningham and Dance Company.” Dance Magazine (New York) 39, no. 4 (April 1965), pp. 32–33.

Merce Cunningham, Hands Birds, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Festivale Internazionale di Musica Contemporanea, 23rd Biennale Internazionale d’Arte, Teatro La Fenice, Venice, Sept. 24. Costume by Rauschenberg. Music by Earle Brown. Performed by Carolyn Brown.

Merce Cunningham, Waka, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Festivale Internazionale di Musica Contemporanea, 23rd Biennale Internazionale d’Arte, Teatro La Fenice, Venice, Sept. 24. Costume by Rauschenberg (reused from Cunningham’s From the Poems of White Stone [1959]). Music by Toshi Ichiyanagi. Performed by Carolyn Brown.

 

1961

Per Olof Ultvedt, Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Tinguely, and Robert Rauschenberg, untitled performance, Arena Theater on Djurgården, Sweden, May 17. Performance following the vernissage of the exhibition Rörelse i Konsten, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, May 17–Sept. 3.

  • Klüver, Billy, and Robert Rauschenberg. “Art en mouvement: Souvenirs conjugués/ Kunst in beweging: Een gekombineerde herinnering.” In Le Moderna Museet de Stockholm à Bruxelles/Het Moderna Museet Van Stockholm te Brussel, pp. 35–40. Exh. cat. Brussels: Palais des Beaux-Arts, 1981. Reprinted as “Rörelse i konsten—en kombinerad minnesbild.” In Moderna Museet 1958–1983, pp. 143–50. Stockholm: Moderna Museet, 1983. Reprinted as “Art in Motion—A Combined Memory.” Konsthistorisk tidskrift/Journal of Art History (Stockholm) 76, nos. 1–2 (2007), pp. 114–18.

Niki de Saint Phalle, “tir” performance, Staket sandpit, near Värmdö, Sweden, May 23, during the exhibition Rörelse i Konsten, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, May 17–Sept. 3. Participants, including Pontus Hulten, Billy Klüver, Rauschenberg, and Jean Tinguely, among others, create paintings by firing a rifle at sacks of paint attached to a canvas. The artworks Grand Tir- séance Stockholm and Tir (séance Stockholm) are produced, which are included in the exhibition. Klüver produced a film of the event.

  • Klüver, Billy, and Robert Rauschenberg. “Art en mouvement: Souvenirs conjugués/ Kunst in beweging: Een gekombineerde herinnering.” In Le Moderna Museet de Stockholm à Bruxelles/Het Moderna Museet Van Stockholm te Brussel, pp. 35–40. Exh. cat. Brussels: Palais des Beaux-Arts, 1981. Reprinted as “Rörelse i konsten—en kombinerad minnesbild.” In Moderna Museet 1958–1983, pp. 143–50. Stockholm: Moderna Museet, 1983. Reprinted as “Art in Motion—A Combined Memory.” Konsthistorisk tidskrift/Journal of Art History (Stockholm) 76, nos. 1–2 (2007), pp. 114–18.

Homage to David Tudor, Théâtre de l’Ambassade des États-Unis, 41, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris, June 20. Organized by Darathea Speyer. Performed by Niki de Saint Phalle, Jasper Johns, Rauschenberg, Jean Tinguely, and Tudor. Rauschenberg creates First Time Painting on stage.

Merce Cunningham, Aeon, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, La Comédie Canadienne, Montreal Festival, Aug. 5. Set, costumes, and lighting by Rauschenberg. Lighting assistance by Billy Klüver to create stroboscopic lights attached to dancers’ wrists. Music by John Cage. Performed by Shareen Blair, Carolyn Brown, Remy Charlip, Cunningham, Judith Dunn, Viola Farber, Steve Paxton, Valda Setterfield, and Marilyn Wood.

  • Hall, Fernau. “Merce Cunningham and Dance Company.” Ballet Today (Surrey, England) 14, no. 16 (Oct. 1964), pp. 9–10.

 

1962

Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely, “tir” performance, in front of Virginia Dwan’s house, Malibu, California, and the parking lot of the Renaissance Club, Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, March 4 and 7. Rauschenberg helps assemble the “tir” construction.

The Construction of Boston, Maidman Playhouse, New York, May 4. Text by Kenneth Koch. Directed by Merce Cunningham. Song by John Dooley. Performed by Niki de Saint Phalle, Rauschenberg, and Jean Tinguely with appearances by Irving Blum, Macintyre Dixon, Elmarie Dooley, Öyvind Fahlström, Viola Farber, Henry Geldzahler, Maxine Groffsky, Billy Klüver, Richard Libertini, Steve Paxton, Frank Stella, and the Stewed Prunes.

  • Johnston, Jill. “Robert Rauschenberg, Jean Tinguely, Niki de Saint Phalle.” Artnews (New York) 61, no. 4 (Summer 1962), pp. 53–54.
  • Wulp, John. “Happening: A Timely Exercise in the Pursuit of Happiness.” Esquire (New York) 60, no. 5 (Nov. 1963), pp. 134, 136, 138, 184–87.

Paul Taylor, Tracer, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Théâtre des Nations, Paris, April 11, 1962. Set and costumes by Rauschenberg. Music by James Tenney. Performed by Shareen Blair, Bettie de Jong, Bonnie Mathis, and Taylor.

 

1963

Yvonne Rainer, Terrain, Judson Dance Theater, An Evening of Dance, Judson Memorial Church, New York, April 28–29. Set and costumes by Rainer. Lighting by Rauschenberg. Performed by Trisha Brown, William Davis, Judith Dunn, Steve Paxton, Rainer, and Albert Reid.

Robert Rauschenberg, Pelican, Judson Dance Theater, Concert of Dance Number Five, National Arena roller-skating rink, Washington, D.C., May 9. Presented by the Washington Gallery of Modern Art on the occasion of the Pop Art Festival. Lighting for all events by Rauschenberg. Sound for Pelican by Rauschenberg. Dance performed by Carolyn Brown, Per Olof Ultvedt, and Rauschenberg. Subsequent performances: Judson Dance Theater, Dance Concert III, First New York Theater Rally, former CBS Studio, Broadway and Eighty-first Street, New York, May 24–26, 1965: featuring Alex Hay in place of Ultvedt; Five Choreographers in Three Dance Concerts, Rollerdrome, Culver City, California, April 20, 1966, sponsored by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and the NOW Festival, National Arena roller-skating rink, Washington, D.C, April 26, 1966.

  • Judd Ahlander, Leslie. “Pop Art Festival Hailed.” Washington Post, May 26, 1963, sec. G, p. 10.
  • Glueck, Grace. “Ballet: Brides and Turtles in Dance Program.” New York Times, May 13, 1965, p. 33.
  • Abeel, Erica. “Daedalus at the Rollerdrome.” Saturday Review (New York) 48, no. 35 (Aug. 28, 1965), pp. 51–53.
  • Donnelly, Tom. “‘Prune Flat’ and Some Other Soggy Pastries.” Washington Daily News (Washington, D.C.), April 27, 1966, pp. 5, 66.
  • Squirru, Rafael. “The Happening: Art or Jest?” Américas (Washington, D.C.) 18, no. 6 (June 1966), pp. 27–33.
  • Sherwood, John. “Pop’s Here NOW, and Oh the Plastic Inevitability of It All.” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), April 27, 1966, sec. D, p. 1.
  • Novick, Elizabeth. “Happenings in New York.” Studio International (London) 172, no. 881 (Sept. 1966), pp. 155–59.
  • Johnston, Jill. “Dance Journal: RR.” Village Voice (New York), June 13, 1968, pp. 12–13.

Robert Rauschenberg, Prestidigitator Extraordinary, The Pocket Follies, Pocket Theater, New York, June 10. Performed by Rauschenberg.

Merce Cunningham, Field Dances, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Royce Hall, University of California, Los Angeles, July 17. Costumes and lighting by Rauschenberg. Music by John Cage, with David Tudor on piano. Performed by Shareen Blair, Carolyn Brown, Cunningham, and Viola Farber.

Merce Cunningham, Story, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Royce Hall, University of California, Los Angeles, July 24. Set, costumes, and lighting by Rauschenberg. Music by Toshi Ichiyanagi, performed on the piano by John Cage and David Tudor. Dance performed by Shareen Blair, Carolyn Brown, Cunningham, William Davis, Viola Farber, Barbara (Dilley) Lloyd, and Steve Paxton. Rauschenberg creates the Combine Story on stage during the four evenings of performances at the Phoenix Theatre, London, Aug. 10–13.

  • Manchester, P. W. “The Season in Review.” Dance News (New York) 43, no. 2 (Oct. 1963), pp. 9–10.
  • Mellers, Wilfrid. “Tranquillity.” New Statesman (London), July 31, 1964, p. 160.
  • Buckle, Richard. “Invitation to the Chance.” Sunday Times (London), Aug. 2, 1964, p. 20.
  • Barnes, Clive. “Cunningham’s Chances.” Spectator (London), Aug. 7, 1964, pp. 183–84.
  • Hall, Fernau. “Merce Cunningham and Dance Company.” Ballet Today (Surrey, England) 14, no. 16 (Oct. 1964), pp. 9–10.
  • Hofmann, Wilfred. “Cologne: Merce Cunningham.” Ballet Today (Surrey, England) 14, no. 16 (Oct. 1964), p. 18.
  • Sorell, Walter. “The American Dance Festival.” Dance Observer (New York) 30, no. 7 (Aug.–Sept. 1963), pp. 102–03.

Merce Cunningham, Night Wandering (1958), Seven Performances, Sixteenth American Dance Festival, Connecticut College, New London, Aug. 16. Lighting and redesigned costumes by Rauschenberg. Music by Nilsson, played by Tudor on piano. Dance performed by Carolyn Brown and Cunningham. [Night Wandering was originally titled Nattvandrare for the premiere, Kungi Teatern, Stockholm, Sweden, Oct. 5, 1958, renamed for the Thirteenth American Dance Festival, Connecticut College, New London, Aug. 18, 1960. Research indicates conflicting dates for the redesigned costumes and lighting by Rauschenberg. Sources suggest they may have been redesigned for the Thirteenth American Dance Festival (1960), however, studio photographs and the program do not confirm this information. The Sixteenth American Dance Festival (1963) is the earliest performance with confirmed revisions by Rauschenberg].

  • Sorell, Walter. “The American Dance Festival.” Dance Observer (New York) 30, no. 7 (Aug.–Sept. 1963), pp. 102–03.
  • Porter, Andrew. “Merce Cunningham—2.” Financial Times (London), July 30, 1964, p. 22.
  • Marks, Marcia. “Merce Cunningham and Dance Company.” Dance Magazine (New York) 39, no. 4 (April 1965), pp. 32–33.

Judith Dunn, Motorcycle, Judson Dance Theater, Judson Memorial Church, New York, Dec. 6–7. Lighting for all events by Rauschenberg. Music and direction by Robert Dunn. Dances listed in the order of the program. Motorcycle: Performed by Judith Dunn, Arlene Rothlein, John Worden, with Lucinda Childs, Ruth Emerson, Deborah Hay, and Yvonne Rainer (Dec. 6), and with Ruth Emerson and Yvonne Rainer (Dec. 7); Acapulco: Performed by Childs, Deborah Hay, Alex Hay, and Rainer (Dec. 6 and 7); Speedlimit performed by Judith Dunn and Robert Morris (Dec. 6); Index I: Performed by Judith Dunn and Paxton (Dec. 7); Witness II: Performed by Judith Dunn (Dec. 6); Robert Dunn, Doubles for 4 (1959): Performed by Alex Hay, Tony Holder, Paxton, and Worden (Dec. 6); Witness I: Performed by Judith Dunn and Worden (Dec. 6); Index II: Performed by Judith Dunn and Paxton (Dec. 7); Witness II: Performed by Childs, Emerson, and Deborah Hay (Dec. 7), Robert Dunn, Doubles for 4 (1959): Performed by Alex Hay, Rainer, Rothlein, and Worden (Dec. 7); Airwave: Performed by Childs, Emerson, Deborah Hay, Rainer, Rothlein, and Worden (Dec. 6, and 7); and Astronomy Hill: Performed by Judith Dunn (Dec. 6 and 7).

  • Johnston, Jill. “Motorcycle.” Village Voice (New York), Dec. 19, 1963.

 

1964

Judson Dance Theater, Party, Judson Memorial Church Gymnasium, New York. Impromptu performance with Judith Dunn, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Steve Paxton, and Rauschenberg. Featured in Gene Friedman’s short film, Three Dances. [Performance date unknown].

Robert Rauschenberg, Shot Put, Judson Dance Theater, Concert for New Paltz, State University of New York at New Paltz, Jan. 30. Lighting for Concert for New Paltz by Rauschenberg, Special Assistance by Steve Paxton. Shot Put performed by Rauschenberg to excerpts from A Lecture on Birds in Sweden by Öyvind Fahlström. Subsequent performances: Surplus Dance Theater, sur+, Stage 73, New York, Feb. 10 and 17; Judson Dance Theater, ONCE Festival, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Feb. 27; Five New York Evenings, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sept. 13; and Sogetsu Art Center, Tokyo, Nov. 20. All performed by Rauschenberg. Five New York Evenings (Sept. 8–14) also included Rauschenberg’s Elgin Tie (Sept. 13); Alex Hay’s Colorado Plateau (Sept. 13); and Paxton’s Jag vill gärna telefonera (I Would Like to Make a Phone Call) (Sept. 13): Performed by Paxton and Rauschenberg. Concert for New Paltz also included (in order of the program): Lucinda Childs’s Minus Auditorium Equipment and Furnishings (1963): Performed by Childs, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Tony Holder, Steve Paxton, Yvonne Rainer, and Rauschenberg; Deborah Hay’s All Day Dance with Two: Performed by Deborah Hay and Paxton; Childs’s Cancellation Sample: Performed by Childs and Holder; Rainer’s At My Body’s House (1963): music by Buxtenude, J. S. Bach, wireless sound transmission by Billy Klüver, performed by Rainer; Deborah Hay’s They Will [originally Would They or Wouldn’t They] (1963): music by Al Hansen, performed by Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Rainer, and Rauschenberg; Paxton’s Flat: Performed by Paxton; Rainer’s Thoughts on Improvisations (for the painter James Byars) (1963): Performed by Rainer; and Alex Hay’s Colorado Plateau: Performed by Childs, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Holder, Paxton, Rainer, and Rauschenberg.

  • Johnston, Jill. “Dance Journal: RR.” Village Voice (New York), June 13, 1968, pp. 12–13.

Alex Hay, Colorado Plateau, Concert for New Paltz, State University of New York at New Paltz, Jan. 30. Lighting for Concert for New Paltz by Rauschenberg. Special Assistance by Steve Paxton. Performed by Lucinda Childs, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Tony Holder, Steve Paxton, Yvonne Rainer, and Rauschenberg. Subsequent performances: Surplus Dance Theater, sur+, Feb. 10 and 17. Lighting for sur + by Rauschenberg. Performed by Lucinda Childs, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Tony Holder, Steve Paxton, Yvonne Rainer, and Rauschenberg; Five New York Evenings (Sept. 8-14), Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sept. 13: Performed by Fahlström, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Paxton, and Rauschenberg.

Steve Paxton, Proxy (1962), ONCE Festival, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Feb. 27. Organized by the ONCE Group. Performed by Trisha Brown, Lucinda Childs, and Rauschenberg. Program also included Rauschenberg’s Shot Put. Subsequent performance: Judson Dance Theater, A Dance Concert of Old and New Works, Judson Memorial Church, New York, Jan. 10–12, 1966: Performed by Trisha Brown, Lucinda Childs, and Rauschenberg.

  • Barnes, Clive. “Dance: Village Disaster.” New York Times, Jan. 11, 1966, p. 20.
  • Morris, Robert. “dance.” Village Voice (New York), Feb. 3, 1966, pp. 8, 24.

Surplus Dance Theater, sur+, Feb. 10 and 17, and Exchange, March 2 and 9, Stage 73, New York. Lighting for all events by Rauschenberg. sur+ included Rauschenberg’s Shot Put; Alex Hay’s Colorado Plateau: Performed by Lucinda Childs, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Tony Holder, Steve Paxton, Yvonne Rainer, and Rauschenberg; Deborah Hay’s All Day Dance with Two: set and costumes by Rauschenberg, performed by Deborah Hay and Paxton; Judith Dunn’s Acapulco (1963): Performed by Childs, Dunn, Alex Hay, and Deborah Hay; Paxton’s Flat; Childs’s Cancellation Sample: Performed by Childs and Holder; Robert Morris’s 21.3; Rainer’s Dialogues: Performed by Childs, Dunn, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Holder, Paxton, and Rainer; and Paxton’s FIRST (for Elaine) (1963) (extra performance only Feb. 17). Exchange included Childs’s Pastime, in which Rauschenberg performed one evening; Alex Hay’s Prairie; Deborah Hay’s They Will [originally Would They or Wouldn’t They]; Morris’s Site; Rainer’s At My Body’s House (1963); and Albert Reid’s A Brief Glossary of Personal Movements or The Modern Dance: A Solo: 1. Savings and Loan.

  • Hughes, Allen. “At Home Anywhere: Avant-Garde Dancers Adjust to Anything.” New York Times, Feb. 9, 1964, p. X18.
  • ———. “Dance: An Avant-Garde Series Begins.” New York Times, Feb. 11, 1964, p. 45.
  • Johnston, Jill. “Pain, Pleasure, Process.” Village Voice (New York), Feb. 27, 1964, pp. 9, 15.

Merce Cunningham, Paired, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut, March 21. Costumes by Rauschenberg. Music by John Cage. Performed by Cunningham and Viola Farber.

  • Marks, Marcia. “Merce Cunningham and Dance Company.” Dance Magazine (New York) 39, no. 4 (April 1965), pp. 32–33.

Merce Cunningham, Winterbranch, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut, March 21. Set, costumes, and lighting by Rauschenberg. Music by La Monte Young. Performed by Carolyn Brown, Cunningham, William Davis, Viola Farber, Barbara (Dilley) Lloyd, and Steve Paxton.

  • Barnes, Clive. “Cunningham’s Chances.” Spectator (London), Aug. 7, 1964, pp. 183–84.
  • Hofmann, Wilfred. “Cologne: Merce Cunningham.” Ballet Today (Surrey, England) 14, no. 16 (Oct. 1964), p. 18.
  • Macaulay, Alastair. “A Stylistic Chameleon Stays in Camouflage.” New York Times, Oct. 29, 2012.
  • Jowitt, Deborah. “Re Winterbranch: The Comment That Grew.” ArtsJournal Blog, Nov. 7, 2012. Accessed on July 1, 2013. http://www.artsjournal.com/dancebeat/2012/11/re-winterbranch-the-comment-that-grew/.

Alex Hay and Robert Rauschenberg, Dredge, Judson Dance Theater, Concert of Dance #14: Improvisations by the Dance Theater, Judson Memorial Church, New York, April 27. Performed by Alex Hay and Rauschenberg. Program also included Deborah Hay’s Untitled Improvisation: Performed by Carolyn Brown, Lucinda Childs, William Davis, Judith Dunn, David Gordon, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Tony Holder, Barbara (Dilley) Lloyd, Steve Paxton, Yvonne Rainer, Rauschenberg, Albert Reid, Carolee Schneemann, Joanne Vischer, and Marilyn Wood.

Merce Cunningham, Museum Event #1, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts, Vienna, June 24. Set, costumes, and lighting by Rauschenberg and Alex Hay. Music by John Cage. Performed by Shareen Blair, Carolyn Brown, Cunningham, William Davis, Viola Farber, Deborah Hay, Barbara Lloyd, Sandra Neels, Steve Paxton, and Albert Reid.

Merce Cunningham, Cross Currents, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London, July 31. Costumes by Cunningham. Lighting by Rauschenberg. Music by Conlon Nancarrow. [Primary sources indicate that costumes may have been done by Rauschenberg, however, this is not believed to be true.]

Robert Rauschenberg, Elgin Tie, Five New York Evenings (Sept. 8–14), Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sept. 13. Music by David Tudor. Performed by Rauschenberg with the assistance of museum staff. Five New York Evenings also included Rauschenberg’s Shot Put (Sept. 13); Alex Hay’s Colorado Plateau (Sept. 13); and Steve Paxton’s Jag vill gärna telefonera (I Would Like to Make a Phone Call) (Sept. 13): Performed by Paxton and Rauschenberg.

  • Hedman, Sten. “Häpp! Här var det happening i konsten.” Expressen (Stockholm), Sept. 1964, p. 7.
  • “Detta är verkligen Rörelse i Konsten: spex pa museum med dräktig ko.” Aftonbladet (Stockholm), Sept. 14, 1964, p. 6.

Robert Rauschenberg, Tango, Sogetsu Art Center, Tokyo, Nov. 20. Performed by Rauschenberg. Music by Junosuke. Program also included Rauschenberg’s Shot Put; Deborah Hay’s Contract: Performed by Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Barbara Lloyd, and Rauschenberg; Steve Paxton’s Carrier: Performed by Paxton; and Alex Hay’s Prairie-For: Performed by Hay.

Robert Rauschenberg, Twenty Questions to Bob Rauschenberg, public dialogue with Yoshiaki Tono, Sogetsu Art Center, Tokyo, Nov. 28. Performed by Rauschenberg with assistance from Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, and Steve Paxton. Rauschenberg responds to questions by creating the Combine Gold Standard on stage.

 

1965

Yvonne Rainer, We Shall Run (3/4) and Parts of Some Sextets, Two Evenings of Modern Dance by Yvonne Rainer, Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut, March 6–7. We Shall Run (3/4): Performed by Lucinda Childs, Sally Gross, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Tony Holder, Robert Morris, Rainer, Rauschenberg, and Joseph Schlichter (March 6). Parts of Some Sextets: Performed by Childs, Judith Dunn, Gross, Deborah Hay, Holder, Morris, Steve Paxton, Rainer, Rauschenberg, and Schlichter (March 6).

Judson Dance Theater, Yvonne Rainer and Robert Morris, Judson Memorial Church, New York, March 23–25. Technical assistance and lighting for all events by Rauschenberg. Sound assistance by Alex Hay. Dances listed in the order of the program. Robert Morris, Check (1964) (March 23, 24): Performed by Marilyn Ackerman, Arakawa, Eleanor Antin, David Antin, Abel Bomberault, Judith Callen, Lucinda Childs, Christo, Kenneth Dallow, William Davis, Susan Elias, Ted Enslin, Madeline Gins, Tom Gormley, Iris Grayson, Rachel Gross, Sally Gross, Sidonia Gross, Mark Hedden, Tony Holder, Joan Jonas, Julie Judd, Michael Kirby, Al Kurchin, Arthur Kushner, Carolyn Lamb, Ro Lee, Leroy Lessane, Jane Loebelson, Larry Loonin, Morris, Joan Parker, John Quinn, Yvonne Rainer, Richard Robbins, Dorothea Rockburne, Enid Schreibman, Susan Streeter, Andy Tatarsky, Laurie Tatarsky, Carolyn Voigt, David White, David Whitney, Christine Williams, Bill Wilson, and Argie Xinos; Yvonne Rainer’s Parts of Some Sextets (March 23, 24, 25): Performed by Childs, Judith Dunn, Sally Gross, Deborah Hay, Holder, Morris, Steve Paxton, Rainer, Rauschenberg, and Joseph Schlichter; Rainer’s New Untitled Partially Improvised Solo with Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (March 25): Performed by Rainer; and Morris’s Waterman Switch (March 25): Performed by Childs, Morris, and Rainer.

Trisha Brown, Rule Game 5 (1964) and Deborah Hay, Victory 14 (1964), Dance Concert I, May 5–7. Part of the First New York Theater Rally, former CBS Studio, Broadway and Eighty-first Street, New York, May 1–26. First New York Theater Rally produced by Steve Paxton and Alan Solomon, sponsored by the Pocket Theater, Rauschenberg, and Surplus Dance Theater. Lighting by Bill Meyer and Jennifer Tipton. Rule Game 5 (1964): Performed by Walter de Maria, Alex Hay, Paxton, Rauschenberg, and Joseph Schlichter. Deborah Hay’s Victory 14 (1964): Performed by Brown, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Tony Holder, Lloyd, Paxton, Rauschenberg, and Robbins.

Robert Rauschenberg, Spring Training, Judson Dance Theater, Dance Concert II, May 11–13. Part of the First New York Theater Rally, former CBS Studio, Broadway and Eighty-first Street, New York, May 1–26. First New York Theater Rally produced by Steve Paxton and Alan Solomon, sponsored by the Pocket Theater, Robert Rauschenberg, and Surplus Dance Theater. Lighting by Bill Meyer and Jennifer Tipton. Sound by Dick Robbins. Spring Training: Performed by Trisha Brown, Viola Farber, Deborah Hay, Barbara (Dilley) Lloyd, Paxton, Christopher Rauschenberg, and Robert Rauschenberg. Subsequent performances: ONCE Again Festival (Sept. 17–19), Maynard Street Parking Structure, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Sept. 18; and Concert for Milwaukee, Milwaukee Art Center, Sept. 23, both performed by Brown, Lucinda Childs, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Paxton, and Robert Rauschenberg. Concert for Milwaukee also included Brown’s Rule Game 5 (1964): Performed by Brown, Childs, Alex Hay, Paxton, and Robert Rauschenberg; and Alex Hay’s Colorado Plateau (1964).

  • Glueck, Grace. “Ballet: Brides and Turtles in Dance Program.” New York Times, May 13, 1965, p. 33.
  • Mekas, Jonas. “Movie Journal.” Village Voice (New York), June 3, 1965, pp. 14 and 18.
  • Abeel, Erica. “Daedalus at the Rollerdrome.” Saturday Review (New York) 48, no. 35 (Aug. 28, 1965), pp. 51–53.
  • Novick, Elizabeth. “Happenings in New York.” Studio International (London) 172, no. 881 (Sept. 1966), pp. 155–59.
  • Johnston, Jill. “Dance Journal: RR.” Village Voice (New York), June 13, 1968, pp. 12–13.

Robert Rauschenberg, N.Y. 172619, Judson Dance Theater, Dark Horse Concert, surprise performances throughout Dance Concert III, May 24–26. Part of the First New York Theater Rally, former CBS Studio, Broadway and Eighty-first Street, New York, May 1–26. First New York Theater Rally produced by Steve Paxton and Alan Solomon, sponsored by the Pocket Theater, Rauschenberg, and Surplus Dance Theater. Lighting by Bill Meyer and Jennifer Tipton. Sound by Dick Robbins, performed by Ed Iverson. Dark Horse Concert also included Deborah Hay’s Fig: Performed by Alex Hay and Rauschenberg; revised version of Paxton’s Flat (1964): Performed by Suzi Gablik and Rauschenberg; revised version of Alex Hay’s Prairie (1963): Performed by Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Barbara (Dilley) Lloyd, Rauschenberg, and Robert Schuler (May 25 only); and Alex Hay’s The Rio Grande: Performed by Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Lloyd, and Rauschenberg (May 26 only). Dance Concert III also included Rauschenberg’s Pelican (1963), and Judith Dunn’s Speed Limit (1963): Performed by Dunn and Robert Rauschenberg.

John Cage, Talk 1, ONCE Again Festival (Sept. 17–19), Maynard Street Parking Structure, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Sept. 19. Sound accompaniment by David Tudor. Performed by Cage and Rauschenberg. Program also included Rauschenberg’s Spring Training (Sept. 18).

Robert Rauschenberg, Map Room [I], Goddard College, Plainfield, Vermont, Nov. 4. Performed by Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Steve Paxton, Rauschenberg, and two student volunteers.

Robert Rauschenberg, Map Room II [revised version of Map Room], New Cinema Festival I [also known as the Expanded Cinema Festival], Film-Makers’ Cinematheque, Forty-first Street Theater, New York, Dec. 1–3 and 16–18. Rauschenberg’s shoes by Arman. Tesla coil by Harold Hodges and Billy Klüver. Technical assistance by Jim Hardy. Performed by Trisha Brown, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Steve Paxton, and Rauschenberg. Subsequent performance: Five Choreographers in Three Dance Concerts, Rollerdrome, Culver City, Calif., April 13, 1966, sponsored by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

  • Johnston, Jill. “Three Theater Events.” Village Voice (New York), Dec. 23, 1965, pp. 11, 25–26.
  • Gruen, John. “Painter Dancing in the Dark.” Sunday Herald Tribune Magazine (New York), Jan. 2, 1966, p. 34.
  • Johnston, Jill. “Dance Journal: RR.” Village Voice (New York), June 13, 1968, pp. 12–13.

 

1966

Steve Paxton, Section of a New Unfinished Work: Augmented, Judson Dance Theater, A Dance Concert of Old and New Works, Judson Memorial Church, New York, Jan. 10–12. On Jan. 10: Performed by Brown, Alex Hay, and Paxton; Jan. 11: Performed by Deborah Hay, Paxton, and Rauschenberg; and Jan. 12: Performed by Brown, Paxton and Rauschenberg.

  • Barnes, Clive. “Dance: Village Disaster.” New York Times, Jan. 11, 1966, p. 20.
  • Morris, Robert. “dance.” Village Voice (New York), Feb. 3, 1966, pp. 8, 24.

Deborah Hay, Serious Duet, Judson Dance Theater, A Concert of Dance by Trisha Brown and Deborah Hay, Judson Memorial Church, New York, March 29–30. Lighting by Neville Powers. Music by Deborah Hay. Performed by Alex Hay and Rauschenberg. Subsequent performance: NOW Festival (April 26–May 1), National Arena roller-skating rink, Washington, D.C., April 29: Performed by Brown, Alex Hay, Rauschenberg, Joseph Schlichter [program mentions the possibility of other participants].

  • Johnston, Jill. “Hay-Brown.” Village Voice (New York), April 7, 1966, p. 13.

Deborah Hay, site specific performance of Hill (1965), the reflecting pool of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Five Choreographers in Three Dance Concerts, April 22. Performed by Deborah Hay, Steve Paxton, and Rauschenberg.

Robert Rauschenberg, Linoleum, NOW Festival (April 26–May 1), National Arena roller-skating rink, Washington, D.C., April 26. Set included projection of Rauschenberg’s film Canoe, and motorized sculptures by Robert Breer. Rauschenberg’s sound-amplifying suit by Cecil Coker. Performed by Simone (Whitman) Forti, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Steve Paxton, and Rauschenberg. Subsequent performance: Spring Gallery 68, Bert Stern’s studio, 342 East Sixty-third Street, New York, May 28, 1968. Performed by Forti, Tony Holder, Julie Martin, Paxton, Rauschenberg, Dorothea Rockburne, and Dick Van Buren. Version for television: 16 mm film, black and white, 20 minutes. Directed by Rauschenberg. Distributed by Centre du Film sur l’Art, Brussels, 1966. Performed by Bob Breer, Trisha Brown, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Paxton, and Rauschenberg. NOW Festival also included Rauschenberg’s Pelican (1963) (April 26), and Deborah Hay’s Serious Duet (April 29).

  • Aarons, Leroy F. “New Theater’s ‘Happening’ Amuses, Angers Audience.” Washington Post, April 27, 1966, sec. B, p. 2.
  • Sherwood, John. “Pop’s Here NOW, and Oh the Plastic Inevitability of It All.” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), April 27, 1966, sec. D, p. 1.
  • Moyano, Maricla. “POP.” Washington Post POTOMAC, June 5, 1966, pp. 26–27, 29, 30, 32, 34.
  • Johnston, Jill. “Dance Journal: RR.” Village Voice (New York), June 13, 1968, pp. 12–13.

Robert Rauschenberg, Open Score, Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.), 9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering, 69th Regiment Armory, New York, Oct. 14 and 23. 9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering organized by Billy Klüver and Rauschenberg. Radio-transmitting tennis rackets for Open Score by Bill Kaminski. Infrared-television system by Bill Hartig, Larry Heilos, and Jim McGee. Performed by Simone (Whitman) Forti, Mimi Kanarek, Christopher Rauschenberg, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, Christine Williams, and around 500 volunteers. Program also included Alex Hay’s Grass Field (Oct. 13 and 22): Performed by Alex Hay, Steve Paxton, and Robert Rauschenberg; Deborah Hay’s Solo (Oct. 13 and 23): Costumes by Letty Lou Eisenhauer. Music by Toshi Ichiyanagi, performed by David Tudor. Dance performed by Olga (Klüver) Adorno, Frances Breer, Lucinda Childs, William Davis, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Margaret Hecht, Ed Iverson, Kathy Iverson, Jim Jardy, Julie Judd, Vernon Lobb, Fujiko Nakaya, Paxton, and Robert Rauschenberg; and Öyvind Fahlström’s Kisses Sweeter Than Wine (Oct. 21 and 22): Performed by Frances Breer, Robert Breer, Eisenhauer, John Glover, Bruce Glushakow, Tom Gormley, Jim Hardy, Ed Iverson, Kosugi, Larry Leitch, Les Levine, Robert Rauschenberg, Bob Schuler, Marjorie Strider, and Ulla Wiggen.

  • Glueck, Grace. “The Sounds that Mushrooms Make.” New York Times, Oct. 2, 1966, p. 141.
  • Gruen, John. “Art Meets Technology.” World Journal Tribune (New York), Oct. 2, 1966, pp. 22, 28, 36.
  • Snyderman, Nat. “Mixing Technology with the Arts.” Electronic News, Oct. 3, 1966, p. 4.
  • Kostelanetz, Richard. “The Artist as Playwright and Engineer.” New York Times Magazine, Oct. 9, 1966, pp. 32–33, 109–10, 114, 119–24.
  • Barnes, Clive. “Dance or Something at the Armory.” New York Times, Oct. 15, 1966, sec. A, p. 33.
  • Snyderman, Nat. “Engineering Goes to the Theatre.” Electronic News, Oct. 17, 1966, p. 6.
  • O’Connor, John. “The Gallery: Art Meets Science.” Wall Street Journal (New York), Oct. 21, 1966, p. 16.
  • Bryant, Gloria. “The Switched-On Theater.” Reporter (Murray Hill, N.J.; Publication of Bell Telephone Laboratories), Nov.–Dec. 1966, pp. 12–17.
  • Hering, Doris. “The Engineers Had All the Fun.” Dance Magazine (New York) 40, no. 12 (Dec. 1966), pp. 36–40.
  • Abeel, Erica. “Armory ’66: Not Quite What We Had in Mind.” Arts Magazine (New York) 41, no. 3 (Dec. 1966–Jan. 1967), pp. 23–24.
  • Klüver, Billy. “Theater and Engineering: An Experiment: 2. Notes by an Engineer.” Artforum (New York) 5, no. 6 (Feb. 1967), pp. 31­–33.
  • Whitman, Simone. “Theater and Engineering: An Experiment: 1. Notes of a Participant.” Artforum (New York) 5, no. 6 (Feb. 1967), pp. 26­–30.

 

1967

Robert Rauschenberg, Outskirts, Body, Loeb Student Center, New York University, March 7. Performance series organized by Jon Gibson, sponsored by the N.Y.U. Education Department. Coordinated by Irving Sandler. Set included projection of Rauschenberg’s film Canoe (1966). Performed by Trisha Brown, Lucinda Childs, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Barbara (Dilley) Lloyd, Yvonne Rainer, and Elaine Sturtevant. Program also included John Giorno’s Raspberry: Performed by Rainer, Rauschenberg, and Peter Schjeldahl.

  • Perrault, John. “No Boundaries.” Village Voice (New York), March 16, 1967, pp. 10–11.

Robert Rauschenberg, Urban Round, Fall Gallery Concerts, School of Visual Arts, New York, Nov. 10 and 19. Performed by Mel Bochner, Sandy Daley, Simone (Whitman) Forti, Susan Hartnett, Deborah Hay, Billy Klüver, Brice Marden, Julie Martin, Steve Paxton, Yvonne Rainer, Christopher Rauschenberg, Robert Rauschenberg, Dorothea Rockburne, Annina Weber, John Weber, and David White.

 

1968

Simone (Whitman) Forti, Pedestals (1961), in a vacant apartment on 200 Park Avenue South, New York, June 7–9. Performed by Forti and Rauschenberg.

 

1971

Trisha Brown, Rummage Sale and the Floor of the Forest, Trisha Brown Dance Company, New York University, Oct. 22. Performed by Jed Bark, Carmen Beuchat, Betty Boulware, Brown, Cynthia Hedstrom Jeff Lew, Penelope Newcomb, Eve Poling, Rauschenberg, Adam Schlichter, and Hisachika Takahashi. [Cast unconfirmed].

 

1973

Robert Rauschenberg, untitled event [Beer Bottle Band], Performance, International Design Conference Aspen, June 19. Unrehearsed group performance with around fifty volunteers in the main conference tent stage.

  • “People,” Time (New York) 102, no. 1 (July 2, 1973), pp. 32–33.

 

1976

Viola Farber, Brazos River, produced for television by the Fort Worth Art Museum and KERA Channel 13, Dallas/Fort Worth. Set and costumes by Rauschenberg. Electronic score by David Tudor. Directed by Dan Parr. Performed by Viola Farber Dance Company members Jumay Chu, Larry Clark, Farber, Willi Feuer, June Finch, Anne Koren, Susan Matheke, Andé Peck, and Jeff Slayton. Previewed at Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, March 28, 1977, and at Galerie Ileana Sonnabend, Paris. Aired on KERA-TV, Dallas/Fort Worth, 1977.

 

1977

Merce Cunningham, Travelogue, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Minskoff Theatre, New York, Jan. 18. Set and costumes by Rauschenberg. Music by John Cage. Performed by Karole Armitage, Ellen Cornfield, Cunningham, Morgan Ensminger, Meg Harper, Chris Komar, Robert Kovich, and Julie Roess-Smith.

  • Goldner, Nancy. “‘Tingling with Alertness’: Merce Cunningham on Broadway.” Christian Science Monitor (Boston), Jan. 27, 1977, p. 23.
  • Greskovic, Robert. “At Long Last Merce.” SoHo Weekly News (New York), Jan. 27. 1977, pp. 28–29.
  • Pierce, Robert J. “Merce, Dancing.” SoHo Weekly News (New York), Jan. 27, 1977, p. 28.

 

1978

Viola Farber, Dandelion, The Viola Farber Dance Company. Costumes by Rauschenberg. Performed by Michael Cichetti, Larry Clark, Farber, Anne Koren, Ed Henry, and Susan Matheke. [Premiere date, venue, and cast are unconfirmed].

 

1979

Trisha Brown, Glacial Decoy, Trisha Brown Dance Company, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, May 7. Set and costumes by Rauschenberg. Lighting by Beverly Emmons. Performed by Brown, Elizabeth Garren, Lisa Kraus, and Nina Lundborg. Version with costumes redesigned by Rauschenberg performed at Marymount Manhattan College Theater, New York, June 20–24.

  • Robertson, Allen. “Minneapolis.” Ballet News (New York), 1, no. 1 (Sept. 1979), p. 42.
  • Thom, Rose Anne. “Trisha Brown; Sandra Genter; Mary Anthony Theatre.” Dance Magazine (New York) 52, no. 9 (Sept. 1979), pp. 116–18, 120.
  • Owens, Craig. “The Pro-Scenic Event.” Art in America (New York) 69, no. 10 (Dec. 1981), pp. 128–33.
  • Winship, Frederick W. “Trisha Brown Company Moves to the Big Time.” Times (Trenton, N.J.), Sept. 27–29, 1985, p. 9.
  • Tobias, Tobi. “Just Saying No.” New York 33, no. 25 (June 26–July 3, 2000), pp. 151–52.
  • Rockwell, John. “The Evolution of Intelligent Design.” New York Times, April 15, 2005.
  • Manko, Vanessa. “In Conversation: Trisha Brown with Vanessa Manko.” Brooklyn Rail (New York), May 1, 2005. Accessed on July 17, 2013. http://www.brooklynrail.org/2005/05/dance/trisha-brown#.
  • Acocella, Joan. “Think Pieces.” New Yorker, May 24, 2010, pp. 78–79.

 

1980

Viola Farber, Tracks, The Viola Farber Dance Company. Costumes by Rauschenberg. Performed by Michael Cichetti, Farber, Robert Foltz, Anne Koren, Karen Levey, Joël Leucht. [Premiere date, venue, and cast are unconfirmed].

 

1983

Trisha Brown, Set and Reset, Trisha Brown Dance Company, Next Wave Festival, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York, Oct. 20. Set and costumes by Rauschenberg. Lighting by Beverly Emmons. Music by Laurie Anderson. Performed by Brown, Irene Hultman, Eva Karczag, Diane Madden, Stephen Petronio, Vicky Shick, and Randy Warshaw.

  • Kisselgoff, Anna. “Dance: Premiere of ‘Set and Reset.’” New York Times, Oct. 23, 1983, p. 62.
  • McEvilley, Thomas. “Freeing Dance from the Web.” Artforum (New York) 22, no. 5 (Jan. 1984), pp. 54–56.
  • A. M., “Trisha Brown, Les chemins de la liberté.” Lyon Matin, Sept. 24, 1990, p. 7.
  • Supree, Burt. “It’s Better with a Band.” Village Voice (New York), Oct. 16, 1990, pp. 95–96.
  • Kendall, Elizabeth. “Trisha Brown Comes Down to Earth.” Dance Ink (New York) 2, no. 1 (April 1991), pp. 17, 19, 22.
  • Sirvin, René. “Trisha Brown: Modern dance traditionnelle.” Reprise (Paris), Dec. 12, 1991, p. 29.
  • Holmes, Ann. “Rauschenberg Ideas Impact Brown’s Program.” Houston Chronicle, March 31, 1998.
  • Rockwell, John. “The Evolution of Intelligent Design.” New York Times, April 15, 2005.
  • Dalva, Nancy. “Slip Sliding Away.” danceviewtimes 3, no. 15 (April 18, 2005). Accessed on July 18, 2013. http://danceviewtimes.com/2005/Spring/02/brown.htm.
  • Lobenthal, Joel. “Concept Versus Content At ‘Fall for Dance.’” New York Sun, Oct. 2, 2006, pp. 11, 14.
  • Seaver, Michael. “Devising a Chaotic World for Dance to Live In.” Irish Times (Dublin), May 16, 2012.

 

1987

Trisha Brown, Lateral Pass (1985), Trisha Brown Dance Company. Substitute set, costumes, and lighting provided by Rauschenberg for the performance at the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples, Jan. 2. Performed by Jeffrey Axelrod, Lance Gries, Irene Hultman, Carolyn Lucas, Diane Madden, Stephen Petronio, Lisa Schmidt, and Randy Warshaw.

 

1989

Trisha Brown, Astral Convertible, Trisha Brown Dance Company, New York City Center, March 14. Set and costumes by Rauschenberg. Technical supervision and lighting design by Ken Tabachnick. Music by Richard “Dickie” Landry. Set, sound, and lighting assistance by Billy Klüver and Per Biorn. Performed by Lance Gries, Nicole Juralewitz, Gregory Lara, Carolyn Lucas, Diane Madden, Lisa Schmidt, Shelley Senter, Wil Swanson, and David Thomson. Preview held at Cultural Palace, Moscow, Feb. 1–4 as part of Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange/ROCI MOSCOW.

  • Acocella, Joan. “Tripping the Light.” Connoisseur (New York) (March 1989), p. 30.
  • Dunning, Jennifer. “A Set to Upstage the Dancers.” New York Times, March 14, 1989, sec. C, p. 17.
  • Kisselgoff, Anna. “Brave New World of Movement-Activated Sound.” New York Times, March 16, 1989, sec. C, p. 20.
  • Anderson, Jack. “Creating Theatrical Worlds for Dancers to Inhabit.” New York Times, March 26, 1989, sec. H, p. 6.
  • Kertess, Klaus. “Trisha Brown in Moscow.” Ballet Review (New York) 17, no. 4 (Winter 1990), pp. 69–72.
  • Griffin, Tim. “Trisha Brown: Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts.” Artforum (New York) 42, no. 4 (Dec. 2003), p. 142.
  • Perron, Wendy. “Trisha Brown, the Artist’s Dance Partner.” New York Times, Jan. 11, 2004, sec. AR, p. 4.
  • Rockwell, John. “The Evolution of Intelligent Design.” New York Times, April 15, 2005.
  • Parker, Hilary. “Defying Gravity.” Windsor-Hights Herald (Hightstown, N.J.), Sept. 15, 2005.
  • Piettre, Céline. “Montpellier Dance Festival Welcomes Trisha Brown Dance Company.” Blouin Artinfo, June 26, 2013. Accessed on July 18, 2013.
  • Biorn, Per. “First-Hand: The Saga of ‘Astral Convertible.’” IEEE Global History Network, July 22, 2014.

 

1990

Trisha Brown, Foray Forêt, Trisha Brown Dance Company, Biennale de la Danse, Lyon, Sept. 22. Set and costumes by Rauschenberg. Lighting by Spencer Brown. Music performed by Fanfare Piston de l’École Centrale de la Ville de Lyon. Dance performed by Trisha Brown, Lance Gries, Nicole Juralewicz, Gregory Lara, Carolyn Lucas, Diane Madden, Lisa Schmidt, Shelley Senter, Wil Swanson, and David Thomson.

  • Supree, Burt. “It’s Better with a Band.” Village Voice (New York), Oct. 16, 1990, pp. 95–96.
  • Dunning, Jennifer. “Trisha Brown Offers Quiet Contradictions.” New York Times, March 8, 1991, sec. C, p. 5.
  • Tobias, Tobi. “Room of One’s Own.” New York 20, no. 14 (April 8, 1991), pp. 99–100.
  • Sirvin, René. “Trisha Brown, Modern dance traditionnelle.” Reprise (Paris), Dec. 12, 1991, p. 29.
  • Ulrich, Allan. “Trisha Brown: Architect of Dance.” Examiner (Oakland), April 3, 1993, sec. C, pp. 1, 5.
  • Kourlas, Gia. “Hip hip Foray!” Time Out (New York), Jan. 30, 2008, p. 82.

 

1991

Trisha Brown, Astral Converted (50"), Trisha Brown Dance Company, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., May 14. Set by Rauschenberg (reused from Astral Convertible [1989]). Music by John Cage. Performed by Liz Carpenter, Lance Gries, Nicole Juralewicz, Gregory Lara, Diane Madden, Trish Oesterling, Lisa Schmidt, Wil Swanson, and David Thomson.

  • Kriegsman, Alan M. “‘Astral’: Starry Night.” Washington Post, May 15, 1991, sec. B, pp. 1, 13.
  • Pierce, Anne. “Avant-Garde Genius on the Mall: Trisha Brown, Robert Rauschenberg, John Cage.” Washington Review 17, no. 1 (June–July 1991), p. 3.
  • Berman, Janice. “A Twinkling Conversion.” Newsday (New York), July 9, 1991, pp. 49, 72.
  • Friedman, Kim. “Astral Converted (50") Premieres in Nation’s Capital.” Dance/USA (Washington, D.C.) 9, no. 1 (Summer 1991), p. 6.
  • Kisselgoff, Anna. “Pure Movement as Art: High Tech but Human.” New York Times, May 3, 1993, sec. C, p. 20.
  • Kourlas, Gia. “Trisha Brown Dance Company Revives the Dance Astral Converted at the Park Avenue Armory.” Time Out (New York), June 20, 2012.
  • Seibert, Brian. “From the Darkness, Silvery Bodies Shimmer Like Tinsel in the Night.” New York Times, July 11, 2012.

 

1994

Trisha Brown, If you couldn’t see me, Trisha Brown Dance Company, Joyce Theater, New York, May 3. Costume and music by Rauschenberg. Lighting by Spencer Brown. Performed by Brown.

  • Anderson, Jack. “Facing the Music or Backing Away from It.” New York Times, June 5, 1994, sec. 2, p. 8.
  • Kisselgoff, Anna. “Trisha Brown Choreographs with a Painterly Eye.” New York Times, May 5, 1994, sec. C, p. 18.
  • Berman, Janice. “Trisha Brown Makes a Team with Bach.” Newsday (New York), July 21, 1995, Part 2, p. 25.
  • Roca, Octavio. “Solo Tease and Deadpan Bach.” San Francisco Chronicle, Feb. 10, 1996, sec. E, p. 3.
  • Rockwell, John. “The Evolution of Intelligent Design.” New York Times, April 15, 2005.
  • Dalva, Nancy. “Slip Sliding Away.” danceviewtimes 3, no. 15 (April 18, 2005). Accessed on July 18, 2013, http://danceviewtimes.com/2005/Spring/02/brown.htm.
  • Manko, Vanessa. “In Conversation: Trisha Brown with Vanessa Manko.” Brooklyn Rail (New York), May 1, 2005. Accessed on July 18, 2013. http://www.brooklynrail.org/2005/05/dance/trisha-brown#.
  • Sulcas, Roslyn. “Graceful Movements in a Fog, or Just an Illusion.” New York Times, April 10, 2010.
  • O’Connell, Kathleen. “Brownian Motion.” danceviewtimes, April 13, 2010. Accessed on July 18, 2013. http://www.danceviewtimes.com/2010/04/brownian-motion.html.

Merce Cunningham, Events, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Joyce Theater, New York, Sept. 13. Set by Rauschenberg, painting Immerse (used for all subsequent versions of Events). Performed by Merce Cunningham Dance Company.

  • Anderson, Jack. “Cunningham’s Event Is Now Thirty.” New York Times, Sept. 15, 1994, sec. C, p. 15.
  • Mazo, Joseph H. “Fusing Time, Space, Movement; Merce Cunningham’s Choreography Is an Event.” Record (Bergen, N.J.), Sept. 15, 1994, sec. C, p. 9.
  • Craine, Debra. “New Tricks from an Old Dog.” Times (London), Oct. 30, 1995, p. 14.
  • Kisselgoff, Anna. “A Polymorphic Event by Merce Cunningham.” New York Times, Feb. 8, 1996, sec. C, p. 17.
  • Jowitt, Deborah. “Dual Nature.” Village Voice (New York), Feb. 27, 1996, p. 81.

 

1995

Trisha Brown, You can see us, Trisha Brown Dance Company, Jacques Coeur Palace (courtyard), Montpellier, France, June 28. Costumes and music by Rauschenberg. Lighting by Spencer Brown. Performed by Trisha Brown and Bill T. Jones.

  • Kisselgoff, Anna. “Doing a Mirror Dance, Backs to the Glass.” New York Times, Oct. 3, 1996, sec. C, pp. 1, 6.
  • Gold, Sylvanie. “With All Eyes Glued on Baryshnikov.” Newsday (New York), Oct. 3, 1996, sec. B, pp. 1, 11.

 

1997

Trisha Brown, Accumulation with Talking Plus Repertory, Trisha Brown Dance Company, The Kitchen, New York, Jan. 28. Costumes by Burt Barr. Sound by Jim Dawson. Music by: Rauschenberg (If you couldn’t see me), Laurie Anderson (Set and Reset), John Cage (Astral Converted), Alvin Curran (For M.G.: The Movie), Webern (Twelve Ton Rose), and Peter Zummo (Newark). Performed by Brown, Kathleen Fisher, Diane Madden, Stanford Makishi, Mariah Maloney, Gena Rho, Wil Swanson, Keith Thompson, Abigail Yager, and Ming Lung Yang.

 

2000

Merce Cunningham, Interscape, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Eisenhower Theater, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C., April 5. Set and costumes by Rauschenberg. Lighting by Aaron Copp. Music by John Cage. Performed by Cédric Andrieux, Lisa Boudreau, Ashley Chen, Holley Farmer, Maydelle Fason, David Kulick, Koji Mizuta, Matthew Mohr, Banu Ogan, Daniel Squire, Jeannie Steele, Derry Swan, Robert Swinston, and Cheryl Therrien.

  • Kaufman, Sarah. “Cunningham’s Abstract Friends.” Washington Post, April 8, 2000, sec. C, pp. 1, 8.
  • Kisselgoff, Anna. “Multihued Creatures Afoot with John Cage.” New York Times, April 10, 2000, sec. E, p. 5.
  • Jackson, George. “Still Modern After All These Years.” Dance Magazine 74, no. 7 (July 2000), p. 58.
  • Macaulay, Alastair. “Masters of Colourful Illusion.” Financial Times (London), Oct. 7–8, 2000.
  • Kisselgoff, Anna. “Tucking Into a Blue-Plate Premiere.” New York Times, April 5, 2001.
  • Jowitt, Deborah. “Brilliant Tranquillity.” Village Voice (New York), April 10, 2001.
  • Tobias, Tobi. “The Three Amigos.” New York 34, no. 16 (April 23, 2001), pp. 146–47.
  • Finch, Charlie. “We Three.” artnet.com. Accessed on July 27, 2009. www.artnet.com/magazineus/features/finch/merce-cunningham7-27-09.asp.

 

2002

Trisha Brown, It’s a Draw, Trisha Brown Dance Company, Théâtre du Hangar, Montpellier, France, July 1. Music by Rauschenberg (If you couldn’t see me). Costume by Rumiana Jakov. Performed by Brown.

 

2007

Merce Cunningham, XOVER, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Dartmouth College, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hanover, New Hampshire, Oct. 5. Set and costumes by Rauschenberg (set adapted from the painting Plank (Scenario) [2003]). Lighting by Josh Johnson. Music by John Cage. Performed by Jonah Bokaer, Lisa Boudreau, Brandon Collwes, Julie Cunningham, Emma Desjardins, Holley Farmer, Jennifer Goggans, Daniel Madoff, Rashaun Mitchell, Marcie Munnerlyn, Daniel Squire, and Andrea Weber.

  • Macaulay, Alastair. “By Twos: From Privacy to Fusion in a Cunningham Duet.” New York Times, Oct. 9, 2007, sec. E, p. 5.
  • Craine, Debra. “Merce Cunningham at the Barbican.” Times (London), Oct. 2, 2008.