Choreographing Chance

Abstract

Space moves with the body in the flow of time, becomes open to new possibilities, transforms and belongs to each other. The daily life of the city provides the environment in which this relationship is most obvious and diverse. The body can create space through cause and effect, but it can also completely break the connection inbetween. The unpredictability of the body is the most important factor in this.

Merce Cunningham's dance choreographies have been identified as a valuable basis for discussing the random spaces created by the body. Integrating elements of randomness, Cunningham often used dice rolls to determine the sequence and structure of movements, decoupling dance from traditional musical and spatial constraints. In this context the research question of the study is: “Which forms of relationship between body and space can be explored in the context of randomness through Merce Cunningham's dance?”. The study aims to investigate the variables within the randomly created space.

A total of 204 dances were examined on the official website of ‘Merce Cunningham Trust’, where Cunningham's dances were listed, of which 43 contained a random relationship. The extraction of detailed data about the space proved impossible, resulting in the elimination of 15 of them. The examination of 28 dances revealed a relationship between randomness and the spatial approach, leading to the identification of four distinct categories:  Polytemporal spatialities, disjunctive simultaneities, autonomous co-presence and relational choreoscapes. These forms of relationship are also expected to provide insight into random spatial formations in daily life.