The notion for this site started with the Merce Cunningham Trust’s “Centennial Blog,” which I wrote during the many vibrant activities of that marvelous year. But it also springs from my urge to publish a collection of my writing about Merce’s work. The idea of a book—something held in the hand—something tangible, tactile—was very alluring.

And yet: limited. It would exist on the shelf. It would require acquisition. It would restrict the kind and number of photos. There could be no video or film. What could people see?

Hence this site, THE WAY OF MERCE, which lives in the ether, instantly translatable. (See the top of every page). It is not finite. For me, it does not close the door on Merce. It opens possibilities. And it recognizes that dance, as Merce himself said, is a visual art. My writing practice has always been ekphrastic—and here, I can hold images and words in equilibrium.

I fell in love with Merce Cunningham’s work when I was sixteen years old and saw “How To Pass, Kick, Fall, and Run” here in New York City at the Hunter College Playhouse. And I also fell in love with James Klosty’s early collection of Cunningham company photos. These showed not only the work, but the lives behind the work. I tumbled down a rabbit hole where I have lived often and delightedly ever since.

The Cunningham Archivist David Vaughan titled one of his essays “Retrospect and Prospect.” As I bring the past into the present, these views seem one and the same. As they are here, in the perpetual now where we meet.

Nancy Dalva
New York City
December 2024