The dancer turned choreographer on gender, her new company, and the highs and lows of working with Merce Cunningham In September 2016, Julie Cunningham became the first recipient of the Leverhulme choreography fellowship, which helps professional dancers to become full-time working choreographers. Cunningham trained at the Rambert school, then spent 10 years dancing for Merce Cunningham (no relation) in New York before returning to Britain to join Michael Clark’s company, where her performances won her a Critics’ Circle award. This week, at the Barbican in London, she launches her own four-strong company with a choreographic double bill, _To Be Me_. CAN YOU TELL ME HOW THE NEW WORK CAME ABOUT? The first piece is set to a recording of poetry read by Kate Tempest. I saw her perform at Glastonbury in 2015, and when I got home I bought the audiobook of her collection _Hold Your Own_, a reworking of the ancient Greek myth of Tiresias. I loved its rhythm, Kate’s voice, and the way she used her breath. I knew a bit about Tiresias, that he was turned into a woman for seven years by the gods, and then blinded but given the gift of insight. I liked the idea of changing from one sex to another. Of knowing what it’s like to be another. Continue reading...
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