Lyon Opera Ballet: Merce Cunningham Forever at Sadler’s Wells

Pioneering choreographer Merce Cunningham’s work will “forever” be revered. The Van Cleef & Arpels Dance Reflections festival has brought two of his works back to life performed by the Lyon Opera Ballet at Sadler’s Wells.

Merce Cunningham began as a dancer with the pioneering Martha Graham Dance Company and went on to become a much-admired choreographer in his own right. Londoners had the opportunity to see a double bill of his works created in the nineties: Beach Birds (1991) and Biped (1999) - contrasting pieces which showcase beautifully Cunningham’s work.

Ballet Opera Lyon, Biped, Image Credit Agathe Poupeney.

Unlike “Giselle” or most ballets by George Balanchine that come round often enough for many people to feel acquainted with them (indeed it was part of the Dance Reflections program), few people have the chance to become truly familiar with any of Cunninghams repertory so its inclusion in the Dance Reflections was a master stroke.  

His 1991 Beach Birds is the result of his long, fruitful partnership with composer John Cage. They shared a home and a deeply intertwined creative life based on mutual respect, curiosity, and a commitment to experimentation. Beach Birds begins with the dancers posed wearing minimalist form fitting unitards which were predominantly white except for the black colour along the entire length of the arms (including hands)and across the top of their chests which created a stark effect against the stage backdrop. The backdrop transforms from pinkish blue to a sun setting orange over the course of the dance. Beach Birds is inspired by the organic yet abstract motions of birds. At times the choreography seems deliberately unballetic and rebels against any flowing balletic movements with avian head twitches, fluttering birdwing-like hand movements and hopping you will recognise from birds on the beach who have chosen to hop instead of fly. The musical score by John Cage uses silence and sustained tones and delicate and almost imperceptible sounds which complements the abstract choreography without dictating its rhythm or structure. I could not garner a purpose for Beach Birds but viewed it as more of a study of movement rather than a direct attempt to mimic the movement of birds. It was an enjoyable and mesmerising watch.

In comparison to Beach Birds, Biped felt like a huge leap into the future. The additions of digital and hologram “magic” felt as equally important in this piece as the dancer’s choreography.  

Ballet Opera Lyon, Biped, Image Credit Agathe Poupeney.

When Biped premiered in 1999 it was met with critical acclaim and intrigue, reinforcing Cunningham’s reputation as a pioneer of avant-garde choreography. The blend of human movement and digital imagery was ahead of its time, so much so, a younger audience viewing Biped today would be as equally impressed as its original audience.

The beginning of Biped begins with multiple irregularly spaced vertical lines across the stage which unobtrusively do everything from subtly moving sideways, to a single line changing colour or sinking into the ground and disappearing, all while managing to strikingly frame the dancers on stage. Horizontal lines arrive later moving up and down reminding one of televisions of old as they were about to go on the blink. Sounds irritating, doesn’t it? But it wasn’t at all. It is just me trying to describe the indescribable.

Curiosity got the better of me and I researched how the animated moving line figures in the performance came into being. By collaborating with Kaiser and Eshkar, Cunningham used his dancers to perform movements while wearing motion capture sensors. These movements were then transformed into ethereal images of the human form and transformed into abstract, shapes and ghostly line figures that are projected onto an invisible thin cloth at the front of the stage. The projections sometimes mirrored the dancers at other times resembled more fragmented human forms or purely geometric shapes. There was a moment when the figures loomed large and slightly elevated above the dancers, and unexpectedly there were moments you could feel an emotional connection between the moving giant size ciphers and the dancerscreating an ethereal almost dreamlike atmosphere. Dancers would appear and disappear out of nowhere deep into the blackness at the back of the stage.

Ballet Opera Lyon, Biped, Image Credit Agathe Poupeney.

The colourful holographic effect on the costumes by Suzanne Gallo is a simple stroke of genius. Subtly reflecting light and a sense of modernity. Each costume varied slightly but were snug on the body visually allowing the audience to appreciate the dancer’s movement. In the latter part of the dance the costumes have an extra loose layer which added softness and movement to the choreography.

As a lover of contemporary dance, I will admit his avantgarde style of dance is not for everyone. I hesitate to mention it, but I saw a solo performance by the man himself (ahem, decades ago) at Riverside Studio and it was hard work, but this double bill was a joy and privilege to see. The performance of the Lyon Opera ballet dancers absolutely did justice to Merce Cunningham’s seminal works.

Overall the harmonious marriage of the choreography, digital projections, costumes and music by Gavin Bryars (partly recorded and partly played live) gives audiences as a near perfect contemporary dance performance as you could hope for.

Merce Cunningham Forever was performed at Sadler’s Wells on 19th and 20th March as part of the contemporary dance festival Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels, which continues across London until 8th April 2025.

Review by Natascha Milsom