Category Archives: Uncategorized

Dave Van Ronk–DOWN IN WASHINGTON SQUARE

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Rolling Stone calls Dave Van Ronk (1936-2002) a “Greenwich Village folk-blues-jazz institution.” He has recently had a resurgence in popularity as the inspiration for the title character of the Coen Brothers’ INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS. This song, “St. James Infirmary” was originally on his 1959 album GAMBLER’S BLUES. Here is a 1997 performance of the song by Ronk, recently released in the 2013 retrospective album DOWN IN WASHINGTON SQUARE.

Source:
David Browne “Meet the Folk Singer who Inspired ‘Inside Llewyn Davis.” Rolling Stone 2013 http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/meet-the-folk-singer-who-inspired-inside-llewyn-davis-20131202

Merce Cunningham

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cunningham

Born in 1919 and still dancing at 90 in 2009 when he died, Merce Cunningham changed the face of abstract and modern dance. He began choreographing in 1943, and didn’t stop until 2009, just months before his death. He became a dancer of the Beat Generation; instead of evoking change through literature, he did it through dance. Merce established the concept of “choreography by chance” with which he would randomly select the movements to be used in his various works. He also freed his choreography of any concept of cause and effect, storyline, and emotional or psychological connection. He believed the movement should be free of the music, and his dancers sometimes didn’t hear the score until the dress rehearsal or the first performance. Cunningham freed dance of many things and focused on the movements themselves. His dancers weren’t pretending to be anything but themselves. He once said, “you are not necessarily at your best, but at your most human.” (PBS).

~Kendall Reasons

Sources: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/merce-cunningham/a-lifetime-of-dance/566/

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/146610/Merce-Cunningham

Image: https://www.artsjournal.com/tobias/2012/01/one-last-time.html

The Living Theatre (founded in 1946)

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The Living Theatre (founded in 1946)

The Livings Theatre is an experimental theatre group that was founded by Judith Malina and Julian Beck. They are influenced by the writing of Antonin Artaud and their works often promote Anarchist and Pacifist thinking. Their 1959 production of THE CONNECTION, a play about jazz and heroin addiction, gained them national fame. Their most famous piece is arguably their 1968 piece PARADISE NOW. Click on the image to see an excerpt from this production.