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| Dance great Cunningham dies at 90 | Dance great Cunningham dies at 90 |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| US choreographer Merce Cunningham, widely recognised for revolutionising modern dance, has died aged 90. | US choreographer Merce Cunningham, widely recognised for revolutionising modern dance, has died aged 90. |
| A statement from the Cunningham Dance Foundation said the New York-based dancer "died peacefully in his home of natural causes" on Sunday. | A statement from the Cunningham Dance Foundation said the New York-based dancer "died peacefully in his home of natural causes" on Sunday. |
| He formed the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in 1953 and choreographed nearly 200 works for it. | He formed the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in 1953 and choreographed nearly 200 works for it. |
| Although he used a wheelchair by the end of his career, Cunningham danced on stage right into his 80s. | Although he used a wheelchair by the end of his career, Cunningham danced on stage right into his 80s. |
| The statement said he "revolutionised the visual and performing arts, not for the sake of iconoclasm, but for the beauty and wonder that lay in exploring new possibilities". | The statement said he "revolutionised the visual and performing arts, not for the sake of iconoclasm, but for the beauty and wonder that lay in exploring new possibilities". |
| 'Great artist' | |
| Judith Fishman, chairman of the Cunningham Dance Foundation, said: "Merce was an artistic maverick and the gentlest of geniuses. | Judith Fishman, chairman of the Cunningham Dance Foundation, said: "Merce was an artistic maverick and the gentlest of geniuses. |
| "We have lost a great man and a great artist, but we celebrate his extraordinary life, his art, and the dancers and the artists with whom he worked." | "We have lost a great man and a great artist, but we celebrate his extraordinary life, his art, and the dancers and the artists with whom he worked." |
| Cunningham formed his own dance company in 1953 | |
| In April, Cunningham celebrated his 90th birthday with the premiere of new work Nearly Ninety - set to new music from Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones and Sonic Youth - at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, in New York. | |
| Last month, Cunningham set up The Living Legacy Plan, aimed at continuing his teachings in the future. | |
| As part of the plan, Cunningham's work is to celebrated by his company with a two-year world tour culminating in a final performance in New York. | |
| Toss of coin | |
| Born just after World War I in a small town near Seattle, Cunningham loved to dance as a child. | |
| From 1939 to 1945, he was a soloist in the company of Martha Graham, regarded at the time as one of the foremost pioneers of modern dance. | |
| He presented his first New York solo concert in April 1944, with music from composer John Cage, who became his life partner and frequent collaborator until Cage's death in 1992. | |
| The dance company is a group of 14 performers | |
| In a radical move, the couple decided to end the traditional marriage of movement and music, saying that both arts should exist independently even when sharing the same space. | |
| Cunningham also abandoned conventional storytelling through ballet to focus entirely on the poetry of dance. | |
| He even tossed coins or threw dice to determine steps, saying the use of chance was "a present mode of freeing my imagination from its own cliches". | |
| He was hugely admired by other dancers and worked with visual artists such as Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol. | |
| Cunningham's work has been presented by the New York City Ballet, Zurich Ballet and the Rambert Dance Company among others. | |
| Among the accolades he received over his long career included the Kennedy Center Honors in 1985 and the National Medal of Arts in 1990. |