Lyon Opera Ballet (France)Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels: Merce Cunningham Forever – Beach Birds/BIPED

UK Premiere. Lyon Opera Ballet presents the UK premiere of Merce Cunningham Forever with two seminal pieces Beach Birds and BIPED, exploring the idea of transfiguration. Cunningham’s Beach Birds was created in 1991 and is the result of his long, fruitful partnership with composer John Cage. A work for eleven dancers, the rhythm for Beach Birds was much more fluid than other Cunningham dances, so that the sections could differ in length from performance to performance. Created in 1999 just after Cunningham’s 80th birthday, BIPED features music by Gavin Bryars for his 15 dancers. Working with two of these dancers, he choreographed 70 phrases that were transposed into digital images. A combination of solos, duets, trios, and ensemble dances are performed live alongside these projections and digital artwork.