The Jerome Robbins Dance Division is proud to announce that the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Inc, records, Additions is now open. This collection is 141.44 linear feet comprising 315 boxes, 41 tubes and 116.1 gigabytes of electronic records and digitized content.  

Merce Cunningham (1919-2009) was a dancer, choreographer, and founder of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. The Cunningham Dance Foundation was established in 1964 to support the company and advance Cunningham’s work. This collection holds administrative files, company management and technical files, development files, and repertory files, as well as publicity materials, programs and photographs. This collection came to the Library as part of the Cunningham Dance Foundation’s Legacy Plan which addressed how the company could transition to a post-founder existence and to ensure his creative legacy. This material complements an earlier acquisition that came to the Library in 2001 titled the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, Inc. records which is 43 linear feet and 84 boxes.  

Additionally, we would like to announce that another important Cunningham collection, the Merce Cunningham Dance Company Choreographic records, were also recently processed. The Choreographic records contain materials relating to over 100 of Cunningham's original works. These primarily reflect pieces created for the Company, but there are some notes relating to Cunningham's early compositions created between 1942-1952. The Choreographic records require permission of the Trust for access.

These three large paper collections comprise the Merce Cunningham Archive, along with moving image and audio materials that are being individually cataloged. As they are cataloged, these audio and moving image items are being made available to patrons at the library.

Lea Jordan, who processed the Additions, described the process. 

“When the records arrived, they consisted of over 100 large boxes of material as well as a computer hard drive and over 200 floppy and compact disks. The hard drive and the disks were forensically imaged for preservation. After that step, I was able to consider the collection as a whole unit in order to identify the way the records were created and used together. 

“Processing the collection was rewarding and informative. While I was familiar with Cunningham’s work, I was unaware of his specific approach to the creative process. In the artists’ files, I discovered his requests for art or a backdrop—giving the artist free rein to create whatever they saw fit without knowing anything about the dance it would accompany. His work “EyeSpace” required the audience to bring their own iPod (or borrow one) and shuffle music at random while viewing the performance. His focus on collaboration through chance is well documented in these records."