The Curve Foundation Dance Company

A first for a Scottish Company

Musselburgh-based The Curve Foundation Dance Company has become the first Scottish company to perform a piece by legendary New York choreographer Merce Cunningham and toured across Scotland from 25 March until 30 April 2005 with an exciting mixed programme.

The pieces performed included the Scottish Première of Merce Cunningham’s influential piece SIGNALS, originally created in 1970 and performed to scores by John Cage.  This was the first time the piece has been performed in the UK for many years.

Merce Cunningham - legendary 20th century choreographer

Merce Cunningham hailed by many as ‘the giant of modern dance’, is one of the most influential figures of 20th century modern dance. Cunningham, born in 1919 in the USA, received his initial dance training at the Cornish School in Seattle; from 1939 to 1945 he was a soloist with Martha Graham Dance Company.

In 1953 he formed the Merce Cunningham Dance Company at Black Mountain College with his life-long partner and composer John Cage, and has since choreographed nearly 200 works for his company.  His works have been presented by some of the world's leading dance companies such as New York City Ballet, White Oak Project and Rambert Dance Company, to mention a few.

Cunningham’s choreography relies neither on music or design for inspiration; the three components are made in isolation, and often first come together in performance. The only thing they have in common is that they are made at the same time. His choreography is often the result of chance, the movement options selected at random.

Cunningham has worked extensively in film and video.  As an experimenter, despite being in his eighties, Cunningham was one of the first major choreographers to use computer technology, creating movement sequences on screen before using them on his dancers.  His influence on other choreographers has been tremendous.

The Curve Foundation Dance Company was founded in 1998 by Scottish dancer/choreographer Ross Cooper, and has established itself as one of Scotland’s most interesting young repertory dance companies.  Curve presents modern and innovative dance by a variety of choreographers – including Cooper himself and the late Peter Darrell, exploring different movement textures, often pushing the dancers to great extremes.

With dancers from traditional and modern backgrounds, the cast of six exceptional dancers included company regulars Soraya Ham, who recently performed with Matthew Hawkins, and Catherine Pearmain, newcomers Jurriaan Loos from Amsterdam and Christophe Carpentier from Brussels. Cooper always aims to present work that shows off his exquisite dancers at their best and is exciting, sleek and sexy, but always fun and accessible.

Ross Cooper, originally from Dunbar, trained in London and in Lausanne at the Rudra Bejart Ballet School, Switzerland. He has worked with the Royal Opera Ballet, Bejart Ballet Lausanne, PACT Ballet (South Africa), David Massingham Dance, The X-Factor and Adventures in Motion Pictures.

Since August 2004 the Curve Foundation has been dance company in residence at the Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, where they hold reharsals and premiered their new work.

Spring 2005 programme also included new work by... Portugal’s rising star Rui Graca including the World Première of SAVALIANA, and the UK Première of POISON (A piece for 7 dancers performed at the Brunton Theatre only). The company brought back Rui Graca’s FIRST DRAFT (2000) and Henri Oguike’s 2002 piece VIOLET. For more information on the company visit Curve Foundation Dance Company website.

Supported by the National Lottery through Scottish Arts Council