Merce Cunningham and the Modernizing of Modern Dance

is a complete study of the life and work of this seminal choreographer/dancer. More than just a biography, Copeland explores Cunningham's life story against a backdrop of an entire century of developments in American art.

Copeland traces his own experience of Cunningham's dances - from the turbulent late 60s through the experimental works of the 80s and 90s - showing how Cunningham moved dance away from the highly emotional, subjective work of Martha Graham to a return to a new kind of classicism.

This book places Cunningham in the forefront of an artistic revolution, a revolution that has its parallels in music (John Cage, and the minimalist composers who followed him), painting (Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg), theater (the happenings of the 60s), and dance itself (the Judson School of dancers).

An iconoclastic and highly readable analysis, this book will be enjoyed by all those interested in the development of the American arts in the 20th century.