The era of modern dance signaled a time when people were experimenting with the components of dance. Modern dance began to become respected through the United States, a new respect for the dancer who tried to express themselves as individuals. A man named Merce Cunningham pushed the limits of experimentation and asked new questions of what dance is and what we should expect it be. He removed the emotion of the dance, which was considered radical for his time. He was at the forefront of the avant-garde.
Merce had quite a different background than most modern dancers. He was born in Centralia, Washington where he grew up studying tap, folk and ballroom dancing. He enrolled in the Cornish School of Fine and Applied Arts in Seattle in 1937. There he studied with Bonnie Bird and met John Cage, the musician he would eventually collaborate with. He went on to join Martha Graham's company in 1940 and danced with her for five years. During this time, Merce studied at The School of American Ballet, something most modern dancers never did. John Cage moved to New York and collaborated with Cunningham to produce some solos. His first solo performance was in 1944 with Cage on stage playing piano. Shortly after is when he left the Martha Graham Company and experimented with his own group of dancers. .
Because Merce studied different dance styles, this opened the magnitude of movements he created. His company's dance style is lucid and flows like ballet. He also opened his creative boundaries by choreographing for the Ballet Society, the Paris Opera Ballet and staged work for American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet.
Cunningham's choreographic style is what set him apart from other modern dancers. He used theories of chance while creating his choreography. With Merce, movement was the main subject matter. He removed all that was considered essential to dance. His dances contained no story line, no narrative.