Chance and Circumstance

Carolyn Brown's book is a personal account of her dance career as a member of the Merce Cunningham dance troupe. It's a very enjoyable book to read, full of her reactions to the important people and events in her life. It does not attempt to be scholarly, and sometimes I wish it were a bit more detailed.

What interests me most about the book is hearing a dancer talk about dancing; what makes her do it, what the ups and downs are, performing versus training, her views on other dancers and choreographers, touring, etc.

What impresses me about Brown and the other Cunningham dancers is how disciplined they were for so little worldly reward. They endured many years of critical disparagement and poverty as they rehearsed with almost military intensity. Their devotion to their art surely must be an example to the rest of us.

Thanks for the book, Carolyn.

And now I want to see the dances themselves!