Monograph in the form of an extended interview between Merce Cunningham and Jacqueline Lesschaeve. "In The Dancer and the Dance Merce Cunningham talks with great modesty and charm about many aspects of the development of his art as dancer and choreographer, from his debt to early teachers and the contributions of particular members of his company, to the complex and unusual structuring of principles employed in individual pieces, the merits of various forms of dance notation and the role of video in his latest work. The emphasis is very much on collaboration, revealing a great deal about his work with painters and composers such as John Cage, Robert Rauschenberg, David Tudor, Jasper Johns, and Morris Graves. For Cunningham 'the three arts don't come from a single idea which the dance demonstrates, the music supports and the decor illustrates, but rather they are three separate elements, each central to itself..' The Dancer and the Dance is comprehensively illustrated with photographs of the dances and choreographic drawings. It also contains a complete list of Cunningham's choreographies with full production details and dancers up to 1985." -- from interior flap.