VIDEO: Preview The Merce Cunningham Centennial Coming 4/17 to BAM

The Joyce celebrates the centenary of Merce Cunningham, "one of the great iconoclasts in 20th-century art" (The New York Times), who would have turned 100 this year.

Three superb companies perform masterworks from the artist's vast repertory, each danced to live music. Compagnie CNDC-Angers/Robert Swinston presents "Suite for Five," with its quiet unmoving center; Ballet West dances the classic "Summerspace," which evokes enormous landscapes filled with motion; and The Washington Ballet returns with "Duets," a sophisticated and abstract work for six couples.

Over the span of his 70-year career, choreographer Merce Cunningham developed a repertoire of nuanced movement and effortless precision. Known for his experimentalism and dexterous use of both chance and control, he left behind a substantial oeuvre when he died in 2009. The Merce Cunningham Centennial commemorates what would be the 100th birthday of the esteemed choreographer in this one-night event, staged concurrently at BAM, the Barbican in London, and UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance. With live music and special set design, 25 dancers on each stage perform 100 solos drawn from more than seven decades of Cunningham's work. The selections range in length from 30 seconds to four minutes, and include more than a dozen of his own solos.

Reflecting Cunningham's embrace of technology and the Merce Cunningham Trust's commitment to accessibility, Night of 100 Solos will be streamed live online. For more information about the centennial celebration, visit mercecunningham.org.