To celebrate the 90th birthday of legendary choreographer Merce Cunningham, the Merce Cunningham Dance Company commissioned a special production titled Nearly Ninety, which premiered on April 16, 2009, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in New York, followed by a European premiere at the Teatro del Canal in Madrid. For this momentous occasion, Benedetta Tagliabue and her firm Miralles Tagliabue EMBT were invited to design the scenography, marking the studio’s first official foray into the world of contemporary dance.
The result was a monumental, mobile structure—seven meters tall and weighing seven tons—designed to frame the choreography from four distinct vantage points. Constructed in steel by Esteve Miret and cloaked in a semi-transparent iridescent textile, the structure reflected light dynamically, echoing the conceptual inspiration: a crystal-like mountain splitting light into colors. Projections by video artist Frank Aleu further enriched the visual narrative, while the performances featured live music from Sonic Youth, John Paul Jones, and Takehisa Kosugi.
EMBT’s design embodied Cunningham’s ethos of non-narrative dance through the use of stairs and platforms, inviting diverse perspectives and symbolizing continuous ascension. The scenography not only housed musicians and dancers but also embodied the philosophy of movement, perception, and transformation central to Cunningham’s oeuvre. This collaboration positioned EMBT alongside past collaborators such as Rauschenberg and Warhol, highlighting the firm’s interdisciplinary reach and poetic architectural language.
