Marianne Preger-Simon (March6, 1929November22, 2024) was an American dancer, choreographer, writer, and psychotherapist. She was best known for her work as a founding member of the

Merce Cunningham Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...

Dance Company.

Early life and education

Marianne Preger was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, on March6, 1929. She attended

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

for two years before moving to Paris in 1948, where she attended Éducation par le Jeu Dramatique (ÉPJD—Education through Dramatic Play) founded by

Jean-Louis Barrault Jean-Louis Bernard Barrault (; 8 September 1910 – 22 January 1994) was a French actor, director and mime artist who worked on both screen and stage. Biography Barrault was born in Le Vésinet in France in 1910. His father was 'a Burgundi ...

. In 1949 she met Merce Cunningham, shortly after watching him perform at a dance concert in French painter

Jean Hélion Jean Hélion (April 21, 1904October 27, 1987) was a French painter whose abstract work of the 1930s established him as a leading modernist. His midcareer rejection of abstraction was followed by nearly five decades as a figurative painter. He w ...

's Paris studio. After meeting Cunningham, Preger-Simon moved to New York City to study with him one-on-one. From 1949, she was his first student.

Merce Cunningham Dance Company

In the summer of 1953, Merce Cunningham taught at

Black Mountain College Black Mountain College was a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Black Mountain, North Carolina. It was founded in 1933 by John Andrew Rice, Theodore Dreier, and several others. The coll ...

in North Carolina. Preger-Simon was one of the seven dancers from his studio that he brought with him, supporting their stay by forgoing payment during his residency. The other students were Jo Anne Melsher,

Remy Charlip Abraham Remy Charlip (January 10, 1929 – August 14, 2012) was an American artist, writer, choreographer, theatre director, theatrical designer, and teacher. He wrote or illustrated more than 40 children's books. Life and career Charlip w ...

, Carolyn Brown, Paul Taylor, Anita Dencks, and

Viola Farber Viola Farber (February 25, 1931 – December 24, 1998) was an American choreographer and dancer. Biography Viola Farber was born on February 25, 1931, in Heidelberg, Germany. In Germany, Farber began dancing. However, at the age of six she was ...

. This was the beginning of the troupe that would become the Merce Cunningham Dance Company (MCDC). Preger-Simon danced with the company until 1958, including in the company's first two appearances at

Jacob's Pillow Jacob's Pillow is a Dance studio, dance center, school and performance space located in Becket, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires. The facility itself was listed as a National Historic Landmark District in 2003. History The site of Jacob's Pi ...

. She performed in repertory including ''Dime-a-Dance'', ''Banjo'', ''Minutiae'', ''Suite for Five'', and ''Septet''. During those years, she also taught dance, drama, and world literature at the

New Lincoln School The New Lincoln School was a private experimental coeducational school in New York City enrolling students from kindergarten through grade 12. History New Lincoln's predecessor was founded as Lincoln School in 1917 by the Rockefeller-funded Gene ...

in Manhattan. In 1958, Preger-Simon retired from her career as a dancer in order to raise children. However, her close association with Merce Cunningham continued until his death in 2009. In 2019, she released her memoir, ''Dancing With Merce Cunningham'', which offers an intimate look at her friendship with Cunningham, the formative years and evolution of the company, and her career as a dancer. Her photographs and drawings from her time as an early dancer with the MCDC have been collected by and featured in several exhibitions at the

Asheville Art Museum The Asheville Art Museum is a nonprofit visual art organization in Western North Carolina (WNC) and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The museum is located on the center square of downtown Asheville, 2 South Pack Square at Pack Pl ...

and

Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psyc ...

Later career

After retiring from dance, Preger-Simon received her Ed.D from the

University of Massachusetts at Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the Flagship university, flagship campus of the Univer ...

and began a forty-year career as a

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

Personal life

Preger-Simon lived in

Whately, Massachusetts Whately (; ) is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,607 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Whately was first settled in 1672 as ...

. She died in November 2024, at the age of 95.

Books

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Preger-Simon, Marianne 1929 births 2024 deaths 21st-century American women American dancers American female dancers Black Mountain College faculty Created via preloaddraft Dancers from Brooklyn University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni