Merle Marsicano ( Petersen, 19031983) was an American dancer and choreographer who worked with a wide range of avant-garde composers and artists.

Life

Marsicano was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania. She studied ballet with Ethel Phillips and Michael Mordkin,

tap dance Tap dance (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music. Tap dancing can also be performed with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its ow ...

with Edna Wroe, and

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert dance, concert or theatrical dance which includes dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th ...

with

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer, teacher and choreographer, whose style, the Graham technique, reshaped the dance world and is still taught in academies worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over s ...

and

Ruth St. Denis Ruth St. Denis (born Ruth Dennis; January 20, 1879 – July 21, 1968) was an American pioneer of modern dance, introducing eastern ideas into the art and paving the way for other women in dance. She was inspired by the Delsarte advocate Gene ...

. She was married to painter Nicholas Marsicano.

Career

In 1962, Marsicano formed the Merle Marsicano Dance Company and was frequently associated with the Tenth Street group of abstract expressionists.

Franz Kline Franz Kline (May 23, 1910 – May 13, 1962) was an American painter. He is associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement of the 1940s and 1950s. Kline, along with other action painters like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Robert Mo ...

painted a backdrop for her work ''Queen of Hearts'' (1960), the largest painting in Kline's oeuvre . She collaborated with

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and Extended technique, non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one ...

Morton Feldman Morton Feldman (January 12, 1926 – September 3, 1987) was an American composer. A major figure in 20th-century classical music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminacy in music, a development associated with the experimental New York School o ...

Stefan Wolpe Stefan Wolpe (25 August 1902, Berlin – 4 April 1972, New York City) was a German-born American composer. He was associated with interdisciplinary modernism, with affiliations ranging from the Bauhaus, Berlin agitprop theater and the kibbutz mov ...

and many other composers. Feldman composed several pieces including ''Figure of Memory'' and ''Dance Suite'' for Marsicano. ''Figure of Memory'' was first performed at the Henry Street Playhouse in New York on April 3,1954, by Marsicano. In 1970, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' critic Don McDonagh wrote that Marsicano's choreography had a "languorous sensuousness," with the "weight and feel of a satisfying stretch." In a 1977 review, he wrote that, "Almost always, one has the impression that the works are somehow independent of the rhythmic and spatial laws that ordinarily govern dancing." In ''The International Encyclopedia of Dance'', P. W. Manchester described her dancing style:

Marsicano made no use of floor movements; she neither jumped nor turned. Instead, she made time stand still as she wove patterns with her feet, a subtly flexible torso, and eloquent arms. She seemed to will the air to become heavy or weightless as she passed through it.

Richard Kostelanetz Richard Cory Kostelanetz (born May 14, 1940) is an American artist, author, and critic. Birth and education Kostelanetz was born to Boris Kostelanetz and Ethel Cory and is the nephew of the conductor Andre Kostelanetz. He has a B.A. (1962) fr ...

wrote, "Merle Marsicano has long had a reputation among the cognoscenti as one of the most imaginative choreographers." Marsicano taught at Smith College and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where she also presented a recital in collaboration with

. Her papers are housed in the collection of the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marsicano, Merle 1903 births 1983 deaths 20th-century American dancers American contemporary dancers