Page "belles_lettres" Paragraph 187

The sequence is determined by chance, and Mr. Cunningham makes use of any one of several chance devices.

He may toss coins ; ;

he may take slips of paper from a grab bag.

The answers derived by these means may determine not only the temporal organization of the dance but also its spatial design, special slips designating the location on the stage where the movement is to be performed.

The other variables include the dancer who is to perform the movement and the length of time he is to take in its performance.

The only factors that are personally set by the choreographer are the movements themselves, the number of the dancers, and the approximate total duration of the dance.

The `` approximate '' is important, because even after the order of the work has been established by the chance method, the result is not inviolable.

Each performance may be different.

If a work is divided into several large segments, a last-minute drawing of random numbers may determine the order of the segments for any particular performance.

And any sequence can not only change its positions in the work but can even be eliminated from it altogether.