ABSTRACT
In the search for a category in which to place Douglas Dunn, the term ‘postmodern’ remains appropriate, years after the term was first applied to dance. As a member of the first generation of postmodernist dancers and choreographers, Dunn retains qualities associated with the New York City avantgarde that was shaped in the 1960s and 1970s. Dunn is the sneaker-clad dancer caught in mid-air on the cover of Sally Banes’s seminal book, Terpsichore in Sneakers (1980). Cool, elegant, graceful, a lanky blond dancer often compared in looks and style to Merce Cunningham (with whom he performed from 1968-73), Dunn, and his aesthetic, continue to challenge the viewer to delve into the work and uncover its meaning.
