Complete Immersion

Composer John Cage stretched every limit of the term “music,” even writing one “song” that consisted of nothing but silence. Merce Cunningham, who was Cage's creative and personal partner, takes a similar approach to dance, blending choreography with edgy art and specially composed music. It’s perfectly suited to the avant-garde offerings of the Subtropics Music & Sound Arts Festival, Gustavo Matamoros's annual showcase of out-there sonic adventure, held this year in collaboration with Merce in Miami. Challenging, crazy, and cool, the heady mix of disciplines and cutting-edge ideas that Cunningham consistently delivers will get full display through two weeks of events at a number of venues, the biggest at the Carnival Center.

The highlight will be the world premiere on February 23 of a piece commissioned for this festival, and created in conjunction with Miami visual artist Daniel Arsham and composer David Behrman: eyeSpace. It begins at 8:00 p.m. and will be followed by Crwdspcr, a 1993 work by Cunningham, with tickets ranging from $15 to $65. New World School of the Arts student dancers will present free performances in the lobby. Subtropics events at the Carnival Center begin the next night (Saturday, February 24). A collaboration between Cunningham and Icelandic band Sigur RĂ³s is Sunday. For a complete rundown of events, visit www.merceinmiami.org, www.carnivalcenter.org, and www.subtropics.org.
Feb. 23-24, 8 p.m.