SoundScape Cinema Series: Cunningham

A visually immersive dance documentary offers a deep look at one of the most influential figures in modern performance during an outdoor screening at SoundScape Park.

SoundScape Cinema Series: Cunningham takes place Wednesday, May 20 at SoundScape Park. Directed by Alla Kovgan, the 2019 documentary traces the first three decades of Merce Cunningham’s career, examining how his radical approach to movement reshaped contemporary dance. The film draws on archival footage, interviews and newly filmed performances to explore Cunningham’s collaborations with artists such as composer John Cage and his embrace of chance procedures, spatial independence and non-narrative structure.

Rather than following a conventional biographical arc, the documentary places viewers inside Cunningham’s artistic process, emphasizing how experimentation, music and visual art intersected to redefine choreography in the 20th century. The result is both a historical record and an experiential portrait of an artist whose influence extends well beyond the dance world.

The screening is part of the City of Miami Beach’s SoundScape Cinema Series and begins at 8 p.m. Admission is free with no ticket required. Guests are encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs for seating on the lawn and enjoy the film on the New World Center’s large-scale outdoor projection wall.