We’re talking about how Merce Cunningham’s work is “storyless.” What? Does that mean “dance like a robot?”

Of course not. The dance is storyless, not emotionless. You can be totally immersed in the movement and how strong your leg feels under you and how you’re skimming across the floor and how your hands might soon start shooting out rays of energy from being so elongated without thinking, “I’m a warrior. I’m a bird. I’m a firework.” Holding hands with a partner or having your body wrapped around another dancer’s doesn’t mean you have to act like lovers on stage. You’re simply connected. There’s joy and passion and determination contained in every movement without relying on a mind trick.