GOOD EVENING. AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, THIS FOUNDATION HAS ITS ORIGINS IN FUNDING A PROPOSED SEASON ON BROADWAY FOR THE MERCE CUNNINGHAM DANCE COMPANY. WHEN THERE WERE LEFTOVER FUNDS, MERCE CUNNNINGHAM PROPOSED THAT THEY BE GIVEN TO OTHER ARTISTS, BECAUSE, HE SAID, “WE ARE ALL IN THE SAME BOAT.” MERCE REGRETS THAT HE CANNOT BE HERE TONIGHT, AND ASKS ME TO EXTEND HIS WARM GREETINGS TO YOU ALL, AND HIS CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GRANTEES.
IT IS APPROPRIATE, AS YOU WILL SEE, TO BEGIN OUR BRIEF LOOK AT OUR GRANTEES IN THE FIELD OF DANCE, WITH CHOREOGRPAHER/DANCER FOOFWA D’IMOBILITE.
BORN IN SWITZERLAND AS FREDERIC GAFNER, HE IS AN INTERNATIONAL PRIZE WINNING BALLET DANCER—INCLUDING THE 1987 PROFESSIONAL PRIZE AT THE PRIX DE LAUSANNE. UPON SEEING THE WORK OF MERCE CUNNINGHAM, HE JUMPED SHIP FROM THE STUTTGART BALLET TO WORK WITH MERCE. RECENTLY, DURING AN INTERVIEW FOR MONDAYS WITH MERCE, I ASKED MERCE WHICH DANCERS HE HELD IN PARTICULARLY HIGH REGARD. WE HAD JUST BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE BALLET RUSSES DE MONTE CARLO, AND NEW YORK CITY BALLET IN ITS EARLY DAYS, BUT HE LOOKED UP AND SAID, WITHOUT MISSING A BEAT, FREDERIC GAFNER. AFTER 7 GLORIOUS YEARS WITH MC, FREDDY HAD CHANGED HIS JAME TO THE DADAIST INVENTION FOOFWA D’IMOBILITE, AKA FOOF, AND HAD BEGUN TO SHOW HIS OWN WORK.
HIS NOMINATOR WROTE: AS A CHOREOGRAPHER HE HAS AT HIS INSTANT DISPOSAL AN EXTRAORDINARY ASSET; HIMSELF AS A DANCER. HE IS AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS IMAGINATIVE POWERS, AND HAS, IN RECENT WORK, DEVELOPED HIS TECHNIQUE IN INCREASING MICRO DETAIL. EVEN HIS EARS SEEM EMPLOYED IN THE SERVICE OF HIS INDIVIDUAL AND DISTINCTIVE ART.
WRITING IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, ALASTAIR MACAULEY SAID, HE REMAINS THE KIND OF PERFORMER TO WHOM I TENTATIVELY APPLY THE WORD GENIUS.
HIS OWN WRITING ABOUT HIS WORK IS A PLEASURE TO PERUSE. IT HAS BEEN MY GREAT LUCK TO HAVE SEEN THIS ARTIST FROM HIS EARLY DAYS WITH MERCE THROUGH HIS TRANSFORMATION INTO FOOFWA D’IMOBILITE. I SUGGEST YOU TRANSLATE IT AS CRAZY WHEN SITTING STILL. PLEASE JOIN ME IN CONGRATULATING FOOFWA.