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An unparalleled innovator in the realm of avant-garde dance, Merce Cunningham began his training at the Cornish School in the 1930s, where he was discovered by Martha Graham. He danced as a soloist in her company for six years, where he met personal and professional partner, composer John Cage. He would go on to found the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, which would pioneer new and sometimes controversial areas in the interpretation of music through the body, including new takes on cadence, rhythm, technology, narrative, and more. He continued to dance and engage in active dialogue with the media and dance community at large about the philosophy of performance art until his death in 2009, at the age of 90.