Nearly Ninety (2009)

Music: John Paul Jones, Takehisa Kosugi, Sonic Youth
Décor: Benedetta Tagliabue

Costumes: Romeo Gigli for io ipse idem
Lighting: Brian MacDevitt

Video: Franc Aleu

Nearly Ninety premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) on April 16, 2009, in celebration of Merce's 90th birthday. The large-scale, 90-minute piece features the contributions of an array of luminous collaborators, including a multi-level, structural set designed by Barcelona-based architect Benedetta Tagliabue; sleek ecru unitards with charcoal stripes by fashion designer Romeo Gigli; lighting by Tony and Obie-award winning lighting designer Brian MacDevitt; and video art by film artist Franc Aleu. The score is composed by Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, mixed-media sound artist Takehisa Kosugi, and indie rock legends Sonic Youth. Each composer independently composed a score for Nearly Ninety of roughly 35-40 minutes in length, which were then interposed and overlapped over the course of the performance.

Nearly Ninety is a co-commission of Brooklyn Academy of Music; barbicanbite10, London; Comunidad de Madrid-Teatros Canal and Festival Internacional Madrid en Danza; Théâtre de la Ville-Paris and Festival d'Automne à Paris. Nearly Ninety was made possible through support from the National Endowment for the Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, O'Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation, and American Music Center.