US choreographer¹ Merce Cunningham, widely recognised for revolutionising modern dance, has died aged² 90.

美国舞蹈指导，公认的使现代舞发生革命性巨变的人--Merce Cunningham逝世，享年90岁。

Cunningham formed his own dance company in 1953

A statement from the Cunningham Dance Foundation said the New York-based dancer "died peacefully in his home of natural causes" on Sunday.

He formed the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in 1953 and choreographed³（设计舞蹈动作） nearly 200 works for it.

Although he used a wheelchair by the end of his career, Cunningham danced on stage right into his 80s.

The statement said he "revolutionised the visual and performing arts, not for the sake of iconoclasm（破坏偶像）, but for the beauty and wonder that lay in exploring new possibilities".

'Great artist'

Judith Fishman, chairman of the Cunningham Dance Foundation, said: "Merce was an artistic⁴ maverick⁵（不服从的人） and the gentlest of geniuses.

"We have lost a great man and a great artist, but we celebrate his extraordinary life, his art, and the dancers and the artists with whom he worked."

In April, Cunningham celebrated⁶ his 90th birthday with the premiere（初次公演） of new work Nearly Ninety - set to new music from Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones and Sonic Youth - at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, in New York.

Last month, Cunningham set up The Living Legacy⁷ Plan, aimed at continuing his teachings in the future.

As part of the plan, Cunningham's work is to celebrated by his company with a two-year world tour culminating in a final performance in New York.

Toss of coin

Born just after World War I in a small town near Seattle, Cunningham loved to dance as a child.

From 1939 to 1945, he was a soloist⁸（独奏者，独唱者） in the company of Martha Graham, regarded at the time as one of the foremost（最初的） pioneers of modern dance.

He presented his first New York solo concert in April 1944, with music from composer John Cage, who became his life partner and frequent collaborator⁹ until Cage's death in 1992.

In a radical¹⁰ move, the couple decided¹¹ to end the traditional marriage of movement and music, saying that both arts should exist independently even when sharing the same space.

Cunningham also abandoned conventional（普通的，常见的） storytelling through ballet to focus entirely¹² on the poetry of dance.

He even tossed（投掷，摇荡） coins or threw dice¹³（骰子） to determine steps, saying the use of chance was "a present mode of freeing my imagination from its own cliches（陈腔滥调）".

He was hugely admired by other dancers and worked with visual artists such as Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol.

Cunningham's work has been presented by the New York City Ballet, Zurich Ballet and the Rambert Dance Company among others.

Among the accolades¹⁴（赞美，表扬） he received over his long career included the Kennedy Center Honors in 1985 and the National Medal of Arts in 1990.