Lucinda Childs on the Dance of Everyday Life

Over six decades and counting, the postmodern choreographer and dancer Lucinda Childs has built an exceptional, category-defining body of work grounded in a style that draws as much from “pedestrian,” everyday movements as it does from her foundational ballet training. Emerging out of the 1960s Judson Dance Theater in New York City, Childs founded her namesake company in 1973 and has created more than 50 works since. This year will see two major New York presentations of her pieces—the first, from March 14–15, 2026, at the Guggenheim as part of Van Cleef & Arpels’s Dance Reflections Festival, will restage five of her early dances, most of them silent; the second, titled “Momentary Reprise,” will be showcased at Bard College’s Fisher Center from June 26–28 and include her collaborations with the likes of Frank Gehry, Philip Glass, and Robert Wilson.

On this episode—our Season 13 opener—Childs reflects on her various experimental collaborations with Glass and Wilson; her profound perspectives on time through the lens of choreography and performance; and how she has remained unapologetically steadfast in refining her highly distinctive approach to dance.

Special thanks to our Season 13 presenting partner, L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts.

Show notes:

Lucinda Childs

[04:53] Philip Glass

[08:19] John Cage

[10:35] “Pastime” (1963)

[11:00] Judson Dance Theater

[11:11] Merce Cunningham Dance Company

[11:33] Yvonne Rainer

[12:25] Robert Ellis Dunn

[13:59] “Calico Mingling” (1973)

[14:04] “Untitled Trio” (1973)

[15:26] Babette Mangolte

[15:53] “Reclining Rondo” (1975)

[15:53] Robert Morris

[20:17] “Radial Courses” (1976)

[20:17] “Katema” (1978)

[26:50] Hanya Holm

[29:48] “Shoulder” (1964)

[31:05] Susan Sontag

[31:05] Against Interpretation (1966)

[32:36] Marguerite Duras

[33:40] “Description (of a Description)” (2000)

[34:50] Robert Wilson

[34:50] Einstein on the Beach (1976)

[42:28] “Dance” (1979)

[45:01] “Available Light” (1983)

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