Living in the now, always

Think dice and you might think craps, backgammon, even Monopoly -- but modern dance? Think again, because choreographer Merce Cunningham is making use of dice-rolling in his piece “Split Sides.”

Set to original music composed by art-rock bands Radiohead and Sigur Ros, the work, which premiered in New York in 2003 and is performed tonight through Sunday at the Ahmanson Theatre by Merce Cunningham Dance Company, is dependent on chance operations.

“Before the curtain goes up, we’ll have a podium, a table with die and a group of people who will, in front of the audience, roll dice in order to determine the order of the elements,” company general manager Trevor Carlson says.

Past dice rollers include New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg. In Los Angeles, the cube-throwing roster has, among others, erstwhile musical film star Cyd Charisse.

The skinny on the chance dance is as follows: The 40-minute work was developed in two distinct parts (A and B); the order of the choreography, music and other collaborative elements (decors by photographers Catherine Yass and Robert Heishman, costumes by James Hall and lighting by James F. Ingalls) is dictated by a roll of the dice (even or odd).

Ultimately, there are 32 possible combinations. “I don’t know if we’ve had all 32 combinations, but we’ve performed it over 32 times,” Carlson says. “The first few performances we had the same order of every element except lighting. Then there was a big shift with two of the elements. It’s incredibly interesting.”

For the choreographer, who has been incorporating chance in his work -- throwing the I-Ching, for example -- since founding his company 52 years ago, this piece is quintessential Cunningham. “Chance always works, because you accept whatever the result is,” he says. “In ‘Split Sides,’ the use of chance was carried further -- with the music, OK -- but also with the decor, lights and costumes. Before those elements were fixed for a particular situation.”

Cunningham’s way of making art has always been considered radical, with the dances conceived and rehearsed in silence, and the decor and music arriving only at the dress rehearsal or first performance. (Tomatoes were once lobbed at his dancers in Paris some 40 years ago.)

But Cunningham could not be deterred. Today, having made more than 200 dances and still accompanying his 16-member troupe around the world, the 86-year-old artist is still concerned with creating choreography -- on his terms.

Says Cunningham assistant and dancer Robert Swinston: “It’s a bit more complicated with Merce, even in his simplicity. He has a very methodical way of working -- slow, but sure -- and he’s curious.

“With ‘Split Sides,’ it has intrigue because we don’t know the order. The first half has to end at 20 minutes, then everything changes -- the scrims, the costumes, the dance. We have to adjust, but that’s the nature of the work.”

Though Radiohead and Sigur Ros won’t be performing live, as they did in New York, both groups composed scores that can be performed by others; here, four musicians (two per piece), will be in the pit. This hip factor has also broadened Cunningham’s audience.

“We were surprised at the success of ‘Split Sides,’ ” Carlson says. “Merce was delighted to see so many young people at the performances. But it’s nothing new, since he’s continuing to reach out and work with people who live and work in the time in which he lives and works in. That’s why we don’t see Merce creating dances using the music of Mozart.”

*

‘Split Sides’

Where: Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A.

When: 7:30 p.m. today, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday

Price: $55 to $20

Info: (213) 628-2772