For the most up-to-date event information, please call the info line at 612.375.7600.
Due to the amazing response for Ocean, tickets are sold out. Thank you for your interest and we hope you can attend our other 2008-2009 season events.
“A gorgeous spectacle, conceptually complex yet sensuously gratifying. . . . Like the sea itself, Ocean teems with life.” —New York Times
As the September sun sets, descend 150 feet below the earth’s surface, into a massive granite quarry, to experience a once-in-a-lifetime production of Merce Cunningham and John Cage’s monumental Ocean. Cunningham’s most ambitious work, rarely performed in America due to its scale, features his 14-member dance company, an orchestral score by Andrew Culver (inspired by Cage) performed by 150 musicians, including the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra, and an electronic score by longtime Cunningham collaborator David Tudor. With a unique Cageian flair, the orchestra fully encircles the audience, which encircles the dance. Experience one of contemporary dance’s epic achievements.
Note: Dress for the weather; performance is in a rustic outdoor setting.
Walker Members save on tickets to Merce Cunningham’s Ocean. Other benefits include free gallery admission, and discounts at 20.21 Restaurant and Bar, Gallery 8 Café, and Walker Shop. Join today.
Parking/Maps/Directions
Please allow at least 90 minutes to travel from Minneapolis to Waite Park, MN. No public parking will be allowed at the quarry site or on neighborhood streets. For safety reasons, walking into the performance site is not allowed. All parking for the event is in a designated free parking area at River’s Edge Park, located at 3rd Street Northeast and 13th Avenue North. From this lot, audience members will be shuttled, for free, from the parking area to the quarry beginning at 6:30 pm. The last shuttle bus will leave the parking area for the quarry at 7:30 pm. Because of the off-site parking and required shuttles from the parking area into the quarry, it is advised that you arrive to the parking area no later than 7 pm. Late seating will not be possible. For parking map and directions, please scroll down to related links.
Busses
Bus transportation will be available for advance purchase or reservation from the Walker directly to the performance site. Round trip tickets are $15 and are available on a first come first served basis through the Walker box office or Northrop Auditorium. Busses will leave the Walker between 5 pm and 5:30 pm. Parking on site at the Walker includes the underground ramp or the Parade Stadium lot across the street for a small fee. Please go to the Bazinet Lobby for bus service (located at the Sculpture Garden entrance). Box lunches will be available for advance purchase for those riding the bus. Reservations for the bus and box lunch must be made no later than Friday, September 5. No alchohol is permitted. Please call the box office at 612.375.7600 for any amenity questions.
Food
Limited food and drink will be for sale on site at the quarry. Patrons are allowed to bring their own food or drink if they so desire; however, no alcohol is permitted in the quarry. For St. Cloud restaurant information and special offers: www.granitecountry.com.
Rain date
This performance may be cancelled due to weather conditions leading up to or on the day of the show. The event will be called off due to weather no later than 4 pm on the day of each performance. On that day, cancellation information will be available online and also on the info line at 612.375.7600. We will attempt to contact all ticket holders as soon as possible. In the event of cancellation, the rain date performance will be Sunday, September 14. No refunds will be issued.
Accessibility
For patrons with special accessibility needs, please contact Max Wirsing at the Walker box office to make arrangements in advance at 612.253.3556.
