Who is Merce Cunningham? Sutton Stracke brings lifelong friend's ashes to Spain during 'RHOBH' Season 13 cast trip
BARCELONA, SPAIN: Before the departure of 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' cast for Spain to shoot Season 13, Kyle Richards had never heard Sutton Stracke discuss her late friend, dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham.
As the cast prepares to participate in the ash-throwing ritual arranged by Sutton for Merce in the upcoming episode airing on Wednesday, February 7, Kyle confessed that she was unaware of him before the trip. Erika Jayne coined another iconic phrase describing the situation: "Merce is in the purse."
Aside from the highly anticipated reality TV series, Sutton is a successful businesswoman, owning a designer store in West Hollywood and having previously held top positions in the dance industry. She regularly supports the American Ballet Theatre, which is how she initially met Merce.
According to Britannica, Merce Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer. Born in Washington in 1919, he began dancing at the age of 12.
He attended the Cornish School of Fine and Applied Arts in Seattle and was chosen by renowned dancer Martha Graham to join her troupe. Merce was a renowned soloist who pioneered new styles of abstract dance.
In 1943, Martha suggested that he start choreographing alongside his dancing pursuits. Additionally, he also worked with musical avant-garde composer John Cage.
Merce danced with Martha's troupe for many years before establishing his own dance company. According to the Merce Cunningham Trust, throughout his extensive career, Merce developed 190 repertory dances and over 700 performances in which he represented movement through dance in ways that had never been done before.
Following his venture in choreographing in 1943, he found inspiration to create his dance group, which he established in 1953. He went on to become one of the most important dance personalities of the twentieth century.
How did 'RHOBH's Sutton Stracke and Merce Cunningham know each other?
Sutton had a background in dance during her childhood. However, according to a Bravo TV interview, it was revealed that although she had the opportunity to audition for a prominent dance company, Sutton chose not to pursue it.
She started her career as a studio manager for Merce Cunningham's dance group.
Sutton stated in the interview, "It was a very strange moment for me, but I kept dancing. I did choreograph some things after that, but I just didn’t want to be on the stage. That’s why it’s so ironic that I'm now on television screens. What happened? I don’t know. I got stage fright at that moment in my life, and here I am."
In 'RHOBH' season 13, episode 13, Sutton disclosed that she had brought Merce's ashes with her on a trip to Spain, reigniting renewed interest in her relationship with him.
When he died in 2009, Sutton got Merce's ashes and expressed the desire to scatter them somewhere special. While Sutton may not have been destined for the stage herself, she forged significant connections within the dance world.
Sutton Stracke keeps misplacing Merce Cunningham's ashes
"Poor Merce. But Merce is looking down and laughing," Sutton said on the January 31 episode of 'RHOBH: After Show'. According to Sutton, she often misplaced Merce's ashes, as she had with her late father.
Sutton noted that she continued 'misplacing [Merce] in moves,' but 'would always find him.' "I think he was waiting for the perfect place for me to put him. I do," she reasoned.
"I was getting those books together for y’all about Merce, and I looked in the index because I wrote a lot of grants for Merce, and I just remember going about Barcelona, Barcelona, and so I looked it up, and there was Sitges. And it was the very first place he went on his very first European tour. It was meant to be," she said.
Kyle Richards 'never heard' of Sutton Stracke’s late friend Merce Cunningham before Spain trip
While Sutton and Merce had a long-standing connection, Kyle revealed that she was unaware of it until Spain.
"I never heard Merce’s name before this trip," Kyle said. "But hey, if she wants to use this as an excuse to come to Spain, toss his ashes out, and give us some flowers…"
Before the Merce ceremony, Sutton sent flowers to her 'RHOBH' castmates. However, Crystal Kung Minkoff was left uncomfortable with the gesture. Despite appreciating the sentiment, Crystal mentioned that the hue of the flowers evoked bad emotions.
"I felt immediately uncomfortable because they were white flowers," she said. Erika intervened when she noticed Crystal 'looked very uncomfortable.'
"I took them off or I said, Take that off, and everybody was kind of looking at me. I said, Well, In Chinese culture, white equals death. So you know, who’s uneducated now?" Erika inquired, alluding to Crystal's \claim that the 'RHOBH' cast is 'uneducated and shallow.'
'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Season 13 will air on Wednesday, February at 8/7c on Bravo.
