This issue of Dance Index presents the historical conversations between the legendary choreographer Merce Cunningham and the dance scholar Nancy Dalva. In these pages, readers will discover there was less improvisation than conventionally thought to the structure of Cunningham's choreography; that Merce sustained a level of respect for his collaborators that ensured an environment of freedom and synergy; and that he was not only a taskmaster to the principles of his vision but also a man of wit and whim.