The performance, which begins at 7 PM, will be accompanied by music from John Cage's Song Books, performed live by Joan LaBarbara and John Kelly. The event will also feature a screening of the Charles Atlas documentary film "Without Merce," and will launch the new film screening series "BAC Flicks: Mondays with Merce," which will feature other Atlas documentaries "exploring Cunningham’s groundbreaking experimentation with new technologies and dance on film," according to a spokesperson for the Cunningham Dance Company, and which will continue through December 2011. Proceeds from the benefit event will go to both the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation (MCDC) and the Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC). The film series will be produced through a partnership between BAC and the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation.

According to press notes, "Conceived to enrich New York City audiences’ understanding of Cunningham’s work and creative process, 'BAC Flicks: Mondays with Merce' will showcase video and film dances from the Cunningham archive that illuminate the choreographer’s groundbreaking experimentation with new technologies and his collaborations with filmmakers such as Charles Atlas and Elliot Caplan. The series will premiere many films—including the world premiere of the Atlas film 'Interscape' (2000) on October 11, 2010, and the New York premiere of Atlas’ 'Ocean' (1994) on January 10, 2010—and provides the first chance for audiences to gain comprehensive insight into Cunningham’s seminal work with dance on film. Each film screening will be accompanied by related artists talks and an episode of the innovative web series Mondays with Merce. 'BAC Flicks: Mondays with Merce' will be presented one Monday each month, and will continue throughout the duration of the MCDC’s final Legacy Tour, which concludes on December 31, 2011."

For tickets to the benefit ($350; $250 is tax-deductible) or to any of the "BAC Flicks" ($15), visit smarttix.com or call (212) 868-4444 beginning Aug. 30.