Merce Cunningham's choreographic genius is busting out all over this month at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, in free film presentations and a panel discussion, in master classes and workshops, and two performances by his company.

There is so much Merce going on, in fact, that the center is billing his visit and associated events as Merce@Mondavi, part of the center's yearlong Creativity Project.

Cunningham, who turns 89 on April 16, is widely recognized as one of the greatest living choreographers and one of the most influential American artists of the past century.

"Merce@Mondavi is a fine example of what the Mondavi Center does best," said Don Roth, executive director. "We are not only presenting one of the best and most important modern dance companies of our time, but also surrounding those performances with events that offer the audience members a series of opportunities to learn more about the artist and gain insights that can lead to an even greater enjoyment of the performances."

Organizers said Cunningham's residency will include a series of master classes and workshops with students from UC Davis, California State University, Sacramento, and several local high schools; two free Forum@MC events examining Cunningham and his work; and two spectacular performances by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.

Dance programs

• April 25 -- MinEvent, a 2008 work featuring John Cage's Thirty Pieces for String Quartet performed live by the Kronos Quartet. Also: Split Sides, a 2003 work featuring recorded music by Radiohead and Sigur Rós. Split Sides is divided into several design elements, with the order of presentation to be determined by chance -- the roll of the dice -- on the day of the performance.
• April 26 -- BIPED, one of Cunningham's most acclaimed works, an exploration of the choreographic possibilities of the "motion capture" technology used in computer animation, with music by Gavin Bryars. Also: eyeSpace, another piece in which chance is a factor. The eyeSpace score, Mikel Rouse's suite International Cloud Atlas will play on iPods, loaned to audience members by the company; as the tracks shuffle at random in the iPods, each person will experience a unique match of music to dance.

Both performances are scheduled to start at 8 p.m. in Jackson Hall.

Forums@MC

• Merce Cunningham: A Lifetime in Dance -- A screening of the Cunningham program from PBS' American Masters series. 4 p.m. April 15, Studio Theatre.
• How Human Creativity Happens in the Arts and the Sciences -- A discussion with Cunningham archivist David Vaughn, UC Davis faculty members Della Davidson, Laurie San Martin and Bob Ostertag, and others. 5 p.m. April 23, Studio Theatre.

Photos and another film

• Beach Birds for Camera, Elliot Caplan's 1992 film featuring Cunningham's choreography and Cage's music, to be shown continuously from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 19 (Picnic Day) in the Studio Theatre. The film is 28 minutes long.
• Merce Cunningham and Dancers, photo exhibition by Judith Gefter, at the Pence Gallery, 212 D St., Davis, through May 1.

Free admission to all events except the April 25 and 26 performances; tickets for those shows are available through the Mondavi Center box office: (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787, or www.mondaviarts.org.