Merce Cunningham, one of the most influential choreographers of the 20th century and one of the pioneers of the American avant-garde dance movement has died, aged 90.

For much of his life Cunningham was considered one of the greatest American dancers and his influence was such that he often collaborated with artists across arts disciplines, including John Cage and David Tudor, artists Robert Rauschenberg and Bruce Nauman, designer Romeo Gigli, and architect Benedetta Tagliabue.

In a career spanning more than 70-years Cunningham earned some of the highest honors bestowed in the arts, including the National Medal of Arts and the MacArthur Fellowship. He also received Japan’s Praemium Imperiale, the British Laurence Olivier Award, and was named Officier of the Legion d’Honneur in France.

Cunningham was a choreographer, teacher, and leader of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, a group of fourteen dancers (seven women, seven men) who perform his works

In addition to having had a profound influence on modern dance particularly and the arts in general, Cunningham trained many well respected dancers.

Paul Taylor, Trisha Brown, Lucinda Childs, Karole Armitage, Foofwa d’Immobilité, and Jonah Bokaer are just a few of those who trained with Cunningham and then went on and formed their own dance companies.

For his 90th birthday in April Cunningham celebrated with the premiere of a new work, Nearly Ninety, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York.

Cunningham died peacefully at his Manhattan home on Sunday and the world’s leading performing arts publications have been quick to mourn the person considered by many to have been the greatest choreographer in history.