For four nights in mid-September, something very different was conveyed out of St. Cloud Quarry, 70 miles northwest of Minneapolis — the sounds of musical instruments and audience applause.

The much-anticipated performances of Merce Cunningham’s Ocean attracted more than 4,000 people to St. Cloud’s 100-foot-deep “Rainbow Quarry” pit (one of two at the site). The 90-minute production was danced in the round and featured a 150-member orchestra surrounding the audience.

The performances were co-produced by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company of New York and Minneapolis’ Walker Art Center, in association with the Benedicta Arts Center of the College of Saint Benedict and Northrop Dance at the University of Minnesota.

Selling out a month in advance, the performances attracted media attention from outlets including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and National Public Radio.

St. Cloud Plant Manager Mike Reinert says the quarry’s first-ever foray into hosting such an event went well and he spoke highly of partners Walker and Merce Cunningham.

“They were great to work with,” he says. “There were some growing pains initially, as we all learned who was in charge of what, but from that point on it was smooth sailing.”

While the Art Center assumed responsibility for most of the event’s preparations, Reinert and his crew spent many hours readying their site for Ocean’s three evening shows and one dress rehearsal.

In addition to moving around a lot of rock, employees added a new entrance and access road to the south side of the quarry for easier, safer use by organizers and audience members. All of this was done while the quarry continued to process and sell product mined in the main pit on the northern portion of its property.

The time and contributions of Martin Marietta employees did not go unnoticed.

“The guys at the quarry were awesome,” notes Pearl Rea, Production Manager with the Walker Art Center. “They were spectacular, helping us roll with a lot of things that we would never have thought of. They were fantastic.”

“Martin Marietta was incredible,” adds Senior Curator Philip Bither. “They were great collaborators and partners on this project. Everyone was wonderful to work with.”

As a result of its efforts, St. Cloud Quarry was recently awarded the Aggregate & Ready Mix Association of Minnesota’s Building Excellence Community Relations Award. The quarry will be formally recognized at an early December banquet in Minneapolis.