Mark Morris was born in Seattle, Washington
in1956 and is considered one of the most brilliant choreographers
in contemporary dance. According to The New Yorker's Arlene
Croce, Mr. Morris is "an innovator and a traditionalist,
a satirist and a romantic, and one can never tell in advance
what side of him will be presented in any given work or at any
given moment in a work."
Jean Nordhaus, of The Washington
Post describes Mr. Morris as "the Mozart of modern dance.
There is that same sense of easy fecundity, his air of an aging,
congenial enfant terrible, the sheer brilliance and wealth
of his choreographic invention."
photo: Marc Royce
Growing up in Seattle, Mr. Morris studied
with Verla Flowers and Perry Brunson. During the early years of
his career, he performed with a variety of companies based in
New York, including the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Hannah Kahn
Dance Company, Laura Dean Dancers and Musicians, Eliot Feld Ballet,
and the Koleda Balkan Dance Ensemble.
Although Mr. Morris was primarily a
dancer during his tenure with these companies, the drive to choreograph
led him to form the Mark Morris Dance Group in 1980. Founded in
collaboration with friends and colleagues, the group's first performance
was at the Merce Cunningham Dance Studio. Since then, Mr. Morris
has created over 100 works for his company.
During the eighties, the Mark Morris
Dance Group gained increased recognition, debuting at the Brooklyn
Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival in 1984 and appearing for
the first time at the Kennedy Center in 1985. The company has
continued to perform regularly in both venues and will celebrate
its fifteenth season at BAM in 2001.
In 1987, while the Mark Morris Company
was working in Europe, visionary choreographer Maurice Bejart
retired from his job as Director of Dance at Belgium's state opera
house, taking the opera's ballet company with him. The opera's
director, Gerard Mortier, recognized the potential of the Mark
Morris Dance Group and offered Mr. Morris the position. From 1988
to1991 Mr. Morris served as Director of Dance for the Belgian
National Opera in Brussel, bringing a distinctly American flair
to such works as his uproarious take on the classic Nutcracker.
Since its premiere in 1991, The Hard Nut has become almost
as (and in some circles, more) beloved than its venerable inspiration.
During this period Mr. Morris also choreographed L'Allegro,
il Penseroso ed il Moderato, and Dido and Aeneas, both
critically acclaimed.
In 1991, Mr. Morris's Belgian contract
ended and he returned to the United States where his new works,
less popular in Brussels, were received by American audiences
with open arms. Mr. Morris is currently considered one of the
United States's foremost artists, he was named a Fellow of the
MacArthur Foundation the year he returned from Europe.
Undoubtedly influenced by his sojourn
in Belgium, Mr. Morris's recent interests have branched out to
opera, where he has worked as both director and choreographer.
Credits include the British Royal Opera's Covent Garden production
of Rameau's Platée, which premiered at the Edinburgh
International Arts Festival in 1997, and in the U.S. at the New
York City Opera in April 2000.
In addition to his other achievements,
Mr. Morris is also the subject of a biography by Joan Acocella.
(Available
on amazon.com)
