Mark Morris Dance Group – Acis and Galatea – New York
As he has shown again and again, the choreographer Mark Morris has a way with Baroque music. He clearly adores it…
Mark Morris Dance Group — Canonic ¾ Studies, A Wooden Tree, Silhouettes, Grand Duo — Sarasota
What was curious about A Wooden Tree is that it did not include much dancing in the traditional sense. It was as if Morris had decided to do an experiment: to make a dance with as little dancing as possible, practically a pantomime.
Mark Morris Dance Group – Dido and Aeneas – New York
It is something of a cliché to say it, but the guiding principle of Morris’s Dido – as in the more recent Socrates – is simplicity. No single element – musc, words, dance – is privileged above the others.
Paris Opera Ballet – Orpheus and Eurydice – New York
Bausch is a mystery. To some, she represents the summit of poetry and expression, worthy of a cult-like following. Clearly, these dancers derive great emotional sustenance from performing her work. And it suits them. But, with the exception of Gillot’s solo and a few moments here and there, it left me cold.
Mark Morris – in L’Allegro, Il Penseroso ed Il Moderato – Washington
It’s hard to top Morris’s dancers for spontaneity, dramatic force, and exhilarating energy. On opening night, the dancing was nothing less than brilliant: From the opening “Mad Crossing” to the concluding “Finale,” the cast commanded the stage, dancing with sheer joy and élan, compelling the audience at the end of the performance into a thunderous standing ovation.
