MARK MORRIS
MARK MORRIS was born on August 29, 1956, in Seattle, Washington, where he
studied as a young man with Verla Flowers and Perry Brunson. In the early years
of his career, he performed with Lar Lubovitch, Hannah Kahn, Laura Dean, Eliot
Feld, and the Koleda Balkan Dance Ensemble. He formed the Mark Morris Dance
Group in 1980, and has since created more than 120 works for the company. From
1988-1991, he was Director of Dance at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in
Brussels, the national opera house of Belgium. Among the works created during
his tenure were three evening-length dances: The Hard Nut; L’Allegro, il
Penseroso ed il Moderato; and Dido and Aeneas. In 1990, he founded the White Oak
Dance Project with Mikhail Baryshnikov. Morris is also much in demand as a
ballet choreographer. He has created six works for the San Francisco Ballet
since 1994 and received commissions from American Ballet Theatre, and the Boston
Ballet, among others. His work is also in the repertory of the Pacific Northwest
Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, New Zealand Ballet, Houston Ballet, English
National Ballet, and The Royal Ballet. Morris is noted for his musicality and
has been described as “undeviating in his devotion to music.” He has worked
extensively in opera, directing and choreographing productions for The
Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, English National Opera, and The Royal
Opera, Covent Garden. Morris was named a Fellow of the MacArthur Foundation in
1991. He has received honorary doctorates from The Boston Conservatory of Music,
The Juilliard School, Long Island University, Pratt Institute, Bowdoin College,
Bard College, Bates College, and George Mason University. In 2006, Morris
received the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Mayor’s Award for Arts
& Culture and a WQXR Gramophone Special Recognition Award. He is the subject of
a biography by Joan Acocella (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) and Marlowe & Company
published a volume of photographs and critical essays entitled Mark Morris’ L’Allegro,
il Penseroso ed il Moderato: A Celebration. Morris is a member of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2007, he received the Samuel H. Scripps/American
Dance Festival lifetime achievement award.
MARK MORRIS was born on August 29, 1956, in Seattle, Washington, where he
studied as a young man with Verla Flowers and Perry Brunson. In the early years
of his career, he performed with Lar Lubovitch, Hannah Kahn, Laura Dean, Eliot
Feld, and the Koleda Balkan Dance Ensemble. He formed the Mark Morris Dance
Group in 1980, and has since created more than 120 works for the company. From
1988-1991, he was Director of Dance at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in
Brussels, the national opera house of Belgium. Among the works created during
his tenure were three evening-length dances: The Hard Nut; L’Allegro, il
Penseroso ed il Moderato; and Dido and Aeneas. In 1990, he founded the White Oak
Dance Project with Mikhail Baryshnikov. Morris is also much in demand as a
ballet choreographer. He has created six works for the San Francisco Ballet
since 1994 and received commissions from American Ballet Theatre, and the Boston
Ballet, among others. His work is also in the repertory of the Pacific Northwest
Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, New Zealand Ballet, Houston Ballet, English
National Ballet, and The Royal Ballet. Morris is noted for his musicality and
has been described as “undeviating in his devotion to music.” He has worked
extensively in opera, directing and choreographing productions for The
Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, English National Opera, and The Royal
Opera, Covent Garden. Morris was named a Fellow of the MacArthur Foundation in
1991. He has received honorary doctorates from The Boston Conservatory of Music,
The Juilliard School, Long Island University, Pratt Institute, Bowdoin College,
Bard College, Bates College, and George Mason University. In 2006, Morris
received the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Mayor’s Award for Arts
& Culture and a WQXR Gramophone Special Recognition Award. He is the subject of
a biography by Joan Acocella (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) and Marlowe & Company
published a volume of photographs and critical essays entitled Mark Morris’ L’Allegro,
il Penseroso ed il Moderato: A Celebration. Morris is a member of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2007, he received the Samuel H. Scripps/American
Dance Festival lifetime achievement award.