Keith Powers reviews Mark Morris Dance Group for Boston Herald

Keith Powers reviewed the opening night performance by the Mark Morris Dance Group for Saturday's Boston Herald.Here is a snippet:

"'Petrichor,' for eight female dancers, was the real deal. Set to the impressionistic second Heitor Villa-Lobos string quartet, the four sections filled the stage like a mystical nocturne. The dancers wore alluring diaphanous nighties and the movement, rather than centered onstage, moved in lines from right to left or vice versa, suggesting a story line but never revealing one. In fact, much of 'Petrichor' was like a dream - filled with stark images of clarity that quickly vanished or morphed. One signature gesture recurred: a kind of surfing pose, with arms extended horizontally, the body poised for action, but merely rocking in place."

Read Mark Morris Group's 'Petrichor' is dream come true.

Boston Globe review: "Darkness and Light with Mark Morris"

 
Amber Star Merkens (foreground) dances in last
night's world premiere of Petrichor

Thea Singer's review of last night's opening night performance by the Mark Morris Dance Group is in late editions of the print edition, but it is online. Here is an excerpt:

"'Petrichor,' a world premiere for eight women, is danced to Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos’s 'String Quartet No. 2,' for violin, viola, and cello. The title describes the scent arising after a rain, especially on dry ground. It’s apropos, because the dancers seem to dance not on but between the notes, as if dodging raindrops."

Read all of Thea Singer's review.

The Mark Morris Dance Group performs through this Sunday at the Cutler Majestic Theatre.

Mark Morris talks with Globe about world premiere

Laura Collins-Hughes spoke with choreographer Mark Morris for Boston Sunday Globe about his new Celebrity Series of Boston commission, Petrichor:

"I love making up titles. You know, it's interesting because it makes people tempted to think that something has a relevance that it either does or doesn't have. There's a dance we do called 'A Lake,' and I just called it 'A Lake' because it occurred to me that I should call a dance 'A Lake.' There’s no lake in the dance. But, you know, 'petrichor,' it's a fabulous word that I'd never heard before. The dance is, first of all, it's for all women. There's eight women in the dance, and it's this amazing piece of music that’s very under-known and a very tricky, beautiful piece of music. And, you know, Villa-Lobos was very devoted to his Brazilian heritage. He says that all of his music is Brazilian; it all contains the rain forest. I’m not Brazilian, the dance isn’t a rain forest, and the title seemed to work."

Read the complete article.

Mark Morris Dance Group dances October 14-17 at the Cutler Majestic Theatre. On October 14, Petrichor will receive its world premiere performance at the Cutler Majestic Theatre.

World premiere of Mark Morris' Petrichor

Choreographer Mark Morris

It's always fun to anticipate a Mark Morris work you've never seen before. "What does he have up his sleeve this time? Will I have to stop myself from laughing out loud? Will his nack for filling his work with bona fide communitas make me all teary (again)?"

This time around it's your friendly neighborhood Celebrity Series that has arranged for this delicious sense of anticpation. Mark Morris’ newest work, Petrichor, is a work for 8 female dancers and is commissioned by the Celebrity Series of Boston (ahem) in honor of President and Executive Director Martha H. Jones’ 25th anniversary with the Celebrity Series.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines petrichor as "A pleasant, distinctive smell frequently accompanying the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather in certain regions." As a gardener, the title intrigues me. As a Mark Morris fan, this is like waiting for the first day of summer while sitting in math class. It just can't come soon enough.

Petrichor gets its world premiere on October 14 at the Cutler Majestic Theatre when the Mark Morris Dance Group returns to Boston. We couldn't have done it without the generous funding of The Little Family Foundation.

Celebrity Series in the Boston Globe Fall Arts Preview

As most of you know by now, non-subscription tickets for the Celebrity Series of Boston's 2010-2011 season go on sale this Monday, September 13. If you feel the need for an outside opinion regarding your choices this season, you might consider the Boston Globe. Among the Celebrity Series of Boston performances highlighted in the Boston Globe's Fall Arts Preview are the Mark Morris Dance Group at the Cutler Majestic Theatre (October 14-17), Chucho Valdes and the Afro-Cuban Messengers at Berklee Performance Center (October 28), Kremerata Baltica with violinist Gidon Kremer at Jordan Hall (November 12), Basil Twist's Petrushka at the Paramount Theatre (November 11-21), and Pilobolus at the Cutler Majestic Theatre (December 3-5). The Globe's critics have singled out these events as having special merit. Of course, we think all of our 2010-2011 events are worthy of your attention. See the complete list here.

Mark Morris Dance Group dancer Julie Worden opens up

Julie Worden

Mark Morris Dance Group dancer Julie Worden has just done a fascinating interview with Time Out New York. Worden covers a range of topics, from inside baseball on working with Morris, to her two knee operations as a child, in an interesting and very articulate way. Great stuff. So much for dancers not being verbal:

"TIME OUT NEW YORK:
What are some recent dances that mean a lot to you?

WORDEN:
I find the Ives Piano Trio, "Empire Garden," fascinating. There are these unbelievable layers of Americana folk themes played over crazy polyrhythms. You can make out “My Old Kentucky Home” in the midst of mayhem. Inside the dance it feels like pure chaos. Watching it, you can see these layers fit together, as a quilt of old folklore. I find it incredibly vibrant and fresh. It really moves me intellectually. There are moments of pure communism, where we are a part of a political concept that feels so real, I get chills."

The complete interview can be found here.

By the way, Empire Garden will be on the program (along with the world premiere of a Celebrity Series of Boston commissioned work) when MMDG opens our 2010-2011 season October 14-17 at the Cutler Majestic Theatre.

The Boston Phoenix weighs in

Both Marcia Siegel's Mozart Dances review and Lloyd Schwartz's Mozart Dances and Christian Tetzlaff reviews are already online in advance of hitting the streets in tomorrow's edition of the Phoenix. Here are the links to their columns:

Marcia Siegel - Squiggles and Lines

Lloyd Schwartz - Stopping Time

Mark Morris dancers and Parkinsons Disease

The City of Boston enjoyed a rich and varied visit with the Mark Morris Dance Group last week. In addition to enjoying 3 performances of Mark's gorgeous Mozart Dances, audiences were also treated to a Mozart Dances photo exhibit at The Prudential Center, a talk with Morris and music critic Richard Dyer at Sanders Theatre, and an event which may have flown beneath the radar of some: Dance for PD.

Mark Morris Dance Group dancers David Leventhal and John Heginbotham conducted a dance class at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center specifically designed for people with Parkinsons Disease. Read more about the company's Dance for PD program on this page.

The Hub Review (Thomas Garvey) reviews Mozart Dances

Thomas Garvey rendered a typically evocative and detailed take on this past weekend's performance of Mozart dances by the Mark Morris Dance Group with Emmanuel Music, conductor Jane Glover, and pianists Russell Sherman and Minsoo Sohn on his blog, The Hub Review.

Here's a bit from his concluding paragraph:

"This was an extraordinary evening of dance and music, and an extraordinary moment in the city's cultural life."

Aw, shucks... Quotes like that should be on posters or at least on multiple blogs. But Mr. Garvey is not Rex Reed, there is observational meat on the bones in his review. Garvey does not miss the point (not to imply that anyone else in print did so), nor does he neglect the stellar musicians who spent the weekend largely out of site in the orchestra pit.

You can read Mark, Mozart and Mystery in full here.

Globe, Herald Reviews of Mozart Dances

Two reviews of the Mark Morris Dance Group's Mozart Dances with Emmanuel Music at The Opera House are in to date:

The Boston Globe (Karen Campbell), 'Mozart Dances' Captures Music's Playfulness

The Boston Herald (Keith Powers), When Mix is Right, Morris and Mozart Cook

One more performance of Mozart Dances remains, this afternoon at 3pm. There are tickets left. I'm just sayin'.

"Morris on Mozart" - Mark chats with critic Richard Dyer at Sanders (Free)

Morris on Mozart

Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 7pm

Sanders Theatre

45 Quincy Street, Cambridge MA



Hear celebrated choreographer Mark Morris in conversation with
journalist and classical music critic Richard Dyer. Morris, known for
his eclectic musical tastes from classical to country, will discuss music and
his work.



Admission is FREE but tickets are required. Two per person.



Available by phone only through the Harvard Box Office at Holyoke Center,
Harvard Square (Wed-Sun, 12-6pm):

617.496.222 (TTY 617.495.1642)

Tickets will also be available at the door one hour prior to event,
subject to availability on a first-come, first-served basis.

Presented by OFA Learning From Performers, Celebrity Series of Boston and the Mark Morris Dance Group.

The Mark Morris Dance Group performs Mozart dances January 29-31 at The Boston Opera House.

Interview with Mark Morris plus Mozart Dances rehearsal footage

Mark Morris talks about dance, rehearsal, and choreography in this video from 2007. The clip includes footage of Mark Morris Dance Group rehearsing Mozart Dances.

Mozart Dances (oh by the way) makes its Boston (and Celebrity Series of Boston) debut with the Mark Morris Dance Group (naturally), the Orchestra of Emmanuel Music, conductor Jane Glover and piano soloists Russell Sherman and Minsoo Sohn January 29-31 at The Boston Opera House.