When the Mark Morris Dance Group and Music Ensemble returns to the Center Feb. 7, their new program will be a veritable love letter to American music. Morris has been hailed by the New York Times as “the most successful and influential choreographer alive, and indisputably the most musical.” We couldn’t agree more, and our audiences have enjoyed seeing the group grow over the years.
“For almost three decades audiences have had the chance to watch Mark's artistry as it has evolved,” Programming Manager Adrienne Bryant Godwin said. “From large-scale performances of his epically beautiful Dido and Aeneas, to collaborations with prestigious artists like Yo-Yo Ma, to his detailed, emotive, more intimate (and often hilarious) works. [In February,] patrons will get the chance to see Dances to American Music, the company's newest program, which explores and celebrates breadth and genius of American music and dance. Three of the pieces will be new to our audiences, coupled with the return of Dancing Honeymoon, which is sure to delight."
The piece Northwest is set to composer John Luther Adams’s “Five Yup’ik Dances” and “Five Athabascan Dances.” In this expressive piece, dancers swish, drop, and brandish folded paper fans. The music is inspired by peoples indigenous to Alaska, and Alaska's boreal forest. The piece You’ve Got to Be Modernistic features music by the early 20th-century pioneer jazz pianist James P. Johnson. The solo work Three Preludes showcases Gershwin's jazzy elegance and rhythmic brilliance. And timeless songs from the 1920s and ’30s accompany the joyful piece Dancing Honeymoon.
“You know, I’m 68, and I like what I’m doing,” Mark Morris said to the New York Times recently. “I’m not looking to revolutionize anything. It all just kind of happened. And I’m happy with it.”
We can’t wait to welcome the Mark Morris Dance group back to our stage. Make sure you’re there, too!
Read the New York Times article "The Further Adventures of Mark Morris’s Capacious Musical Imagination," from the July 15, 2025 edition, including details about the works "Northwest" and "You've Got to Be Modernistic."