Mark Morris Meets Mozart

If you don't yet know the work of choreographer Mark Morris, I envy you the thrill of discovering it for the first time. Morris is arguably the best American choreographer since Balanchine (who died in 1983), though that invites a pointless comparison with Balanchine's style. Morris' style is his own -- indefinable, incomparable. In 2002, I wrote this in the Arizona Republic about his Peccadillos, as performed by Morris at Scottsdale Center for the Arts:

"A bulky, middle-age man dances fluently to the music of a tiny toy piano as childhood fantasy meets adult reality. The tunes are Erick Satie's innocent airs; the gestures are big and wide, yet measured and exact.

"The contrast of scope -- between toy piano and big man, tiny sound and large dance -- is oddly touching. The air is stained with poignancy.

"The dancer, the choreographer, could only be Mark Morris."

Morris has a new work, loudly praised by all those who have seen it. It's called Mozart Dances, and on Thursday night, Aug. 16, PBS will telecast it as part of the Live From Lincoln Center series. Watch it, tape it, Tivo it, do whatever you need to do in order not to miss what promises to be one of the most exciting new dance works of the decade.

Given my admiration for Morris' artistry, you can imagine how deeply pleased I was when Lincoln Center asked me to write program notes about the music Morris chose for Mozart Dances. To read my notes, go to:

http://lincolncenter.org/programnotes/mm-mozartdances-081507.pdf

- Kenneth LaFave