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Mark Morris, who has been called "the Mozart of modern dance," is one of the most well-known and respected leaders in the dance world today. Morris goal:
Intricate moves
simply presentedBy Tim Ryan
Star-BulletinEarly in his career Morris, 44, performed with several dance companies including the Lar Lubovich Dance Company, Hanna Kahn Dance Company, and the Koleda Balkan Dance Ensemble.
The Mark Morris Dance Group, created in 1980, performs internationally, traveling about six months a year. From 1988 to 1991, the group served as Belgium's national dance company.
Morris' reworking of "The Nutcracker," entitled "The Hard Nut," is a hit at Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall each holiday season.
The Star-Bulletin caught up with Morris in Los Angeles a few hours before a performance.
SB: Your biography says you were influenced by Disney films.MM: Who wasn't? Though I think Disney (as a corporation) is corrupt and evil. Some of that work from a long time ago is great; I love the art of it.
SB: When did dance become a major influence in your life?
MM: At 8 I started taking lessons. At 9 I took Spanish dance for a couple years then went on to ballet, folk dancing and various modern stuff.
SB: How did taking dance lessons go over with your male friends while growing up?
MM: Fine.
SB: Are you really a flamenco dancer at heart?
MM: I was for a while. I moved to Spain at 17 to study and decided that's what I wanted to do with my life. I didn't stay because Franco was still running the country and it was really f---- up. What I am, is a dancer at heart.
SB: How has the dance company evolved over 20 years?
MM: Well, the personnel has changed gradually, though most people stay with us a very long time, which is good for continuity. As for the art, I just try not to make up the same piece over again all the time.
SB: Has choreographing become easier for you?
MM: There are skills I have now that I can rely on if I get stuck. I can whip up something really fast. But it's still not easy to come up with something I really like.
SB: Your work has been praised for the intricacy of its movements, but it looks relatively simple.
MM: I work hard to make the dance legible. It's ... hard to make it clear and appropriate. But it's all right if the craft gets a bit lost if it looks simple. You don't have to know how something was put together to appreciate it.
SB: How important is it to have the narrative of the dance clear enough to grab people's attention?
MM: If it's a narrative dance then it must be perfectly clear, otherwise it's fine for something to be evocative or if everyone gets a different reading on it.
SB: Is it possible to have a 50-plus dancer in a dance troupe?
MM: Sure, just because you're old doesn't mean you're better than you were when you were young, or worse. You have to be good first before you get old. But lasting that long doesn't mean you're good either.
SB: How important is it for dancers to create a connection with the audience?
MM: What I mostly want is to have the audience, musicians and performers in the same room at the same time. That's the point of live performing theater, otherwise you could save a lot of money and do it all on videotape.
SB: Is it necessary to have female dancers as strong as the men?
MM: I want everybody to be able to do everything because we're not a large company. If someone is injured, someone else has to step in for the same job.
SB: In photos you appear large for a dancer. Will you tell us your height and weight?
MM: No.
SB: Has there been a decrease in classical dance audiences as there has been with classical orchestras?
MM: It's kinda true for incredibly expensive full-length ballets at places like the Metropolitan Opera, though for my shows there's a pretty wide range of people attending. Also, we have live music so that draws music fans.
SB: What do you think of dance productions like "Stomp" and "Riverdance?"
MM: They're very good at what they do, but I lose interest after a few minutes. It's a gimmicky thing but you do have to work real hard to do that stuff well.
On stage
Who: The Mark Morris Dance Group
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