Mark William Morris American choreographer, dancer and director Date of Birth: 29.08.1956 Country: USA

Biography of Mark Morris

Mark William Morris, an American choreographer, dancer, and director, was born in Seattle, Washington in 1956. He grew up in a family that encouraged the arts, with his father instilling a love for music and his mother teaching him the basics of flamenco and ballet. Morris later studied under Verla Flowers and Perry Brunson.

At the age of 16, Morris traveled to Spain, where he considered himself a flamenco dancer and decided to dedicate his life to it. However, due to the Franco regime, he had to return to the United States and settled in New York City in 1976. He lived with other actors and dancers in the attic in Hoboken, New Jersey, occasionally participating in concerts and shows.

During the early stages of his career, Morris performed with Lar Lubovitch, Hannah Kahn, Laura Dean, Eliot Feld, and the dance collective 'Koleda Balkan'. In 1980, he founded his own dance company, the 'Mark Morris Dance Group', and has since created around 100 works for them. Initially, the company only performed a couple of times a year, but in 1986, they gained success when they were featured on national television in 'Dance in America' on PBS.

From 1988 to 1991, Mark Morris served as the director of the Royal Theatre La Monnaie in Brussels. It was during this creative period that he created three full-length ballet productions: 'The Hard Nut', 'L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato', and 'Dido and Aeneas'. In 1990, Morris began a dance project called the 'White Oak Dance Project' with Mikhail Baryshnikov. In the 1990s, Morris became highly sought after as a choreographer, working with companies such as the San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, and Paris Opera Ballet. His ballet productions can be seen in the repertoire of the Grand Théâtre de Genève, The Royal New Zealand Ballet, English National Ballet, and many others. Morris also worked extensively in opera, choreographing productions in the United States, Britain, and throughout Europe.

Mark Morris has received numerous awards in the world of ballet and choreography. He has been awarded honorary doctorates from institutions such as the Boston Conservatory of Music, The Juilliard School, Long Island University, Pratt Institute, Bowdoin College, and others. His life and work were the subject of a monograph by Joan Acocella in 1993.

In 2001, a collection of critical essays with photographs was published, centered around Morris' work 'L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato: A Celebration'. Notably, Morris, who had a heavier build compared to his ballet colleagues, was able to appear remarkably light and weightless in his dance, and his artistic expressiveness brought him well-deserved success.

Since 2001, Morris' company has been based in Brooklyn, where the Mark Morris Dance Center is also located. The center offers dance and ballet training for various age groups.