Mark Morris, the 'Mozart of modern dance,' returns Feb. 23-25

The Washington Post has called Mark Morris "our Mozart of modern dance." Morris returns to Cornell with his dance group for three performances Feb. 23, 24 and 25 in the Proscenium Theatre of the Center for Theatre Arts. All performances begin at 8 p.m.

Morris, now 41, last appeared at Cornell in April 1987. Back then he was considered the "bad boy" of modern dance: outrageous, exasperating and irresistible. Ten years later he is recognized worldwide as the most influential and engaging American choreographer working today.

Morris and his company, formally known as the Mark Morris Dance Group, will perform four works: Canonic 3/4 Studies (1982), A Spell (1993), in which Morris dances the role of Cupid to two recalcitrant lovers, Grand Duo (1993) for 14 dancers and an untitled new work for six dancers set to music by John Harbison. The music is provided by five instrumentalists and a singer.

Tickets for all three performances are on sale at the Lincoln Hall Ticket Office, 105 Lincoln Hall, Monday through Friday from 9:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., or by calling 255-5144. Tickets are $35; $28 for students. VISA, MasterCard, Discover and Cornell Card are accepted. If available, tickets may be purchased at the Center for Theatre Arts on the day of the performance, beginning at 7:15 p.m.

Morris's last appearance at Cornell occurred one year before the Mark Morris Dance Group was invited to become the national dance company of Belgium. During his three-year tenure as director of dance at the Theater Royal de la Monnaie, Morris created 12 pieces including three evening-length works that catapulted him to worldwide fame: The Hard Nut (his comic-book inspired version of The Nutcracker); L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato; and Dido and Aneas.

By the time he returned to the United States, he had founded the White Oak Dance Project with Mikhail Baryshnikov and received a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant." Morris is also the director and choreographer of the new Paul Simon/Derek Walcott musical The Capeman, now on Broadway.

The selection of the Mark Morris Dance Group to appear on the Cornell Concert Series acknowledges Morris's indebtedness to classical music as a source for his choreography. Morris says, "I like music that on one level is as plain as day but on another, emotional level is deep and complicated, full of possibilities....I love music better than dance in many ways, and I love it when we get the music crowd in just to hear the score."

The performances at Cornell are cosponsored by the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance.