Farewell and best of luck, Mica Bernas
Mark Morris: Music I Want You To Hear: AAPI Month
On the Membership Dashboard: Behind the Scenes with MMDG
At the Mark Morris Dance Center: 2026 Dance Center Showcase
Dances to American Music
The Joyce Theater, July 14 – 25
The Mark Morris Dance Group and Music Ensemble returns to The Joyce with Dances to American Music, a vibrant three-program repertory series offering a sweeping portrait of American sound and movement—spanning jazz, country, and maverick modernism through Morris’ singular choreographic lens.
Soul of America (Program A) draws from the vitality of early jazz and American popular music, with works set to composers including George Gershwin and James P. Johnson.
American Heartbeat (Program B) celebrates the rich traditions of Country, Western and Bluegrass music in a rare all-recorded-music program by American country legends Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, The Louvin Brothers, and George Jones.
American Mavericks (Program C) explores the expansive and experimental sound worlds of West Coast composers Henry Cowell and Lou Harrison.
The engagement also includes the New York premiere of Pizzica and the world premiere of The Sweetest Gift.
Farewell and
Best of Luck, Mica Bernas!
After 9 incredible years, join us in wishing Mica Bernas well as she retires from the stage and moves on to the next chapter..
To celebrate Mica’s time with MMDG, we asked her a few question about the last 9 years.
Do you remember how you first learned about Mark Morris and the Mark Morris Dance Group?
I first learned the name Mark Morris from Denisa Reyes, who was Artistic Director at Ballet Philippines at the time. I was just an apprentice, nineteen years old, completely green and she told me that my dancing was very musical and that I would really enjoy Mark’s work. She said it like she was letting me in on a secret. I remember thinking, “okay, noted,” and then promptly not knowing what to do with that information, because I was nineteen and didn’t know what life had in store for me. But Denisa planted something. It took years to grow, and here I am, nine years later, walking off the stage of the company she first told me about. I think about that a lot. She saw something before I could see it myself.
Are there any word to describe your first year with MMDG? What did you learn?
Terrifying. Humbling. The company has this energy that hits you immediately. Everyone is so smart, so precise, so present. These dancers are extraordinary people. Getting to watch them and Mark up close every day was its own education.
Do you have a favorite Mark Morris piece to perform?
Dido and Aeneas, without question. Purcell’s score is already devastating on its own, but dancing inside it with Mark’s vision is a different experience entirely. It’s the kind of dancing that rewards you for actually listening. Growing up dancing with Ballet Philippines, corps work was instilled in me early – the discipline and the beauty of a group of people moving as one body, same pulse, same breath, same goal, same story. There is something almost spiritual about that when it’s working.
What is your connection to the Dance Center?
My connection to the Dance Center actually predates my time with the company. I was taking class at the Dance Center for years before I ever became a company member, so by the time I joined MMDG, this building already felt familiar. What I love about this place is that it holds all of my favorite things at once. I dance here, I learn here, I teach here, I mentor here – and yes, I sing here, which my colleagues have generously tolerated. There is no other building in my life where I get to do so many things that matter to me, all under one roof.
What’s made this place feel truly special is the community beyond the stage. Being a part of the Adult Dance community and the Dance for Parkinson’s program has genuinely expanded what I understand dance to be for. It’s about what movement does to a human being, full stop.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Just that I am so proud of the journey – and grateful for the restarts.
This chapter gave me more than one “begin again” moment. When I joined MMDG, I was like every other dancer wondering if a company job was even out there for me and then this door opened. It gave me another shot at company life – performing, touring, learning, and truly making a life here in New York. And during the harder seasons of my own life, having dance around, having this community around, got me back to the surface. I am grateful for that more than I can say.
I grew up in Manila. I moved to New York City in 2006 with big ideas and not much else, and built a life here piece by piece. Somehow, the name that an Artistic Director whispered to a nineteen-year-old apprentice in the Philippines became the name on the door of the company I spent the last nine years of my career with. That doesn’t happen without a lot of luck, hard work, and grace. And it doesn’t mean anything without the people. To everyone I’ve danced beside every single day: you are the best part of all of it. I hope you know that.
Click the photo to take a look at some of our favorite Mica moments!
Mark Morris: Music I Want You To Hear
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Month! In celebration, Mark assembled 2 distinctly unique albums – one by Japanese multi-media artist Yoko Ono and the other by Pacific Islander guitarist Gabby Pahinui with The Sons of Hawaii.
Happy listening.
All past and current playlists are always available when you follow us on Spotify!
On the Membership Dashboard:
Behind the Scenes with the Mark Morris Dance Group
On May 5, 2026, we hosted our Spring Virtual Rehearsal and live Q&A with the Mark Morris Dance Group. The company rehearsed sections from Pizzica (2025) in advance of their spring and summer performances of the work. Following the rehearsal and coaching session, Rehearsal Director Elisa Clark and company dancer Billy Smith answered viewers’ question. Guests enjoyed an insightful glimpse into the work and process of preparing Mark Morris’ repertory for the stage.
Enjoy a glimpse from a few moments of this event below.
See Pizzica in performance in Durham, North Carolina and in NYC this July
Announcing our raffle winner!
Congratulations to Anne L. in NYC for winning our 2026 Spring Membership raffle of two free tickets to a Mark Morris Dance Group performance in 2026! And thank you to everyone who joined, renewed, or upgraded as a member of Mark Morris Dance Group during our spring appeal. We are grateful!
If you’re not yet a member or you would like to join or renew, click here. To upgrade your membership, contact us at memberships@mmdg.org.
At the Dance Center: 2026 Dance Center Showcase
We are looking forward to our 5th annual Dance Center Showcase performance where performers from our Student Company I & II, Junior Company I & II, Arts Immersion Fellows, and Dance for PD community members will come together for a round of memorable joint performances June 5 -7 at the
James and Martha Duffy Performance Space at the Mark Morris Dance Center.
This year’s program features excerpts from 2 Mark Morris works, Northwest and Numerator, staged by members of the Mark Morris Dance Group; as well as adapted movement from the Bourrée section from Falling Down Stairs.
Audiences will also experience original works by Abby Dias, Aria Roach, Julia Ramirez, Véronëque Ignace, MMDG company member Billy Smith, Arts Immersion Fellow Savion Trice, and Pamela Quinn.
Join us for this jam packed celebration of our dance community! The Dance Center Showcase is always a live affirmation that Dance is for Anybody.
From Dance for PD: Research Participants Needed
Dance for PD is collaborating with the Jameel Arts & Health Lab at NYU Steinhardt.
Researchers at the Jameel Arts & Health Lab at NYU Steinhardt are looking for participants for a study exploring how dance, walking, and pedaling impact the brain and behavior in people with Parkinson’s Disease.
The Study includes:
- Pre- and post-testing (motor + speech assessments)
- fMRI brain scans
- 12 weeks of Dance for PD® classes or walking/pedaling exercise
- Twice weekly sessions (1 hour each)
Who can participate?
- Ages 55-85
- Current diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease or Parkinsonism
$250 total compensation
If interested, contact Dr. Constantina Theofanopoulou
kt2623@nyu.edu