Mark Morris and Elizabeth Kurtzman have collaborated for more than 20 of Mark’s works. Elizabeth has costumed some of his most notable works including The Argument, Empire Garden, and Pepperland. This collection of archival sketches and performance videos along with a written interview with Elizabeth herself, showcases the journey from sketch to stage along with insights on how this collaboration came to be and how it functions from piece to piece.
Mark Morris Dance Group’s beloved holiday classic, The Hard Nut, a reimagining of the traditional Nutcracker ballet, has delighted audiences around the world since 1991. In this collection, we uncover rare videos and photos of the creative process, vintage TV spots, and early cast members, including Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Over the last 43 years, Mark Morris and his work have appeared numerous times on television. In some instances, he choreographed directly for commercials or televised shows; in others, he and the company were subjects of documentaries and reality TV. Enjoy this selection of archival videos demonstrating some of the many television spots featuring Mark Morris, his work, and the company.
Mark Morris has been directing and choreographing opera for nearly forty years. Beginning with Seattle Opera’s production of Salome in 1986, Morris has worked on eighteen operas to date and explored operatic music ranging from the baroque to contemporary works by composers such as John Adams. He has worked with many of the world’s greatest opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, The Royal Opera, English National Opera, and Gotham Chamber Opera. This collection of archival videos showcases Morris’ wide-ranging dramatic imagination, choreographic inventiveness, and profound understanding of music.
The spare, unconventional, and often witty music of French composer Erik Satie (1866-1925) has inspired Mark Morris’ choreography for over forty years. Morris first set dances to Satie in the early 1980s and has since choreographed a total of eight pieces to his music, which range from miniature compositions for solo piano to longer pieces for full orchestra and vocalists. This collection of archival videos gives a sense of the breadth and imagination of both Satie’s music and Morris’ choreography.
The English painter Howard Hodgkin (1932-2017) was a long-time Mark Morris Dance Group collaborator and friend. Described by art historian Nicholas Serota as, “One of the great artists and colorists of his generation,” Hodgkin’s vibrant, abstract paintings served at the scenic designs for Mark Morris’ Rhymes With Silver (1997), Kolam (2002), Mozart Dances (2006), and Layla and Majnun (2016). In 2024, Mark Morris will premiere a new work, Via Dolorosa, at Cal Performances in Berkeley, CA featuring a Hodgkin painting originally used as the scenic design in Kolam.
We are now featuring the full-length performance videos of three previously excerpted works showcasing Mark Morris as a performer: in “Pièces en Concert” (1986), “Pas de Poisson” (1990), and “Zwei Harveytänze” (1999). Read more about each work in the descriptions connected to each video.
