“A tour de force of late 20th century artistic storytelling…that smashes and rewrites stylistic boundaries.” – LA Times
Dido and Aeneas is Mark Morris’ dance adaptation of Henry Purcell’s 1689 eponymous opera, based on Virgil’s famous tale of Aeneas’ affair with Dido, the Queen of Carthage on his way to founding Rome. As Director of Dance at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, Belgium, Morris presented this opera with a unique perspective– with singers stationed in the pit and with the stage reserved exclusively for dancing.
Morris’ original casting of himself in the dual role of Dido and the evil Sorceress who plots the Queen’s demise would become one of his most acclaimed. “As he said at the time,” biographer Joan Acocella wrote in 1993, “he wanted to expand the expressiveness of male dancers; he wanted to give them what women had. But, artistically, the more important fact was that the gender switch—plus the combining of the heroine and villainess roles—shot the show into a mythic territory, beyond realism and beyond conventional morals.” Morris continued to perform the role until 2000. In 2008, Morris began conducting performances of Dido and Aeneas. In this digital exhibit, we have collected rare archival videos, images, programs, and more for you to explore in anticipation of the company’s upcoming performances.
Dido and Aeneas is being revived for a run at BAM in Brooklyn, New York in February 2027.
Three Preludes is a standout solo choreographed by Mark Morris. The work brings Gershwin’s virtuosic compositional flair vividly into the realm of dance—imbued with Mark’s trademark musicality, precision, and understated humor. The 1992 premiere featured Mark Morris, and he went on to perform the work across many years. Mikhail Baryshnikov also danced Three Preludes as a guest with the New York City Ballet and as part of his own White Oak Dance Project. The solo showcases Gershwin’s jazzy elegance and rhythmic brilliance. Three Preludes will be performed throughout the company’s 2025-26 tour season as a part of the Dances to American Music program.
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.
