Mark Morris is a household name among contemporary dance aficionados. A prolific choreographer, he established the Mark Morris Dance Group in 1980 and has created nearly 150 works for the New-York based company. Renowed for making dance that is popular with critics and the public alike, Morris' status is nothing short of legendary.

Mozart Dances reveals Mark Morris as the great magician of contemporary dance and its foremost optimist. In this seemingly carefree work he offers principles of profound beauty, not in a didactic way but with simplicity and grace.

Everything about Mark Morris is big: his exuberant laugh, his passion for music, the uncensored chat and bawdy talk, his endlessly inquiring nature. He’s a stayer, too. The American choreographer started making dances when he was 13 (although he says he didn’t make his first good one until he was 15) and founded his own company at 24. He’s now 58 and Mark Morris Dance Group has not only survived, but is one of the world’s finest contemporary companies.

Robert Faires for Austin Chronicle 

If you could capture the essence of childhood play – the boundless energy; the unself-conscious immersion in pretending; the relentless inventiveness; the sheer delight in creativity – and channel it through an adult, you'd have … well, you'd have Mozart, wouldn't you? You'd also have the Mark Morris Dance Group in Mozart Dances.