OCTOBER—NOVEMBER 2014
The renowned Brooklyn-based company performed, collaborated, and brought workshops for differently-abled bodies to Cambodia, China, Taiwan, and Timor-Leste.
OCTOBER—NOVEMBER 2014
The renowned Brooklyn-based company performed, collaborated, and brought workshops for differently-abled bodies to Cambodia, China, Taiwan, and Timor-Leste.
ABOUT THE RESIDENCY
Committed to the intersection of live music and dance, Mark Morris Dance Group explored modes of collaboration during their Southeast Asian residency. In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, they worked with traditional Cambodian musicians to adapt a piece from Mark Morris’ repertory for Cambodian instruments. In Timor-Leste, they danced alongside nine Timorese companies who had never previously worked together. And throughout their travels in China and Taiwan, MMDG led their trademark Dance for PD® workshops for people with Parkinson’s and their caregivers.
ABOUT THE RESIDENCY
Committed to the intersection of live music and dance, Mark Morris Dance Group explored modes of collaboration during their Southeast Asian residency. In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, they worked with traditional Cambodian musicians to adapt a piece from Mark Morris’ repertory for Cambodian instruments. In Timor-Leste, they danced alongside nine Timorese companies who had never previously worked together. And throughout their travels in China and Taiwan, MMDG led their trademark Dance for PD® workshops for people with Parkinson’s and their caregivers.
FROM THE TRAVEL BLOG
“We’re off to a great start. The locals involved in the project thought that it was a good idea to purchase and rent absolutely nothing in advance. In actuality, it was a good idea indeed.”
—Johan Henckens on building a sprung deck in Cambodia
FROM THE TRAVEL BLOG
“We’re off to a great start. The locals involved in the project thought that it was a good idea to purchase and rent absolutely nothing in advance. In actuality, it was a good idea indeed.”
—Johan Henckens on building a sprung deck in Cambodia
MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP
MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP
Image courtesy: Timothy Norris
ABOUT THE COMPANY
The Mark Morris Dance Group was formed in 1980 and gave its first performance that year in New York City.
The company’s touring schedule steadily expanded to include cities in the United States and around the world, and in 1986 it made its first national television program for the PBS series Dance in America. In 1988, MMDG was invited to become the national dance company of Belgium, and spent three years in residence at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels. The Dance Group returned to the United States in 1991 as one of the world’s leading dance companies.
Based in Brooklyn, New York, MMDG maintains strong ties to presenters in several cities around the world, most notably to its West Coast home, Cal Performances in Berkeley, California, and its Midwest home, the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. MMDG also appears regularly in New York, Boston, Seattle, and Fairfax. In New York, the company has performed at New York City Center’s Fall for Dance Festival, regularly performs at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ Mostly Mozart and White Light Festivals, and collaborates yearly with BAM on performances and master classes. From the company’s many London seasons, it has received two Laurence Olivier Awards and a Critics’ Circle Dance Award for Best Foreign Dance Company.
Reflecting Morris’ commitment to live music, the Dance Group has featured live musicians in every performance since the formation of the MMDG Music Ensemble in 1996. MMDG regularly collaborates with renowned musicians, including cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Emanuel Ax, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, and jazz trio The Bad Plus, as well as leading orchestras and opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera, English National Opera, and the London Symphony Orchestra.
MMDG frequently works with distinguished artists and designers, including painters Robert Bordo and the late Howard Hodgkin, set designers Adrianne Lobel and Allen Moyer, costume designers Martin Pakledinaz and Isaac Mizrahi, and many others. MMDG’s film and television projects include Dido and Aeneas, The Hard Nut, Falling Down Stairs, two documentaries for the U.K.’s South Bank Show, and PBS’ Live from Lincoln Center. In 2015, Morris’ signature work L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato had its national television premiere on PBS’ Great Performances. While on tour, the Dance Group partners with local cultural institutions and community organizations to present arts and humanities-based activities for people of all ages and abilities.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
The Mark Morris Dance Group was formed in 1980 and gave its first performance that year in New York City.
The company’s touring schedule steadily expanded to include cities in the United States and around the world, and in 1986 it made its first national television program for the PBS series Dance in America. In 1988, MMDG was invited to become the national dance company of Belgium, and spent three years in residence at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels. The Dance Group returned to the United States in 1991 as one of the world’s leading dance companies.
Based in Brooklyn, New York, MMDG maintains strong ties to presenters in several cities around the world, most notably to its West Coast home, Cal Performances in Berkeley, California, and its Midwest home, the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. MMDG also appears regularly in New York, Boston, Seattle, and Fairfax. In New York, the company has performed at New York City Center’s Fall for Dance Festival, regularly performs at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ Mostly Mozart and White Light Festivals, and collaborates yearly with BAM on performances and master classes. From the company’s many London seasons, it has received two Laurence Olivier Awards and a Critics’ Circle Dance Award for Best Foreign Dance Company.
Reflecting Morris’ commitment to live music, the Dance Group has featured live musicians in every performance since the formation of the MMDG Music Ensemble in 1996. MMDG regularly collaborates with renowned musicians, including cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Emanuel Ax, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, and jazz trio The Bad Plus, as well as leading orchestras and opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera, English National Opera, and the London Symphony Orchestra.
MMDG frequently works with distinguished artists and designers, including painters Robert Bordo and the late Howard Hodgkin, set designers Adrianne Lobel and Allen Moyer, costume designers Martin Pakledinaz and Isaac Mizrahi, and many others. MMDG’s film and television projects include Dido and Aeneas, The Hard Nut, Falling Down Stairs, two documentaries for the U.K.’s South Bank Show, and PBS’ Live from Lincoln Center. In 2015, Morris’ signature work L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato had its national television premiere on PBS’ Great Performances. While on tour, the Dance Group partners with local cultural institutions and community organizations to present arts and humanities-based activities for people of all ages and abilities.
DanceMotion USASM was a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State, administered by BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) to facilitate cultural exchange while showcasing the best in contemporary American dance abroad.
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