The American choreographer presents four Australian premieres at first Sydney appearances since 2003.

As a choreographer and dancer Mark Morris is one of the world’s most hallowed artists, but Morris is also a deeply committed advocate of live music and now, aged 58, is a more regular fixture in the pit than the stage, as the conductor of the Mark Morris Dance Group’s resident music ensemble.

Having toured to Australia once already in 2015, with a sold-out season of Mozart Dances at the Perth International Festival, the Mark Morris Dance Group are now appearing on the east coast for the first time since 2003. The company will present the Australian premiere of four original works of Morris repertoire: A Wooden Tree, Festival Dance, Pacific, and Morris’ most recent work, Whelm, set to the music of Debussy.

Morris has been an outspoken supporter of the use of live performance over pre-recorded soundtracks for dance throughout his 35-year career, and the Mark Morris Dance Group has the distinction of being the only modern dance company in the world who performs exclusively with live music. This has led the dance troupe to collaborate with some of the world’s most sought after musicians, including Yo-Yo Ma, the London Symphony Orchestra, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, and baroque orchestra Tafelmusik. “My chief passion is music, and so I make dance because of music – I’m rarely attracted to music that was written specifically to be choreographed,” Morris says. “When I choreograph, I don’t see a dance in my head. I go from the study of the music, revelling in it and really trying to apply myself to the structure and tone. What’s interesting about the music, is very often the thing that becomes interesting about the dance.”

Morris’ deep affinity for classical repertoire is an important aspect of his oeuvre, and in 2006 the famed American dance maker began conducting his resident band, the Mark Morris Music Ensemble. Nine years on, Morris has combined his dual passions of conducting and choreography to collaborate on productions for New York’s Metropolitan Opera and the English National Opera, and in 2013 he served as the Music Direct for the Ojai Music Festival.

Mark Morris Dance Group and Music Ensemble are at the Sydney Opera House until June 6.

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