Mark Morris

Mark Morris was born in 1956 in Seattle.

He began studying ballet, flamenco and European folklore with Verla Flowers. In 1967, at age 11, he studied in José Greco’s summer school in Indiana. At age 13, he performed professionally with the Koleda Balkan Dance Ensemble. In 1972-74, he studied ballet with Perry Brunson, and at high school he sand in choirs and studied the piano. In 1974 he moved to Madrid to studied flamenco and danced with the Royal Ballet of Madrid.
Morris returned to the US in 1976, lived in New York and was active in several companies, including the Eliot Feld Ballet (1976-77), Lar Lubovitch Dance Company (1977-78), Hannah Kahn Dance Company (1979-82) and Laura Dean Dance Company (1981-82). In 1980 he founded an independent company under his own name, whose first major performance was in 1984 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The company toured the US in 1985 and Europe in 1986.

During his years in Europe, Morris choreographed for various companies, including Batsheva, commissioned by its artistic director David Dvir. Morris choreographed two dances for the company, both in 1985: Marble Halls, and Canonic ¾ Studies, for which he also designed the costumes.
In 1988, Morris founded the Monnaie Dance Group as an extension of his existing company and served as its artistic director until 1991, when he returned to the US. In 1980-1997, Morris created some 100 choreographies, and in 1997 he was considered one of the leading choreographers in the US, with an established company of 17 dancers.
Morris won numerous awards, including the New York Dance and Performance Award (“Bessie”; 1984, 1990, 2007), Scotsman/Hamada Trust Festival Prize, Edinburgh Festival (1995), and the Capezio Achievement Award (1997). In 2010, he won the Leonard Bernstein Lifetime Achievement Award for the Elevation of Music in Society.