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Mark Morris Dance Group Celebrates Their 45th Anniversary at BAM - March 26 through March 29th
For more info on the BAM Performances, and to Purchase Tickets, Click Here
In the late winter of 2001, I distinctly remember taking my seat at the Howard Gilman Opera House at BAM to see the Mark Morris Dance Group perform Mark's masterwork L’allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato for the first time. Absorbing the genius of Mark’s craft and the pure beauty of his work inspired me deeply. It aligned with my training and upbringing in dance and reawakened a desire to be part of something larger—something capable of leaving a profound impact on those privileged enough to witness it. Several months later I graduated with my BFA from the Juilliard School - the same ceremony in which Mark received an honorary doctorate. In a way, our connection had already begun.
Four years later, I was hired to cover this same work and due to an injured dancer, I was afforded the opportunity to take the stage at Lincoln Center at what was then still called the New York State Theater. The following year I was invited to join the company as an apprentice during MMDG's 25th anniversary season. The performing arts were thriving, tours were extensive, international collaborations were occurring and I was growing and dancing alongside multiple generations of Mark Morris artists, including Mark himself on occasion.
My name is Elisa Clark and I am currently the Rehearsal Director for the Mark Morris Dance Group. Over 20 years have passed since I first took the stage with the company. Now we are celebrating our 45th anniversary—a milestone for any arts organization, nonprofit institution, or dance company. The home of the Dance Group, the Mark Morris Dance Center has sat across the street from BAM in downtown Brooklyn for more than two decades, and this month we are preparing to share two different programs set to live music, with New York audiences at BAM.
As an artist, an educator and a rehearsal director, I am deeply interested and invested in the process. Yes, the end goal is to produce a final product that goes on stage for viewers to witness and experience; a clear, polished, reliable end result that is true to Mark's vision – yet in order for that to be accomplished, I take on the mindset that "the process is my product". The work that we see on stage happens because of a tremendous amount of behind-the-scenes preparatory work that is unseen.
As we remount and rehearse the three works we will be sharing - MOON, V, and Via Dolorosa – I am reminded that although two of the three of these pieces have been created recently over the last few years, all of the works that we do exist because of the generations of collaborators who came before, in addition to the current people involved. There have been many notable dancers who continue to be strong fibers to the fabric of the organization such as brilliant founding dancers Tina Fehlandt and Guillermo Resto, former and current long-term company members like Lauren Grant and Dallas McMurray, and the pillars that hold the entire organization up and the performances running, the remarkable Executive Director, Nancy Umanoff and Technical Director, Johan Henckens amongst many others of course.
It is a great honor to be in service to the work and to the field, while maintaining a clear perspective on what we do, how we do it, and sometimes most importantly, why we do it - all of which are essential pieces to both preserving what has been accomplished in the past and sustaining what is to come in the future.
Mark is one of the most prolific choreographers of his generation and still continues to create new work today. Whether his aesthetic is your personal cup of tea or not, his genius cannot be denied. His gifts in choreography and in music were noticed, developed and supported from a young age. His endless interest in numerous subjects alongside his fluency in those same or maybe different subjects has left remarkable imprints on who I am as an artist.
Through a lifetime of discipline, dedication and curiosity, I have been able to have a career more fulfilling than I ever imagined, having toured worldwide dancing as a company member not just in MMDG, but also with the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Monica Bill Barnes and Company, and as a founding member of Robert Battle’s Battleworks Dance Company. As a teacher, repetiteur and assistant, I have been fortunate to be in many different rooms, wearing many different hats, at many different tables, in many different institutions, and I believe that experience informs perspective. It is through my experiential research that I have learned that integrity is essential to achieving excellence. Mark’s commitment and determination to keep MAKING has contributed to the richness of the landscape of dance, and he has inspired and paved the way for many other artists, dance makers, musicians, and creatives to find their own voice leading to further contributions that enhance the field and beyond.
My hope is to encourage anyone and everyone who comes across this ‘POSTCARD’ to come see the Mark Morris Dance Group as we celebrate our 45th anniversary. I invite you to show up, to give, to receive, to experience, to support, to feel, to witness, to think, to engage and to be present to dance at a time when it is essential to keep choosing the arts.
