Comments on: Mark Morris, Mozart, and Full-Length Concert Dance on TV

By: tonya

tonya — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:02:29 +0000

Hi Germaine — I’m sure they probably either have it or will have it available on the PBS site. They usually have all of the dance performances available on DVD or video within a few weeks after they’ve been broadcast, so I’d check there: http://www.shoppbs.org/category/index.jsp?categoryId=2729306

By: germaine holohan

germaine holohan — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 03:01:25 +0000

I am a classical pianist and would pay for a copy of “Mozart Dances”. I simply love Mozart and Emanuel Ax. I unfortunately was unable to tape the program and would appreciate help in acquiring a copy.

By: Swan Lake Samba Girl » Blog Archive » Day of Merce and Frustration! | Tonya Plank | Writer, Dancer and Public Interest Lawyer

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 18:14:53 +0000

[...] The videos were my favorite part of the exhibit. They had several screens mounted on the wall, you took a chair hooked up to earphones and selected the music from whichever screen you wished to concentrate on. I actually found all screens mesmerizing and it was hard to focus on only one at a time. Funny thing, though, you really didn’t need to. The music (oftentimes sounds — of waterfalls, birds, people talking, etc.) seemed not to matter at all; you could have selected any soundtrack and watched any one of the screens. This, to me, marked Cunningham the complete opposite of Mark Morris, whose choreography is his rendition of that particular musical piece in motion. Also in contrast to how I personally felt watching Morris’s Mozart Pieces on PBS, Cunningham’s choreography was so engaging, I actually didn’t care what the sound was like. [...]

By: Philip

Philip — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 15:37:12 +0000

We used to see Morris at the Pillow in his earlier days when he was sort of the scruffy, bad boy of the dance world. He had a big gay following and I guess we were among them, His pieces were quirky and entertaining but then I think he started trying too hard to be different and ended up being cute. I hated his ‘version’ of Rameau’s PLATEE at NYC Opera a few years ago – silly, silly, silly – and I avoided his staging of Gluck’s ORFEO at the Met which my friend Dmitry thought was pretty awful.

It was amusing when Morris announced he would never stage a piece for NYC Ballet because he hates what Peter Martins has done to the Company. All I could think was “Thank god…”

I suppose it is ‘cool’ and ‘in’ to like Morris but he simply doesn’t interest me on any level. Not even enough to flip on the TV…

By: tonya

tonya — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 16:29:55 +0000

It seems like you pretty much felt the same way I did, Bob. It is valuable to watch it again, and so it’s fortunate that we have it on tape, but I wish it would have hit me over the head on first viewing; personally if I was a choreographer — or any kind of artist — that’s what I’d want.

The reviews are pretty mixed. Terry Teachout from WSJ liked it: http://www.artsjournal.com/aboutlastnight/2007/08/tt_enough_said.html

James Wolcott from Vanity Fair felt basically the same way we did: http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/blogs/wolcott/2007/08/surf-and-terp.html

And, as I cited in the main post, Acocella liked it (though that could have been informed at least in part by her relationship with Morris), and Macaulay seems like he couldn’t figure out exactly what to think. So, I’m not going to feel badly that I didn’t ‘get it’!

By: Bob

Bob — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 03:14:38 +0000

I recorded the Mark Morris program last thursday and finally got to see it tonight. Well, most of it, at least…quite frankly, I found his choreography for these Mozart pieces too slow, too repetitious and on the whole, rather uninteresting. In fact, I started to doze off about half way through. I mean, his work is professional and competent enough. But I guess I was looking for something along the lines of Balanchine’s dictum to “see the music and hear the dance.” I love Mozart’s music but I definitely did not “see” it tonight. Perhaps I was just tired or maybe I have to follow your lead, Tonya, and watch it a second and third time, but for the moment my gut reaction is that if this is the best (or even among the best) of Morris’s work, I’ll pass on his lesser creations.

By: Free Political Forum » Surf and Terp

Free Political Forum » Surf and Terp — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 02:45:11 +0000

[...] There’s a lot of ineffability going around, which leaves those unconvinced of Morris’s greatness forced to forage for ourselves as his admirers reshuffle the same greasy deck of platitudes they’ve been doling out since first word of his wonderment to behold was handed down from on high. I suspect even Morris’s biggest boosters are bored by their own encomia, which is why their praise has gone brown around the edges. What’s disappointing about last week’s broadcast is that so few dances are given the gala live-TV treatment and the sheer, skim-milk unexcitement of Mozart Dances represents an opportunity lost. “I mean, Iâ€™m glad that this film exists and that I have it taped; I can now watch it repeatedly and gain more appreciation for Morris. Iâ€™m just saying that I doubt that anyone new to dance was blown away by it,” observed Swan Lake Samba Girl. If only some visionary had the money, bravado, and resources to stage Larry Keigwin’s Bolero NYC for TV, the impact could be revelatory–dance newbies all across the nation would get religion. Instead, they got the good intentions and diluted art of Mozart Dances and were probably left wondering what all the fuss was about. [...]

By: Melinda

Melinda — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 21:02:42 +0000

How cool! I don’t think this has come on my PBS, but I’ll keep an eye out for it.

I love Sam Waterson. He reminds me so much of Atticus Finch, or maybe it’s just the parts he plays?

By: University Update - So You Think You Can Dance - Mark Morris, Mozart, and Full-Length Concert Dance on TV

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 16:10:20 +0000

[...] Top Chef Mark Morris, Mozart, and Full-Length Concert Dance on TV » This Summary is from an article posted at Swan Lake Samba Girl | Tonya Plank | Writer, Dancer and Public Interest Lawyer on Monday, August 20, 2007 Mark Morris, Mozart, and Full-Length Concert Dance on TV August 20th, 2007 Over the weekend, I watched Mark Morrisâ€™s Mozart Dances, … with the filmmaker. Before turning to the filming, I briefly want to give my two cents on the dance itself … ). One of the ways in which the dance is broken down is by gender, as Alastair Macaulay noted in the Times Summary Provided by Technorati.comView Original Article at Swan Lake Samba Girl | Tonya Plank | Writer, Dancer and Public Interest Lawyer » 10 Most Recent News Articles About So You Think You Can Dance [...]

By: jolene

jolene — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:46:18 +0000

It’s airing in my neighborhood on Tuesday! I can’t wait to see it.

Mark Morris is definitely one of my favorite choreographers, because of his musicality. I love how he displays such an understanding for the music, by playing with it, and using the music as a platform for his choreography.

Now you’re tempting me to tape it as well… hm.

By: tonya

tonya — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:36:41 +0000

Thanks for all of that, Jennifer! I do think that people with a music background have a better appreciation for Morris, and for Balanchine’s choreography as well. I’m going to keep watching the tape though, because I keep seeing more things in each viewing that I missed before.

And, it has to be shown on the West Coast at some point! PBS has annoyed me so much with that — my mom lives in North Carolina and they never get the PBS programming there that we get here. (Last year when Pasha was on America’s Ballroom Challenge and she didn’t get to see it because she lived down there it made me so mad). If something is of national interest — like dance, PBS should broadcast it nationally!

By: jennifer

jennifer — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 06:25:57 +0000

i saw this amazing performance last year during its premiere at the mozart festival last year…i truly think it’s one of mark morris’ best pieces, and with emmanuel ax!

the reason i think mark morris is so musical is that even though mozart’s music has lots of embellishments, the fundamental purity of melodic line is what makes mozart such a musical genius. and mark morris was able to follow that and…when i watched mozart dances, for me, the choreography was the music personified into dance. lots of choreographers try to fit in as many turns as they can, or more jumps…while overlooking the music and being “on the beat”… i think the only other piece in which struck me as music personified into dance is Robbins’ “Goldberg Variations”. brilliant!

i think it’s hard to build up an appreciation for mozart dances in one go, esp for people who do not have musical training…glad you got to see it many times. i think because this piece doesn’t have the flash, jumps, twirls and campy humor of mark morris’ other pieces (L’allegro comes to mind), some have deemed this to be not one of morris’ bests. i loved the simplicity of it all; you could miss it if you were looking for the flashy tricks.

i am disappointed that the camera work was a bit shoddy though; but expected. i’m hoping hoping hoping it will be shown on the west coast!