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Mark Morris’ Dance Group has become a fall fixture in the Bay Area, thanks to Robert Cole, the director for CAL Performances. Cole, who doubles as the conductor for Morris’ Hard Nut performances, steadfastly books yearly engagements for the three M’s: Merce, Misha and Mark. Considering that Betty Connors, one time Chairman of The Committee for Arts and Lectures, predecessor to CAL Performances, collaborated with her peers at the University of Texas,Austin and University of Michigan to insure a three-way base for nation-wide modern dance bookings, one comprehends how modern dance flourished during the hey-day of NEA support for touring dance ensembles.

The Morris taste in music is keen and eclectic. This program, running from Stephen Foster to Igor Stravinsky to Lou Harrison, was evidence, with choreographic ambience and costuming following suit. Morris can be over the top frequently, also wonderful and inevitably musical.

Somebody’s Coming to See Me Tonight, his Stephen Foster interpretation, belongs to the genre of his love for English music; Morris certainly catches plaintive mid-century US Victorian-type sentimentality with its arch gender behaviors, clearly reflected by Foster(1826-1864). The music lacks the wonderful brio in the English songs Morris employs with such charm and wit. The men’s shirts promise ante-bellum ambience; the initial use of duos becoming trios and duos with a single figure entering and exiting with striding gusto, complete with the Morris exclamatory ecarte port de bras, promises more than it can possibly deliver with such music as foundation. We saw quadrille, daisy chain and Virginia reel formations – thank heaven for his knowledge of social dance forms! The women’s costumes seem closer to de Mille’s Rodeo than The Missouri Compromise or James Buchanan’s presidency; Morris’ women are too robust for their assignments but The American Bach Soloists sang a terrific music support.

Candleflowerdance (2005 – Premiere)
Music: Igor Stravinsky
Choreography: Mark Morris
Costumes: Katherine McDowell
Lighting: Nicole France
Piano: Steven Beck

With a dedication to the late Susan Sontag, you might expect the treatment to be spare. The costumes, solid color short-sleeved front buttoned cotton shirts with dark trousers, evoked a small-town Saturday gathering, augmented by an upward pointing gesture and regard beginning and ending the work. Was it evoking the Almighty or apprehensive acknowledgement of terror from the skies? I never found out, but as change of pace from Foster, it was substantial.

Rhymes With Silver (1997)
Music: Lou Harrison
Choreography: Mark Morris
Set Design: Howard Hodgkin
Costumes: Martin Pakledinaz
Lighting: Michael Chybowski

Harrison admired Asian music and was unafraid to be musically jovial or melodic. Morris considered Harrison sublime and tilted the dancer’s bodies, moved them in profile a la Apres Midi d’Un Faun, and in groups which seemed frequently to be massive. This work, premiered at Zellerbach as part of the continued arrangement between Morris and CAL Performances, reflected his admiration. His use of a seven-league stride was seen in iconic form when Morris joined his ensemble for curtain calls.

Dan Henry, Pilates instructor,a twenty-plus year veteran of professional ice-skating, observed, “The pants in the costumes don’t fit well, and the first law of staging is the costumes have to fit.” He also commented “Morris doesn’t choreograph pas de deux; his dancers do no partnering, and this creates excitement and dimension in a dance.” That may account for a comment overheard as we left the theatre when a man complained, “Pointing the finger! I’ve never seen more sophomoric choreography.”