One of the world’s leading contemporary dance companies, the Mark Morris Dance Group and Music Ensemble, has expanded the boundaries of movement and artistic expression since its inception in 1980. Led by the visionary choreographer Mark Morris, the group seamlessly blends his extraordinary choreography, live music, and compelling storytelling, creating a captivating performance that will leave you inspired by the sheer brilliance of dance as an art form. The performance will feature music for violin and piano performed live by the MMDG Music Ensemble.
Italian Concerto (music by J.S.Bach)
Candleflowerdance (music by Igor Stravinsky)
Excursions (music by Samuel Barber)
Words (music by Felix Mendelssohn)
“…the pre-eminent modern dance organization of our time.”
— Yo-Yo Ma
Seating for this Concert / This concert is general admission seating, with premium reserved seating available.
Summer Season Shuttle / Take the FREE shuttle from Metro North’s Katonah train station to and from Caramoor! The shuttle runs before and after every summer afternoon and evening concert. There is no RSVP to get on the shuttle, it will be there when you arrive (in the parking lot side of the station). If it’s not there, it’s just making the loop and should be back within 5–10 minutes. The shuttle will start running 2.5 hours before the concert, and 30 minutes after the concert ends.
Rain or Shine / All events at Caramoor take place rain or shine. However, this performance is under our fully covered Venetian Theater tent.
Explore the Rosen House from 5:00pm–6:30pm / Select rooms of the Rosen House are free to explore during our Open House hours. No RSVP is required; feel free to attend and discover more about Caramoor’s history and founders.
Mark Morris has been praised as “the most successful and influential choreographer alive, and indisputably the most musical.” (The New York Times). In addition to creating over 150 works for the Mark Morris Dance Group, he conducts orchestras, directs opera, and choreographs for ballet companies worldwide. Morris’ work is acclaimed for its ingenuity, musicality, wit, and humanity. Named a Fellow of the MacArthur Foundation in 1991, he has received eleven honorary doctorates to date, and a multitude of awards, including the Samuel H. Scripps/American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Leonard Bernstein Lifetime Achievement Award for the Elevation of Music in Society, the Benjamin Franklin Laureate Prize for Creativity, the Cal Performances Award of Distinction in the Performing Arts, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s Gift of Music Award, and the 2016 Doris Duke Artist Award. In 2015, Morris was inducted into the National Museum of Dance in Saratoga Springs, New York. Morris’ memoir, Out Loud, co-written with Wesley Stace, was published in paperback by Penguin Press in October 2021.
Formed in 1980, Mark Morris’ internationally-renowned Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG) has received “highest praise for their technical aplomb, their musicality, and their sheer human authenticity.” (Bloomberg News). Live music and community engagement are vital components of the dance group, which has toured with its own musicians, the MMDG Music Ensemble, since 1996 and regularly collaborates with orchestras and opera companies around the world. MMDG’s film and television projects include Dido and Aeneas, The Hard Nut, Falling Down Stairs, the U.K.’s South Bank Show, and Live from Lincoln Center. In 2015, Morris’ signature work L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato premiered on PBS’s Great Performances. The Mark Morris Dance Center was opened in 2001 to provide a home for the Dance Group, subsidized rental space for local artists, programs for local children and seniors, and dance classes for students of all ages and abilities.
To learn more about Marc Morris Dance Group, please visit their website.