Mark Morris News

New York City's dance luminaries, rising stars, and fans were out in full force at the fabled Apollo Theater in Harlem on the evening of Monday, October 7th 2013 to attend the 29th annual Bessies Awards. The ceremony, named for contemporary dance legend Bessie Schonberg and produced in partnership with Dance/NYC, recognizes established as well as upcoming artists who have made outstanding contributions to the many disciplines of the liveliest art in the Dance Mecca of the World.

The New York Dance and Performance Awards (The Bessies), NYC's premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, announced tonight the complete list of winners for the 2012-13 season. The Bessies, produced in partnership with Dance/NYC, were held at the legendary Apollo Theater at 8:00 p.m., following red carpet interviews and photographs with the nominees in attendance. Former Cunningham dancer Gus Solomons jr. and former American Ballet Theatre principal Martine Van Hamel co-hosted the evening and also performed Paul Taylor's rarely seen 1957 Duet as part of the evening's performances.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and its home in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood, the Hubbard Street Dance Center, announced today the facility's first public classes in Gaga dance technique, to begin November 1, 2013.

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, the innovative contemporary Dance Company from the American West led by Artistic Director Tom Mossbrucker and Executive Director Jean-Philippe Malaty, returns to the Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph Street, for one performance only tonight, October 5 at 7:30 pm.

Gotham Chamber Opera in collaboration with Opera Philadelphia and Music-Theatre Group is proud to announce that composer Andrew Norman has been selected as its third Composer in Residence (CIR). Norman was chosen from over 100 applicants for the position and now has the opportunity to follow a personalized development track focused on the further development of his skills as an operatic composer.

Annie Leibovitz: Pilgrimage charts a new direction for one of America's best-known living artists. Unlike her staged and carefully lit portraits made on assignment for magazines and advertising clients, these photographs were taken simply because Leibovitz was moved by the subject. The exhibition, including 78 photographs, taken between April 2009 and May 2011, will be on view at the Columbia Museum of Art October 4, 2013 through January 5, 2014. The CMA is the only exhibition presentation in the Southeast. Annie Leibovitz: Pilgrimage is an evocative and deeply personal statement by a photographer, whose career now spans more than 40 years, encompassing a broad range of subject matter, history and stylistic influences. The work shows Leibovitz at the height of her powers and pondering how photographs, including her own, shape a narrative of history that informs the present.

BAM presents the New York Premiere of A Rite as part of 2013 Next Wave Festival. The collaborative work by Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and Siti Company deconstructs the legendary score through our current cultural moment. The production runs at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House (30 Lafayette Ave), tonight, Oct 3-5 at 7:30pm. Tickets start at $20.

The BAM Next Wave Festival performances at the BAM Fisher continue this November with thought-provoking dance and theater offerings.

Bernard Labadie will return to the New York Philharmonic to conduct Mozart's Requiem; J.S. Bach's Cantata No. 51, Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen!; and Handel's 'Let the Bright Seraphim' from Samson. The program's soloists will include soprano Miah Persson, mezzo- soprano Stephanie Blythe, tenor Frédéric Antoun in his Philharmonic debut, bass Andrew Foster- Williams, Philharmonic Principal Trumpet Philip Smith, and the New York Choral Artists directed by Joseph Flummerfelt. The concerts will take place Thursday, November 7, 2013, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, November 8 at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday, November 9 at 8:00 p.m.

Curtains up! AIR TWYLA propels Pacific Northwest Ballet into its new season with a trio of works by its first artist-in-residence, renowned choreographer Twyla Tharp. The program includes the world premiere of Waiting at the Station with a commissioned score by New Orleans music legend Allen Toussaint. Sharing the program with Waiting at the Station are the Scottish-inspired Brief Fling (a PNB premiere) and Tharp's homage to Ol' Blue Eyes and ballroom dance, the unforgettable Nine Sinatra Songs. AIR TWYLA runs for only seven performances, tonight, September 27 - October 6 at Seattle Center's Marion Oliver McCaw Hall.

For over 30 years, the Brooklyn-based Mark Morris Dance Group has enthralled critics, dance enthusiasts, and novices alike with its amazing technical expertise, unique artistry, and its signature use of live music. Pianists Anton Nel and Colin Fowler, and progressive New York orchestra The Knights join MMDG for two performances of Morris' celebrated evening-length piece Mozart Dances.

Marking both the inaugural performances under newly appointed Artistic Director Kevin Irving and the final season of Principal Dancer Alison Roper, Oregon Ballet Theatre will present their opening program, DREAM, at the grand Keller Auditorium.

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater (DRDT), which creates world-class dance inspired by the African Diaspora in a community dedicated to nurturing artists, supporting human relationships and sharing common values through engaging in dance, kicks off Generations, a five-year multigenerational repertory project premiering November 1 at 8 p.m. at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park in Chicago.

Northrop at the University of Minnesota presents Hubbard Dance Street Chicago tonight, Sep 21 at 8:00 pm at the State Theatre as the opening performance in the 2013-14 Northrop dance season.

The Joyce Theater Foundation is proud to welcome back onto its stage Houston Ballet, following a successful debut two years ago, from October 22 - 27. This engagement will feature a program designed to showcase the company's contemporary repertoire with works by Stanton Welch (the company's acclaimed artistic director), Mark Morris, Ben Stevenson and Hans van Manen. Tickets range in price from $10-$59 ($26 - $44 for Joyce Members) and are available through JoyceCharge at www.Joyce.org or by calling 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket price is subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street, in Chelsea.

American Repertory Ballet will kick off its 2013-14 season at Rider University's Bart Luedeke Center Theater in Lawrenceville, NJ today and tomorrow, September 20 and 21 at 7:30pm. ARB's Fall Kick-Off production features Artistic Director Douglas Martin's critically acclaimed Rite of Spring, Patrick Corbin's lyrical Caress, ARB Resident Choreographer Mary Barton's vibrant Five Men and a Concerto, and an excerpt from Martin's Romeo and Juliet. The program presents repertory appealing to a wide variety of tastes, showcasing the diverse range of American Repertory Ballet's dancers and choreographers.

As Houston's leading performing arts presenter, Society for the Performing Arts (SPA) has announced its 2013-2014 season filled with music, dance and family entertainment from the world's best artists and companies.

TAPESTRY, Canada's leader in the development and performance of new opera, today announced their 2013-14 season including the Toronto premiere of SHELTER, a chamber opera by composer Juliet Palmer and librettist Julie Salverson.

MSG Entertainment, in collaboration with the World Music Institute, announced today that Zakir Hussain's "Masters of Percussion" will perform at New York's Theater at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, March 29, 2014. Tickets are on sale now.