Flex and bend and turn and bend

Mark Morris Dance Group

V (2001) and Foursome (2002)

Benedum Center

Thursday, Nov. 7… Mark Morris Dance Group

V (2001) and Foursome (2002)

Benedum Center

Thursday, Nov. 7

They dress in bright blue fluid costumes, flex their feet when they jump into the air and wrap their arms around their bodies when they turn. These are dancers with Mark Morris Dance Group, a New York City-based modern dance company coming to Pittsburgh this Thursday night to share their interpretation of dance expression in its simplest and most vibrant form.

Mark Morris Dance Group, a company formulated by a group of artistic friends with a diverse background in dance, came together in 1980 to impart to the traditional dance scene artistic modern movements that have paved the way for modern dance companies ever since. Mark Morris is known for his reliance or even his dependence on music, which evokes passionate inner feelings and creates visible external movements. His reliance on the music also gives his choreography the ability to make the dance rise from the stage and meet the audience with a movement, a gesture or a look.

After speaking with Bradon McDonald, a company dance member of Mark Morris Dance Group, he shared his experiences with dancing with Morris.

“Mark Morris has a variety of dance style training. He is a music lover and through his love of music and the way he envisions it, he works with his own taste, which is wonderful [to create] pieces that have a story or are inspired by the music.”

On Thursday evening, “V,” a collaboration of intimate choreography that is danced to a musical quintet, will be presented. “V” successfully creates v-shaped patterns by dancers dressed in two color-coded groups. The formations and the attire are additionally pleasant along with the movements and the music. The music to “V” is Erik Satie’s “Gymnopedie No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3” and Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s “Seven Hungarian Dancers.” Morris dedicated “V” to the city of New York.

“Foursome” is a folk dance featuring four men who, one by one, turn while relying on each other to express their masculinity. These men still find it essential to utilize space and make their movements sharp as if their bodies have recurring spasms to the music.

Along with “V” and “Foursome,” Morris will also present his classic from 1982, “Long Song Waltzes,” which is set to Johannes Brahms’ score.

Since 1982, Morris has claimed that his choreography has become more direct over the years, less fancy and grounded in simplicity. His dance company now has more than 100 pieces of choreography with 19 company dancers and 12 staff members. Mark Morris Dance Group performs an average of 90 shows a year and travels to 34 cities worldwide.

The company is known as one of the only modern dance groups that perform to live music. Thursday evening, the innovative and energetic choreography will be accompanied by string and piano instrumentals and promises to be a pleasant, simple, but artistic experience.

McDonald ended our conversation with “Modern dance has had its end point. This is dance.” And this is a starting point.