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Cotswold morris with handkerchiefs

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Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, handkerchiefs and bells may also be wielded by the dancers. In a small number of dances for one or two men, steps are performed near and across a pair of clay tobacco pipes laid across each other on the floor.

Claims that English records dating back to 1448 mention the morris dance are open to dispute. There is no mention of "morris" dancing earlier than the late 15th century, although early records such as Bishops' "Visitation Articles" mention sword dancing, guising and other dancing activities as well as mumming plays. Furthermore, the earliest records invariably mention "Morys" in a court setting, and both men and women are mentioned as dancing, and a little later in the Lord Mayors' Processions in London. It is only later that it begins to be mentioned as something performed in the parishes. There is certainly no evidence that it is a pre-Christian ritual, as is often claimed.

In the modern day, it is commonly thought of as a mainly English activity, although there are around 150 morris sides (or teams) in the United States. British expatriates form a larger part of the morris tradition in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Hong Kong. There are isolated groups in other countries, for example those in Utrecht, Netherlands; the Arctic Morris Group of Helsinki,^[1] Finland and Stockholm,^[2] Sweden; as well as in Cyprus;^[3] and Alsace, France.^[4]

Name and origins[link]

A small statue of a "Moriskentänzer" made by Erasmus Grasser in 1480, one of a set of 16, of which only 10 remain. This dancer is clearly "moorish", but all the other 9 surviving carvings have caucasian features. All wear bells on their legs.

The term is derived from moorish dance, attested as Morisk dance and moreys daunce, morisse daunce in the mid-15th century. The spelling Morris-dance appears in the 17th century. Comparable terms in other languages are German Moriskentanz (also from the 15th century), French morisques, Croatian moreška, and moresco, moresca or morisca in Italy and Spain.^[5] Another theory is that it derives from the Romanian "morişca", which means "little mill".^[6]

By 1492 Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castille succeeded in driving the Moors out of Spain and unifying the country. In celebration of this a pageant known as a Moresca was devised and performed. This can still be seen performed in places such as Ainsa, Aragon. Incorporated into this pageant was the local dance – the paloteao. This too can still be seen performed in the villages of Aragon, Basque country, Castille, Catalonia and northern Portugal. The original "Moresca" is believed^[who?] a sword dance. A similar sword folk dance is known as the Căluşari dance of Romania which spread abroad in Bulgaria and Serbia and it is also believed to be closely related to the Morris dance. Speculations suggest that the dance was borrowed from Dacia by the Celts. ^[7] The sticks in Morris dance are a residual of the swords in the "Moresca". The similarity to what became known as the English "morris" is surmised.^{[citation needed]} Although the Great London Chronicle records spangled Spanish dancers performing an energetic dance before Henry VII at Christmas of 1494, Heron's accounts also mention "pleying of the mourice dance" four days earlier which could mean that the Morris Dance was an indigenous entertainment already in existence in England, perhaps from the Middle Ages.^[8] Early court records state that the "moresque" was performed at court in her honour, including the dance – the "moresque" or "morisce" or "morys" dance.

History in England[link]

Illustration of William Kempe morris dancing from London to Norwich in 1600

Before the English Civil War, the working peasantry took part in morris dances, especially at Whitsun. In 1600 the Shakespearean actor William Kempe morris danced from London to Norwich, an event chronicled in his Nine Daies Wonder (1600). The Puritan government of Oliver Cromwell, however, suppressed Whitsun Ales and other such festivities. When the crown was restored by Charles II, the springtime festivals were restored. In particular, Whitsun Ales came to be celebrated on Whitsunday, as the date coincided with the birthday of Charles II.

Morris dancers and a hobby horse: detail of Thames at Richmond, with the Old Royal Palace, c.1620

Morris dancing continued in popularity until the industrial revolution and its accompanying social changes. Four teams claim a continuous lineage of tradition within their village or town: Abingdon (their morris team was kept going by the Hemmings Family),^[9] Bampton, Headington Quarry, and Chipping Campden.^[10] Other villages have revived their own traditions, and hundreds of other teams across the globe have adopted (and adapted) these traditions, or have created their own styles from the basic building blocks of morris stepping and figures.

Several English folklorists were responsible for recording and reviving the tradition in the early 20th century, often from a bare handful of surviving members of mid-19th-century village sides. Among these, the most notable are Cecil Sharp, Maud Karpeles, and Mary Neal.

Boxing Day 1899 is widely regarded^{[citation needed]} as the starting point for the morris revival. Cecil Sharp was visiting at a friend's house in Headington, near Oxford, when the Headington Quarry morris side arrived to perform. Sharp was intrigued by the music and collected several tunes from the side's musician, William Kimber; not until about a decade later, however, did he begin collecting the dances, spurred and at first assisted by Mary Neal, a founder of the Espérance Club (a dressmaking co-operative and club for young working women in London), and Herbert MacIlwaine, musical director of the Espérance Club. Neal was looking for dances for her girls to perform, and so the first revival performance was by young women in London.

In the first few decades of the 20th century, several men's sides were formed, and in 1934 the Morris Ring was founded by six revival sides. In the 1960s and especially the 1960s, there was an explosion of new dance teams, some of them women's or mixed sides. At the time, there was often heated debate over the propriety and even legitimacy of women dancing the morris, even though there is evidence as far back as the 16th century that there were female morris dancers. There are now male, female and mixed sides to be found.

Partly because women's and mixed sides are not eligible for full membership of the Morris Ring, two other national (and international) bodies were formed, the Morris Federation and Open Morris. All three bodies provide communication, advice, insurance, instructionals (teaching sessions) and social and dancing opportunities to their members. The three bodies co-operate on some issues, while maintaining their distinct identities.

Styles[link]

Cotswold-style morris dancing in the grounds of Wells Cathedral, Wells, England — Exeter Morris Men

Today, there are six predominant styles of morris dancing, and different dances or traditions within each style named after their region of origin.

• Cotswold morris: dances from an area mostly in Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire; an established misnomer, since the Cotswolds overlap this region only partially. Normally danced with handkerchiefs or sticks to accompany the hand movements.
• North West morris: more military in style and often processional.
• Border Morris from the English-Welsh border: a simpler, looser, more vigorous style, normally danced with blackened faces (or sometimes otherwise coloured, given the negative connotations for some of blackface).
• Longsword dancing from Yorkshire and south Durham.
• Rapper or Short sword dancing from Northumberland and Co. Durham.
• Molly Dancing from the English Midlands and East Anglia.

Cotswold[link]

Lionel Bacon records Cotswold morris traditions from these villages: Abingdon, Adderbury, Ascot-under-Wychwood, Badby, Bampton, Bidford, Bledington, Brackley, Bucknell, Chipping Campden, Ducklington, Eynsham, Headington Quarry, Hinton-in-the-Hedges, Ilmington, Kirtlington, Leafield, Longborough, Oddington, Sherbourne, Stanton Harcourt, and Wheatley.^[11]

Bacon also lists the tradition from Lichfield, which is Cotswold-like despite that city's distance from the Cotswold morris area; the authenticity of this tradition has been questioned. In 2006 a small number of dances from a previously unknown tradition was discovered by Barry Care of Moulton Morris Men (Ravensthorpe, Northants) — two of them danceable.

Other dances listed by Bacon include Border morris dances from Brimfield, Bromsberrow Heath, Evesham, Leominster, Much Wenlock, Pershore, Upton-upon-Severn, Upton Snodsbury, White Ladies Aston, and miscellaneous non-Cotswold, non-Border dances from Steeple Claydon and Winster. There are a number of traditions which have been collected since the mid-twentieth century, though few have been widely adopted. Examples are Broadwood, Duns Tew,^[12] and Ousington-under-Wash in the Cotswold style, and Upper and Lower Penn in the Border style. In fact, for many of the "collected" traditions in Bacon, only sketchy information is available about the way they were danced in the nineteenth century, and they have been reconstructed to a degree that makes them largely twentieth century inventions as well. Some traditions have been reconstructed in several strikingly disparate ways; an example would be Adderbury, danced very differently by the Adderbury Morris Men and the Adderbury Village Morris.

North West[link]

Horwich, a North West morris side

The North West tradition is named after the North West region of England and has always featured mixed and female sides – at least as far back as the 18th century. There is a picture of Eccles Wakes (painted in the 1820s, judging by the style of dress of some of the participants and spectators) that shows both male and female dancers.^{[citation needed]}

Historically, most sides danced in various styles of shoes or boots, although dancing in clogs was also very common. Modern revivalist sides have tended more towards the wearing of clogs.^[13] The dances were often associated with rushcarts at the local wakes or holidays. The dances themselves were often called 'maze' or 'garland dances' as they involved a very intricate set of movements in which the dancers wove in and out of each other. Some dances were performed with a wicker hoop (decorated with garlands of flowers) held above the dancer's head. Some dancers were also associated with a tradition of mumming and hold a pace egging play in their area.

The Britannia Coco-nut Dancers, named after a mill not far from Bacup, are unique in the tradition, in that they used sawn bobbins to make a noise, and perform to the accompaniment of a brass ensemble. They are one of the few North West morris groups that still black up their faces. It is said that the dance found its way to the area through Cornishmen who migrated to work in the Rossendale quarries.

Towards the end of the 19th century, the Lancashire tradition was taken up by sides associated with mills and nonconformist chapels, usually composed of young girls. These lasted until the First World War, after which many mutated into "jazz dancers". (A Bolton troupe can be seen in a pre-war documentary by Humphrey Jennings.) The dances have evolved stylistically and the dancers’ dress has changed to include pompoms and elements from other groups, such as cheerleaders and Irish dancers. However, they refer to themselves as “morris dancers”, wear bells, and are still mainly based in the Northwest of England. This type of morris has been around since the 1940s and is also referred to as Carnival or “fluffy morris” dancing. They take part in many different competitions during the year and end it with a “Championship” where one dance troupe is crowned the champions. This type of morris is also found in the north of Wales, where there are many different organizations with many different troupes. In 2008 NEMDCO (North of England Morris Dancing Carnival Organization) held a large competition at Blackpool in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom. The winner of this competition was Valencia, a troupe from Liverpool.^[14][15] During the folk revival in the 1960s, many of the old steps to dances such as "Stubbins Lane Garland" were often passed on by old people.^{[citation needed]}

North West Carnival Morris troupe dancing in Skipton, Yorkshire in 1987

Border[link]

The term "Border Morris" was first used by E. C. Cawte in a 1963 article^[16] on the morris dance traditions of Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Worcestershire – counties along the border with Wales. Characteristics of the tradition as practised in the 19th and early 20th centuries include blackface (in some areas); use of either a small strip of bells (in some areas) or no bells at all (in others); costume often consisting of ordinary clothes decorated with ribbons, strips of cloth, or pieces of coloured paper; or sometimes "fancy dress"; small numbers of dances in the team repertoire, often only one and rarely more than two; highly variable number of dancers in the set and configurations of the set (some sides had different versions of a dance for different numbers of dancers); and an emphasis on stick dances almost to the exclusion of hankie dances.^[17] Dances tended to be uncomplicated in form, e.g., alternation of sticking with a hey; stepping was likewise not elaborate. While performances at various times of the year are recorded, the most common dancing occasion was Boxing Day. Border morris dancing was different to the dancing on the English side of the border, and a team on the Welsh side was formed in 1992. Initially the side was named "Morys ar y Clwt" but it changed to "Carreg-las" in 1997. They use traditional Welsh and English folk and Morris dance tunes. "Carreg-las" translates from the Welsh as "Blue Stone" which is a rock found locally in the Preseli Mountains, which it is said Stonehenge was constructed.

Morris dancers with black-painted faces, traditional along the border with Wales

Many dances were collected, by Cecil Sharp and later collectors, and several were included in Bacon's book,^[11] but border morris was largely neglected by revival morris sides until late in the 20th century. The Silurian Morris Men of Ledbury, Herefordshire included Border dances in performances from the early 1970s and changed exclusively to Border morris in 1979,^[18] and the Shropshire Bedlams were founded in 1975;^[19] both became pioneers of a resurgence of Border morris among revival sides in the following decades. The Leominster Morris,^[20] were reformed in 1988 from the disbanded Breinton Morris, and made contact with one of the musicians from the previous side from the 1930s, Tom Postons. His recollections of the dancing of the time as having "lots of bowing, hat-raising,and clashing of sticks on the ground" led to the "revival" of Tom Poston's stick dance. Cecil Sharp visited the town on 27 December 1909 with local folklorist Ella Mary Leather, and collected tunes from the prolific local gypsy fiddler John Locke. The Leominster men use several of Locke's tunes in their repertoire today.

Sword dancing[link]

Plough Monday dance by the Royal Liberty Morris

Usually regarded as a type of morris, although many of the performers themselves consider it as a traditional dance form in its own right, is the sword dance tradition, which includes both rapper sword and longsword traditions. In both styles the "swords" are not actual swords, but implements specifically made for the dance. The dancers are usually linked one to another via the swords, with one end of each held by one dancer and the other end by another. Rapper sides consist of five dancers, who are permanently linked-up during the dance. The rapper sword is a very flexible strip of spring-steel with a wooden handle at each end. The longsword is about 2'6" (0.8 metres) long, with a wooden handle at one end, a blunt tip, and no edge. Longsword sides consist usually of five to eight dancers. In both rapper and longsword there is often a supernumerary "character", who dances around, outside, and inside the set.

Mumming[link]

The English mummers play occasionally involves morris or sword dances either incorporated as part of the play or performed at the same event. Mummers plays are often performed in the streets near Christmas to celebrate the New Year and the coming springtime. In has central themes of death and rebirth.

Other traditions[link]

Other forms include Molly dance from Cambridgeshire. Molly dance, which is associated with Plough Monday, is a parodic form danced in work boots and with at least one Molly man dressed as a woman. The largest Molly Dance event is the Whittlesea Straw Bear Festival, established in 1980, held at Whittlesey in Cambridgeshire in January.

There is also hoodening which comes from East Kent, and the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance.

Another expression of the morris tradition is Vessel Cupping. This was practised in the East Riding of Yorkshire until the 1920s. It was a form danced by itinerant ploughboys in sets of three or four, about the time of Candlemas.

Additionally, there is a specifically Welsh version of this terpsichorean art^[21] that is distinct from the Borders Morris style. This style is called Nantgarw tradition after a small village in the Taff Valley^[22]. Some of the Nantgarw dances are derived directly from notes made on traditional Welsh Morris dances, especially those written down by Dr. Ceinwen Thomas^[23]. Others are more modern inventions made in the style of older dances^[22]. Dances in the Nantgarw style include; Caseg Eira (The Snow Mare), Hela'r Sgwarnog (Hunting The Hare) and Ty Coch Caerdydd (The Red House of Cardiff)^[24].

Music[link]

Music was traditionally provided by either a pipe and tabor or a fiddle. These are still used today, but the most common instrument is the melodeon. Accordions and concertinas are also common, and other instruments are sometimes used. Often drums are employed.

Cotswold and sword dancers are most often accompanied by a single player, but Northwest and Border sides often have a band, usually including a drum.

For Cotswold and (to a degree) Border dances, the tunes are traditional and specific: the name of the dance is often actually the name of the tune, and dances of the same name from different traditions will have slightly different tunes. For Northwest and sword dancing there is less often a specific tune for a dance: the players may use several tunes, and will often change tunes during a dance.

For dances which have set tunes, there is often a short song set to the tune. This is sung by the musician(s) or by the whole side as an introduction to the tune before the dance. The songs are usually rural in focus (i.e. related to agricultural practices or village life) and often bawdy or vulgar. Songs for some dances vary from side to side, and some sides omit songs altogether.

Several notable albums have been released, in particular the Morris On series, which consists of Morris On, Son of Morris On, Grandson of Morris On, Great Grandson of Morris On, Morris On the Road, and Mother of all Morris.

Terminology[link]

Like many activities, morris dancing has a range of words and phrases that it uses in special ways.

Many participants will refer to the world of morris dancing as a whole as the morris.

A morris troupe is usually referred to as a side or a team. The two terms are interchangeable. Despite the terminology, morris dancing is hardly ever competitive.

A set (which can also be referred to as a side) is a number of dancers in a particular arrangement for a dance. Most Cotswold morris dances are danced in a rectangular set of six dancers, and most Northwest dances in a rectangular set of eight; but there are many exceptions.

A jig is a dance performed by one (or sometimes two) dancers, rather than by a set. Its music does not usually have the rhythm implied by the word jig in other contexts.

The titles of officers will vary from side to side, but most sides have at least the following:

• The role of the squire varies. In some sides the squire is the leader, who will speak for the side in public, usually lead or call the dances, and often decide the programme for a performance. In other sides the squire is more of an administrator, with the foreman taking the lead, and the dances called by any experienced dancer.
• The foreman teaches and trains the dancers, and is responsible for the style and standard of the side's dancing. The foreman is often "active" with the "passive" dancers.
• The bagman is traditionally the keeper of the bag — that is to say, the side's funds and equipment. In some sides today the bagman acts as secretary (particularly bookings secretary) and there is often a separate treasurer.
• On some sides a ragman manages and co-ordinates the team's kit or costume. This may include making bell-pads, ribbon bads, sashes and other accoutrements.

Many sides have one or more fools. A fool will usually be extravagantly dressed, and communicate directly with the audience in speech or mime. The fool will often dance around and even through a dance without appearing really to be a part of it, but it takes a talented dancer to pull off such fooling while actually adding to and not distracting from the main dance set. Those who are unkind in the audience often refer to the entire group as a "pack of fools".

Pete the Royal Liberty Morris fool

Many sides also have a beast: a dancer in a costume made to look like a real or mythical animal. Beasts mainly interact with the audience, particularly children. In some groups this dancer is called the hobby.

Most Cotswold dances alternate common figures (or just figures) with a distinctive figure (or chorus). The common figures are common to all (or some) dances in the tradition; the distinctive figure distinguishes that dance from others in the same tradition. Sometimes (particularly in corner dances) the choruses are not identical, but have their own sequence specific to the tradition. Nevertheless, something about the way the chorus is danced will distinguish that dance from others. Several traditions will often have essentially the same dance, where the name, tune, and distinctive figure are the same or similar, but each tradition employs its common figures and style.

In England, an ale is a private party where a number of morris sides get together and perform dances for their own enjoyment rather than for an audience. Food is usually supplied, and sometimes this is a formal meal known as a feast or ale-feast. Occasionally an evening ale will be combined with a day or weekend of dance, where all the invited sides will tour the area and perform in public. In North America the term is widely used to describe a full weekend of dancing involving public performances and sometimes workshops. In the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries, the term "ale" referred to a church- or village-sponsored event where ale or beer was sold to raise funds. Morris dancers were often employed at such events.

Modern dance[link]

The "soul" of morris dancing exists within many individual groups, which are for the most part constituted as autonomous clubs or sides, each with its own constitution and procedures. Sides do not exist in isolation, and generally co-exist in a spirit of good-will and meet regularly, not just at large Folk Festivals or meetings organised by the three national umbrella organisations (Ring, Federation and Open), but also at annual Feasts or Ales that many sides organise. Apart from copious amounts of drinking and eating, these events (which can run over a whole weekend) are an opportunity for large numbers of morris dancers and musicians from across the country to come together in massed ensembles, performing throughout the area covered by the host side.

In theory, sides may acknowledge geographic rights of others, although, except in very unusual cases, there is actually nothing to stop one side performing in the heartland of another. In the past this may have rarely been done without permission and agreement, but in modern practice such courtesies are mainly taken for granted. In most cases, sides partner each other via a system of mutual invitations at Morris Dancing venues.

Morris dancing is now an art and recreation enjoyed by men and women across the world. In England, there are many Mixed Morris sides that enable people to dance and have roles irrespective of gender.

Evolution[link]

The continuance of the morris is as much in the hands of independent groups of enthusiasts as it is in the nationwide groupings such as The Morris Ring or The Morris Federation. So while for some sides there is a feeling that the music and dance recorded in the 19th century should be maintained, there are others who freely reinterpret the music and dance to suit their abilities and including modern influences. In 2008 a front page article in the Independent Magazine noted the rising influence of neopaganism within the modern morris tradition.^[25] The article featured the views of neopagan sides Wolf's Head and Vixen Morris and Hunter's Moon Morris and contrasted them with those of the more traditional Long Man Morris Men.

Conversely, the Telegraph carried a report on 5 January 2009, predicting the demise of morris dancing within 20 years, due to the lack of young people willing to take part.^[26] This widespread story originated from a senior member of the more traditionally-minded Morris Ring, and may only reflect the situation in relation to member groups of that one organisation.

The success of Author Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels has seen the entirely invented Dark Morris tradition being brought to life in some form by genuine morris sides such as the Witchmen Morris and Jack Frost Morris.

The advent of the internet in the 1990s has also given morris sides a new platform upon which to perform. Many morris sides now have entertaining websites which seek to reflect the public persona of the individual sides as much as record their exploits and list forthcoming performances.

There are also a multitude of thriving Morris related blogs, forums and individual sides are to be found maintaining an interactive presence on major social networking sites.

Namesakes[link]

• The dance may have given name to the board games three men's morris, six men's morris and nine men's morris.
• Erasmus Grasser, a German sculptor, created 16 realistic animated wooden figures in the late 15th century called the morris dancers.
• Two ships named Morris Dance have served in the Royal Navy. The first HMS Morris Dance was a Dance class minesweeper, launched in 1919. The second HMS Morris Dance was a Dance class armed trawler, launched in 1940.

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Morris dance in England

• Ball de bastons
• Căluşari
• English Country Dance
• Maculelê (dance)
• Moresca
• Moreška
• Morris: A Life with Bells On
• Pipe and Tabor
• St George's Day in England
• Weapon Dance

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Forrest, John. The History of Morris Dancing, 1483–1750. Cambridge: James Clarke & Co Ltd, 1999.

External links[link]

• The Morrisdancing Page Links to morris sides and organizations
• The English Folk Dance and Song Society at Cecil Sharp House, London

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2012)

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2012)

Mark Morris
Mark Morris, 2008 (Photograph by Klaus Lucka)
Born	(1956-08-29) 29 August 1956 (age 55) Seattle, Washington, United States
Occupation	Artistic director, dancer, choreographer, conductor, opera director
Website
www.mmdg.org

Mark William Morris (born 29 August 1956) is an American dancer, choreographer and director whose work is acclaimed for its craftsmanship, ingenuity, humor, and at times eclectic musical accompaniments. Morris is popular among dance aficionados, the music world, as well as mainstream audiences.

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Morris grew up in Seattle, Washington, in a family that appreciated music and dance and nurtured his budding talents; his father taught him how to read music and his mother Maxine introduced him to flamenco, and ballet. He studied as a young boy with Verla Flowers and Perry Brunson. At the age of 16, after graduating early from high school, he traveled to Spain where, at the time, he felt he was destined to be a Flamenco dancer. However, because of the Franco regime, among other things, he returned to the United States. He moved to New York City in 1976 and lived in a loft in Hoboken, New Jersey, with other artists who also performed in the city. In the early years of his career, he performed with the companies of Hannah Kahn, Laura Dean, and Eliot Feld.

Career[link]

On November 28, 1980, he got together a group of his friends and put on a concert of his own choreography and called them the Mark Morris Dance Group. For the first several years, the company gave just two annual performances - at On the Boards in Seattle, Washington, and at Dance Theater Workshop in New York. In 1986, the company was featured on the nationally televised Great Performances - Dance in America series on PBS.

In 1988, he was approached by Gerard Mortier, then the head of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels. Mortier needed a replacement when Maurice Béjart, who had held the position of Director of Dance for over 20 years, suddenly left and took his company with him. After seeing the Mark Morris Dance Group give one performance, Mortier offered Morris the position. His company, from 1988 to 1991, became the Monnaie Dance Group Mark Morris, the resident company at La Monnaie where Morris was given well-equipped offices and studios; full health insurance for him, his staff and dancers; an orchestra and chorus at his disposal; and one of the great stages of Europe on which to dance.

In 1990, Morris and Mikhail Baryshnikov established the White Oak Dance Project. He continued to create works for this company until 1995.

He is much in demand as a ballet choreographer, most notably with San Francisco Ballet, for which he has created eight works. He has also received commissions from such companies as American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, and the Paris Opera Ballet. He has worked extensively in opera, directing and choreographing productions for the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Opera, English National Opera, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, among others. He directed and choreographed King Arthur for English National Opera in June, 2006, and in May 2007 he directed and choreographed Orfeo ed Euridice for the Metropolitan Opera. He is the recipient of 11 honorary doctorates.

Notable works by Mark Morris include Gloria (1981), set to Vivaldi; Championship Wrestling (1985), based on an essay by Roland Barthes; L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato (1988); Dido and Æneas (1989); The Hard Nut (1991), his version of The Nutcracker set in the 1970s; The Office (1995); Greek to Me (2000); a dance version of the Virgil Thomson–Gertrude Stein opera Four Saints in Three Acts (2001); the ballet A Garden (2001); Grand Duo (1993); V (2002) and All Fours (2004). In 2006, he premiered his Mozart Dances, commissioned by the New Crowned Hope Festival and Mostly Mozart Festival in conjunction with the 250th anniversary of the birth of Mozart; and in 2008, his controversial Romeo & Juliet, On Motifs of Shakespeare, set to Prokofiev's recently discovered, original scenario and score, had its premiere. In 2011, he premiered the 150th work of his professional career, Festival Dance, to critical acclaim during sold out performances at his dance center in Brooklyn, NY.

Morris and his Dance Group collaborated with cellist Yo-Yo Ma in Falling Down Stairs, a film by Barbara Willis Sweete available on Ma's Inspired by Bach series, volume 2. There, Morris choreographed a dance based on Bach's Third Suite for Unaccompanied Cello, which Ma performs. Sweete's film depicts the performance as well as the evolution of the dance. Morris has also collaborated with visual artists such as Isaac Mizrahi, Howard Hodgkin, Charles Burns and Stephen Hendee.

In 2001 his company moved into its first permanent headquarters in the United States, the Mark Morris Dance Center, in Brooklyn, located at 3 Lafayette Avenue in the Fort Greene neighborhood. 2001 also marked the establishment of The School at the Mark Morris Dance Center. In addition to being the home of the Mark Morris Dance Group, the Center houses rehearsal space for the dance community, outreach programs for local children, and a school offering dance classes to students of all ages.

Morris is the subject of a biography, Mark Morris (1993), by dance critic Joan Acocella. In 2001, Morris published L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato: A Celebration, a volume of photographs and critical essays.

Though now largely retired from performing, Mark Morris was long noted for the musicality and power of his dancing as well as his amazing delicacy of movement. His body was heavier than the typical dancer, more like that of an average person, yet his technical and expressive abilities outstripped those of most of his contemporaries.

Honors and Awards[link]

• 11 Honorary Doctorates (Cornish School of the Arts, 2011; Roehampton University, 2010; Centenary College, 2009; Bard College, 2006; Bates College, 2006; George Mason University, 2005; Bowdoin College, 2003; Pratt Institute, 2003; Long Island University, 2002; The Juilliard School, 2001; Boston Conservatory of Music, 1994)
• Leonard Bernstein Lifetime Achievement Award for the Elevation of Music in Society, 2010
• American Philosophical Society, Member, 2008
• The Independent Award, Brown University Club of New York, 2007
• Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Lifetime Achievement Award, 2007
• WQXR Gramophone Special Recognition Award, 2006
• New York City Mayor's Award for Arts & Culture, 2006
• American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Fellow, 2005
• Laurence Olivier Award (UK), Outstanding Achievement in Dance, 2002
• Critics' Circle National Dance Award (UK), Best Modern Choreography, 2002
• Critics' Circle National Dance Award (UK), Best Foreign Dance Company, 2002
• Time Out Live Awards (UK), Outstanding Production (V), 2002
• County of Los Angeles Distinguished Artist Award, 2001
• New York State Governor's Arts Award, 2001
• Best of Boston, Mark Morris & Yo-Yo Ma, Best Duet, 1999
• Laurence Olivier Award (UK), Best New Dance Production (L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato), 1998
• Evening Standard Award (UK), 1997
• Capezio Achievement Award, 1997
• Scotsman/Hamada Trust Festival Prize, Edinburgh Festival, 1995
• Edinburgh International Critics Award, 1994
• Edinburgh International Critics Award, 1992
• John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship, 1991
• Dance Magazine Award, 1991
• John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, 1986
• New York Dance and Performance Award ("Bessie"), 1984, 1990, 2007
• Numerous honors include Choreographic Fellowships from the New York and New Jersey State Councils on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Ballets by Mark Morris[link]

Morris has created eight works for the San Francisco Ballet since 1994, including the first American production of Delibes Sylvia (ballet); three works for American Ballet Theatre including Gong with music by Colin McPhee and Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes with music by Virgil Thomson; and has also received commissions from The Joffrey Ballet and the Boston Ballet, among others. In 2009, the San Francisco Ballet toasted 15 years of brilliant collaborations with Mark Morris by presenting the first All-Morris program, performing A Garden (2001), Joyride (2008) and Sandpaper Ballet (1999). His work is in the repertory of Ballet British Columbia, Ballet West, Boston Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Houston Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and The Washington Ballet. Morris' ballets have also been performed by English National Ballet, Grand Théâtre de Genève, The Royal Ballet, and The Royal New Zealand Ballet. They have been noted for making ballet more accessible to audiences that ordinarily find dance and specifically ballet too difficult to consume.

Ballet commissions[link]

• Mort Subite -- Boston Ballet (1986)
• Esteemed Guests -- Joffrey Ballet (1986)
• Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes -- American Ballet Theatre (1988)
• Ein Herz -- Paris Opera Ballet (1990)
• Paukenschlag -- Les Grands Ballets Canadiens (1992)
• Maelstrom -- San Francisco Ballet (1994)
• Quincunx -- Les Grands Ballets Canadiens (1995)
• Pacific -- San Francisco Ballet (1995)
• Sandpaper Ballet -- San Francisco Ballet (1999)
• A Garden -- San Francisco Ballet (2001)
• Gong -- American Ballet Theatre (2001)
• Later -- San Francisco Ballet (2002)
• Non Troppo -- American Ballet Theatre (2003)
• Sylvia -- San Francisco Ballet (2004)
• Up and Down -- Boston Ballet (2006)
• Joyride -- San Francisco Ballet (2008)
• Beaux -- San Francisco Ballet (2012)

Operas by Mark Morris[link]

Mark Morris has worked extensively in opera for over 20 years, directing and choreographing productions for The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, English National Opera, Seattle Opera, and The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, among others. In 2009, in honor of the bicentennial of Joseph Haydn's death, Gotham Chamber Opera presented the New York City stage premiere of Haydn's L'isola disabitata (Desert Island), in a new production by Mark Morris at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College., rev.

Productions directed and/or choreographed[link]

• Salome -- Choreographer (Seattle Opera, 1986)
• Nixon in China -- Choreographer (Houston Grand Opera, 1987)
• Orphée et Euridice -- Choreographer (Seattle Opera, 1988)
• Die Fledermaus -- Director (Seattle Opera, 1988)
• Le nozze di Figaro (Act III wedding scene) -- Choreographer (PepsiCo Summerfare, 1988)
• Dido and Aeneas -- Director and Choreographer (La Monnaie, 1989)
• The Death of Klinghoffer -- Choreographer (La Monnaie, 1991)
• Le nozze di Figaro -- Director (La Monnaie, 1991)
• Orfeo ed Euridice -- Director and Choreographer (Handel & Haydn Society, 1996)
• Platée -- Director and Choreographer (Royal Opera, 1997)
• Four Saints in Three Acts -- Director and Choreographer (English National Opera, 2000)
• Idomeneo (Act III ballet) -- Choreographer (Glyndebourne Festival Opera, 2003)
• King Arthur -- Director and Choreographer (English National Opera, 2006)
• Orfeo ed Euridice -- Director and Choreographer (The Metropolitan Opera, 2007)
• L'isola d'isabitata -- Director (Gotham Chamber Opera, 2009)

In 2011, The Metropolitan Opera revived its 2007 production of Orfeo ed Euridice, directed by Mark Morris, and premiered John Adams' Nixon in China, choreographed by Mark Morris in 1987 but never before seen on a New York stage. The later was filmed and broadcast as part of The Met's Live in HD series with Peter Sellers directing.

Conductor[link]

In 2006, for the opening of MMDG's 25th anniversary New York season, the company performed Morris' much revered www.mmdg.org/Gloria (1981, rev. 1984) set to Vivaldi's Gloria in D. Morris took up the baton for the first time to conduct the MMDG Music Ensemble and the Juilliard Choral Union. In 2007, he began conducting performances of his opera Dido and Aeneas (1989). He has also led Emmanuel Music, the Seattle Symphony and the Tudor Choir in performance. In the summer of 2011, he lead the Brooklyn Philharmonic and Brooklyn Interdenominational Choir in a collaboration with MMDG at the Prospect Park Bandshell, part of a Mark Morris Dance Group program presented by Celebrate Brooklyn! In September 2011, he conducted Dido again with MMDG, this time with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale; mezzo Stephanie Blythe, singing both Dido and the Sorceress; and baritone Philip Cutlip as Aeneas.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• The Metropolitan Opera: Features: Orfeo ed Euridice
• Salon interview (1999)
• More on L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato from markmorrisdancegroup.org
• Official website of Romeo & Juliet, On Motifs of Shakespeare (2008)
• Archival footage of Mark Morris Dance Group performing Falling Down Stairs in 1994 at Jacob's Pillow

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Heather Morris
Morris at the San Diego Comic-Con International, July 2010
Born	Heather Elizabeth Morris (1987-02-01) February 1, 1987 (age 25) Thousand Oaks, California, U.S.
Occupation	Dancer, actress, singer
Years active	2006–present
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)

Heather Elizabeth Morris (born February 1, 1987) is an American actress, dancer, and singer, known for her role as the cheerleader Brittany S. Pierce in the musical comedy series Glee.

Early life[link]

She began dancing when she was one.^[1] Morris competed at a young age in a variety of styles including jazz, tap, and contemporary. Morris's father passed away of cancer when she was 14 years old. "It's something that is hard for me, because I'm sad about it, but I don't dwell on it," she said during an interview workshop with students in December 2009. "I know he's in a better place, instead of suffering."^[2][3] After graduating from Desert Mountain High School, Morris decided to enroll in a local university but realized she was in the wrong place and moved to L.A. instead at age 19.^[4]

Career[link]

Morris' first significant appearance was in 2006 on So You Think You Can Dance Season 2 where she made the "green mile" or "Vegas Week" but failed to make the final 20 by a vote of 3-2.^[5]

Not discouraged, Morris moved to Los Angeles and actively pursued a career in dancing and was trained in jazz dance. Her big break came in 2007 via Beyoncé. Morris was one of Beyoncé's backup dancers on The Beyoncé Experience world tour and,^[6] following that, worked again with Beyoncé on a mini "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" promotional tour that included 2008 performances on the American Music Awards,^[7] Saturday Night Live,^[8] The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Today,^[8] and MTV's Total Request Live Finale. She also danced backup for Beyoncé and Tina Turner at the 50th Grammy Awards in 2008.^[9][10] She later appeared in a small role in the movie Fired Up, where she met choreographer Zach Woodlee. Following that film, Woodlee brought Morris in to dance on other shows he was choreographing, including episodes of Eli Stone and Swingtown, the movie Bedtime Stories, and eventually Glee.^[11]

In December 2010 Morris was named the Celebrity Style Ambassador for FLIRT! Cosmetics, an Estee Lauder cosmetics line.^[12]

In 2010 Morris made the Maxim Hot 100 list, coming in at number 85. On the AfterEllen hot 100 list she was ranked #2 behind Naya Rivera.

In 2011 Morris starred in a back-to-school commercial for Staples Canada that featured her dancing.

In the October 2011 issue of Fitness magazine, Heather Morris stated that she has had her breast implants removed. She was quoted saying "Implants were something I thought I wanted when I was younger, and now I don't, It was hard being active with them, because my chest was always sore. It hurt a lot, and I didn't like always being in pain, so they had to go!"^[13] Her breast implant surgery was done sometime between her time on So You Think You Can Dance at age 18 and age 21 when she was a backup dancer for Beyoncé. ^[14]

[edit] Glee

Morris was taking acting classes and actively pursuing an acting career when she was asked by Woodlee to teach the choreography for Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" dance to the Glee actors. At the same time, the show was looking for a third cheerleader, and Morris ended up landing the role of Brittany.^[8] Initially a background character who hardly ever spoke, the role grew as writers discovered Morris had a gift for delivering one-liners.^[15] Jarrett Wieselman of the New York Post opined that Morris has "emerged as one of the funniest second bananas on TV right now"^[16] and the LA Times wrote of having a "...comedy crush on Morris, who plays the galactically dim Glee Club cheerleader Brittany".^[17]

When a promotional clip for the episode "Sectionals" indicated that Brittany Pierce and Santana Lopez had slept together, Dorothy Snarker, writing for lesbian entertainment website After Ellen, praised the pairing, referring to them by the portmanteau "Brittana".^[18] Snarker called the two her "new favorite Glee pairing", commenting that: "While Heather Morris (Brittany) and Naya Rivera (Santana) have had minimal screen time, they've made it count. Heather in particular has brought the laughs as the Cheerio least likely to get a Mensa invitation. Never mind Finn and Rachel — I'm on Team Brittana now."^[18]

Morris' role became more prominent during the final nine episodes of season one and, due to the overwhelmingly positive response to her character, was promoted to official series regular status during season two.^[19] She was at the center of the second episode, "Britney/Brittany", (a tribute to Britney Spears) where she made her singing debut covering Spears' "I'm a Slave 4 U" solo and dueting with Naya Rivera on "Me Against the Music". She later got many other singing, and dancing solos. The second half of season two saw Morris' character engage in a lesbian storyline with Rivera's character. Both the arc along with Rivera's and Morris' performances were met with critical acclaim. As on Glee, Morris is best friends in real life with co-star Rivera.^[20]

In Season 3, her and Rivera's characters continues with the lesbian storyline, and others. For example she had a large role in the episode "Promasaurus".

During the 2011 Glee Tour Heather performed Britney Spears' song "I'm a Slave 4 U". She also had a dance spotlight with castmate Harry Shum Jr. during Naya Rivera's performance of "Valerie," and was one of the dancers in the Single Ladies and Safety Dance numbers.

Morris co-wrote and appeared in a January 2011 video for Funny or Die, "Nuthin' But A Glee Thang," a take-off of the Dr. Dre/Snoop Dogg collaboration "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang". Co-written with actresses Ashley Lendzion and Riki Lindhome, the video features appearances from Modern Family's Sofia Vergara and Morris's Glee castmates Matthew Morrison, Cory Monteith, Harry Shum, Jr., and Naya Rivera.^[21]

Filmography[link]

Morris in March 2011

Awards and nominations[link]

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Heather Morris

• Heather Morris at the Internet Movie Database

Naya Rivera
Rivera in New York City, April 2011
Born	(1987-01-12) January 12, 1987 (age 25) Valencia, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, singer, model
Years active	1991–present

Naya Rivera (born January 12, 1987) is an American actress and singer known for her role in the musical comedy television series Glee, as cheerleader Santana Lopez.

Early life[link]

Rivera was raised in Valencia, Santa Clarita, California and has lived in or around Los Angeles for most of her life. Rivera is of half Puerto Rican, quarter African, and quarter German descent.^[1] At eight or nine months old, she began to be represented by the same talent agent as her mother, who had moved to Los Angeles to pursue modeling.^[2]

Career[link]

As a baby, Rivera appeared in commercials for Kmart, but her first significant acting job was at the age of four when she starred as Hillary Winston in the Eddie Murphy produced sitcom The Royal Family in 1991.^[2] The show received positive reviews and high ratings initially, but when star Redd Foxx suffered a sudden heart attack on set the show never recovered and was soon canceled.^[3] Nonetheless, Rivera received a Young Artist Award nomination for her performance.

Between 1992 and 2002, she had small roles in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Family Matters, Live Shot, Baywatch, Smart Guy, The Jersey, House Blend, Even Stevens and The Master of Disguise. In 2002 she also appeared in the music video for B2K's "Why I Love You". She was hired for a single-episode guest appearance on The Bernie Mac Show in 2002, but was brought back to work on a further five episodes.^[1] She was later featured in single episodes of 8 Simple Rules and CSI: Miami.^[2][4] In between auditions and roles, Rivera worked odd jobs as a telemarketer, a nanny, and a greeter at an Abercrombie & Fitch store.^[5]

In 2006 and 2007, Rivera took part in a production of Mark E. Swinton's award-winning play "U Don't Know Me: The Musical", both in Los Angeles and when the production was taken on national tour.^[6]

In 2010, Rivera made the Maxim Hot 100 list, coming in at number 61.^[7] The following year, she was ranked number 43.^[8] On the 2011 AfterEllen Hot 100 list she was ranked #1.

In May 2011, it was announced that Rivera had signed a deal with Columbia Records to produce a solo album.^[9] That same month, Rivera hosted the San Francisco GLAAD Media Awards.^[10]

In November 2011, Rivera and Amber Riley performed at the 10th Annual Celebration of Dreams Event for the Dream Foundation.^[11] In December 2011 Rivera was revealed as the newest celebrity spokesperson for ProActiv.^[12]

In February 2012, Rivera was nominated for a NewNowNext Award. On March 24, 2012, she co-hosted the 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York with co-star Cory Monteith. The two stars, along with John Stamos, continuing a tradition begun by Rivera when she hosted the 22nd Annual Media Awards in San Francisco, auctioned off kisses to the crowd, raising $15,000.^[13]

In April of 2012, Rivera was featured on the cover of Latina magazine.^[14] The following month she was also featured in the inaugural issue of Cosmo for Latinas,^[15] and was selected by People en Espanol for their 50 Most Beautiful list.^[16] Also in May, Rivera made FHM's 100 Sexiest Women List, coming in at number 39,^[17] and made the Maxim Hot 100 list for the third year in a row, moving up sixteen spots to number 27.^[18]

[edit] Glee

In 2009, Rivera was cast as Cheerios cheerleading squad member Santana Lopez on Fox's musical comedy series Glee, about a high school glee club. Rivera's character comes off as a cold-hearted and vicious cheerleader, who often shows her softer side to fellow cheerleader Brittany (played by Heather Morris). Rivera auditioned for the opportunity "to sing, dance and act all in the same show," and because she was a fan of co-creator Ryan Murphy's previous work on Nip/Tuck.^[4]

Rivera drew on her own high school experience of unpopularity to prepare for the role, as well as watching films such as Mean Girls to "really get in the zone and feel like a bitchy Sophomore".^[19] She has described Santana as "your typical high school cheerleader, for the most part,"^[19] explaining: "She's really mean and loves boys. She's really witty so I love playing her."^[19] She has characterized Santana as "a bit of a bad girl" who is "really snarky and always has these really witty one-liners she throws out there."^[20] Rivera enjoys the fact Santana is competitive and headstrong as she herself shares those traits, but dislikes Santana's mean streak.^[21] She finds the show's pacing challenging, especially the dancing, and commented in June 2009 that her most memorable moment on Glee was performing the Cheerios' glee club audition piece, "I Say a Little Prayer".^[19] Santana played a more prominent part in the last nine episodes of Glee's first season.^[22] Rivera commented: "Santana's been wreaking havoc with people's boyfriends and people's babies and teachers—she's the high school terror, and she's going to continue to be the villain."^[23]

After having her screen time and musical involvement increased in the second half of the first season, Rivera was promoted to official series regular status as of the beginning of the second season.^[24] She was given her first solo in the fifth episode of season two, "The Rocky Horror Glee Show", and performed several others as the season progressed. During the second season, Rivera's role in the show was radically changed when it was revealed that her character was a lesbian. Rivera portrayed Santana struggling to come to terms with her sexuality, with her love for her best friend, and with her inability to come out of the closet. She received favorable reviews for her performance.^[25][26]

In January 2011 Rivera appeared in a parody of "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang", called "Nuthin' But a Glee Thang", co-written by her friend Heather Morris.^[27]

During the 2011 Glee Tour, Rivera teamed up with Amber Riley for the duet "River Deep, Mountain High" and performed solo on "Valerie" as well as lending back-up vocals to several other songs.

In July 2011, Rivera was nominated for two ALMA awards, in the categories of "Favorite Female Music Artist" and "Favorite TV Actress—Leading Role in a Comedy".^[28] BuddyTV ranked her #3 on its "TV's 100 Sexiest Women of 2011" list.^[29] Rivera received a great amount of critical praise for both her acting and her singing performances in the latter part of Season Two and the beginning of Season Three. As 2011 ended, she or her character was on many "Best Of" lists, including HitFix.com's 25 Breakout Stars of 2011,^[30] TV Guide's Best Performances of 2011,^[31] MTV's Best TV Characters of 2011,^[32] as well as others.

In the second half of Season 3, Rivera's critical acclaim and featured role continued. She was given the opportunity to do a duet with Ricky Martin,^[33] and work with Gloria Estefan, who was cast as Santana's mother.^[34] As Season 3 ended there was uncertainty about which characters and actors would return in Season 4, once a large portion of the characters had graduated high school. While attending the Fox Upfronts in May 2012, Rivera confirmed that she would be returning.^[35]

Personal life[link]

Rivera is an avid reader^[36] and dedicates her time to various charitable organizations.^[37] She took up songwriting at the age of 15.^[1] According to Rivera, "My passion for music is one of my greatest loves."^[38] Rivera has stated that if she could not act or sing she would work as a writer.^[39] She has completed several screenplays and television scripts.^[40] As on Glee, Rivera is best friends in real life with co-star Heather Morris.^[41] Rivera's brother, Mychal, plays tight end for the University of Tennessee. Her sister, Nickayla, is a model.

Filmography[link]

Rivera at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2010

Music videos[link]

Stage work[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

See also[link]

	African American portal
	Biography portal
	Puerto Rico portal

• List of notable Puerto Ricans

References[link]