In the folktale “Stone Soup,” members of a village each bring one ingredient to a simmering pot; it doesn’t matter what they bring, but they learn that the combination of items is more delicious than each one indivi­dually. That’s how Mark Morris thinks of this vegetable stew hailing from Kerala, a state in the south of India.

The choreographer turns 67 in August, three months before his company turns 43, yet Mark Morris Dance Group has never appeared onstage at the venerable­ Manhattan venue—until now. MMDG’s first-ever Joyce engagement, August 1 to 12, features eight shorter works choreographed between 1980 and 2023, including a world premiere set to Bach’s keyboard partita no. 3 in A minor, mischievously titled A minor Dance.

Last dances, first-time collaborations, gatherings of disparate dancemakers—October’s dance card is full of intriguing events. Here are seven of the most enticing performances.

Missed the livestream? Get access to the 2021 Dance Magazine Awards on demand here. One of my favorite things about the Dance Magazine Awards has always been the sense of worlds colliding—the way luminaries from different corners of our industry who you’d likely never see sharing a stage or a program come together for this […]

Here are the latest promotions, appointments and transfers, plus notable awards and accomplishments from the last month. Comings & Goings Karen Kain Karolina Kuras, Courtesy National Ballet of Canada Karen Kain will retire as artistic director of National Ballet of Canada in January 2021, at which time she will be named artistic director emeritus. A […]

There’s always been something larger than life about choreographer Mark Morris. Of course, there are the more than 150 works he’s made and that incisive musicality that makes dance critics drool. But there’s also his idiosyncratic, no-apologies-offered personality, and his biting, no-holds-barred wit. And, well, his plan to keep debuting new dances even after he’s […]

There are a number of new dance titles hitting bookstores this fall, and there seems to be something for everyone. Practical advice from Twyla Tharp and Annie-b Parson? Check. Enticing biographical entries featuring writing by the likes of Jerome Robbins and Mark Morris? Check. Gorgeous coffee table books and distillations of academic research? Check and […]

Choreographers are no more immortal than anyone else. So, wisely, single-choreographer modern dance companies have increasingly opted to address the issue of planning for the future—a future without their founders—before the crisis comes. The solutions have been many. The Merce Cunningham Dance Company decided to shut down but preserve a Trust, which licenses his dances […]