Work(In) Progress

This time, Mark Morris kept the crowd entertained with his personality, not his dancers.

The laughs never seemed to die down in the Center for the Arts during a pre-performance discussion on Feb. 8 as Mark Morris, founder and artistic director of the Mark Morris Dance Group, spoke openly about his personal and professional life.

Stand up comedians are people with interesting stories, unique personalities and perfect deliveries. If Morris weren’t already a professional choreographer, he probably would be a successful comedian.

Morris’ unabashed and candid opinion of himself and his work is what made the event so funny.

“I am not egoless. I have narcissistic traits, but I am not a narcissist. I have just enough narcissism to not be embarrassed about appearing in public, but not enough where I think I am the only person in the world,” Morris said.

With just an hour before MMDG would perform their three piece ensemble, a curly-haired man wearing a scarf and a whole lot of sass, walked up to the microphone and welcomed everyone. Mark Morris himself began by giving some background information on his three pieces of work. One dance piece in particular, “Socrates,” was a heavy 40-minute dance that praised the life and death of the ancient philosopher.

“‘Socrates’ was – long. Good! – But long.” said Cameron Cardillo, who personally knew Spencer Ramirez, one of the dancers in MMDG. But the cut-to-the-chase kind of way Morris spoke of it allowed for some comic relief.

“It’s pre-Christian, so as an atheist I’m happy to do something that isn’t entirely Jesus-y all the time. I am devote, but I am a devote atheist,” said Morris, who was answered with laughs — and even more laughs — when he nonchalantly told the small gathering he used to attend church as a kid every Sunday stoned on marijuana.

As Morris continued answering questions, he would playfully poke jokes at his fans. It was refreshing to see a successful artist so comfortable and happy to be in the company of people who took interest in his work, according to Dylan Barber, musical performance major at George Mason. Morris made it clear that he didn’t care whether people liked his work or not.

“Just watch and listen and read. I don’t care. I would like you to appreciate it, but it’s not a lesson for anybody, it’s not a philosophical lecture. It’s just a point of view,” Morris said.

Before anyone realized, it was already 8 o’clock — show time! Morris had to be peeled away from the microphone by one of the staff members.

“Enjoy the show — or not! Just watch it and have a good time,” Morris said, leaving everyone twice as more excited for the main act than when they came in.