Mark Morris Dance Group
Dec 17-19, 2021
Zellerbach Hall
Mica Bernas, Karlie Budge, Brandon Cournay, Domingo Estrada, Jr., Lesley Garrison, Sarah Haarmann, Deepa Liegel, Aaron Loux, Laurel Lynch, Matthew McLaughlin, Dallas McMurray, Maile Okamura, Brandon Randolph, Nicole Sabella, Christina Sahaida, Billy Smith, Noah Vinson, Malik Q. Willliams
MMDG Music Ensemble
Colin Fowler, Colin Jacobsen, Wolfram Koessel, Greg Luce, Stefan Schatz, Mary Sherhart, Georgy Valtchev
Artistic Director
Mark Morris
Executive Director
Nancy Umanoff
The run time for this performance is approximately 90 minutes, with intermission.
Program
From the Executive and Artistic Director
With this weekend’s performances by our longtime friends and artistic partners at the Mark Morris Dance Group, we reach the close of Cal Performances’ 2021 Fall Season. It’s a particular pleasure to celebrate this milestone with Mark and his terrific dancers and musicians performing a wide-ranging repertory program—including the brand new Water, which premiered only three months ago at Brooklyn Bridge Park—that spans almost 25 years of this singular choreographer’s magnificent career. I’m delighted that you could join us during what promises to be a memorable weekend; after such a long period of imposed shutdown, it’s wonderful that we can gather together again, enjoying great dance under the same roof!
When the pandemic forced Cal Performances to close its doors in March 2020, no one could have imagined what lay ahead. Since then, we’ve witnessed a worldwide health crisis unlike any experienced during our lifetimes, an extended period of political turmoil, recurring incidents of civil unrest and racially motivated violence, and a consciousness-raising human rights movement that has forever—and significantly—changed how each of us views social justice in our time.
Of course, the pandemic remains with us to this date and future challenges—including many adjustments to “normal’ procedures and policies—can certainly be expected. I encourage you to check Cal Performances’ website regularly for the most current information regarding our COVID-19 response. First and foremost, I assure you that there is nothing more important to us than the health and safety of our audience, artists, and staff. (And I remind one and all that proof of vaccination is mandatory today, as is protective masking throughout the event.)
Our season continues next year with a calendar packed with the kind of adventurous and ambitious programming you’ve come to expect from Cal Performances. You won’t want to miss…
- the ever-popular Les Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo (Feb 4–5); Joffrey Ballet (Mar 4–6); and Alvin Ailey American Dance Company (Mar 29 – April 3)
- jazz legend Wayne Shorter and the brilliant esperanza spalding with their thrilling new opera …(Iphigenia) (Feb 12)
- early-music masters Jordi Savall and Le Concert des Nations (Mar 4) and the English Baroque Soloists with conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner (Apr 10)
- the peerless London Symphony Orchestra, appearing under the direction of superstar conductor Simon Rattle (Mar 20)
- pianist extraordinaire Mitsuko Uchida with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra (Mar 27)
- our brilliant 2021–22 artist-in-residence Angélique Kidjo in her exciting new music-theater piece Yemandja (a highly anticipated Cal Performances co-commission, Apr 23)
And so much more… with dozens of performances by the world’s finest music, dance, and theater artists, stretching into June. In particular, I want to direct your attention to this year’s Illuminations: “Place and Displacement” programming, through which we’ll explore both loss and renewal, disempowerment and hope, while seeking paths forward for reclaiming and celebrating vital cultural connections that can fall victim to political and social upheaval.
Please take the opportunity to explore the complete schedule through our website and season brochure and begin planning your performance calendar; now is the perfect time to guarantee that you have the best seats for all the events you plan to attend.
Throughout history, the performing arts have survived incredible challenges: periods of war, economic collapse, and, yes, terrible disease. And if it will take time for us—collectively and individually—to process the events of the past 21 months, I’m certain that the arts have the power to play a critical role as we come to terms with what we have experienced and move together toward recovery.
I know you join us in looking forward to what lies ahead, to coming together once again to encounter the life-changing experiences that only the live performing arts deliver. We can’t wait to share it all with you during the coming year.
Cal Performances is back. Welcome home!
Jeremy Geffen
Executive and Artistic Director, Cal Performances
With this weekend’s performances by our longtime friends and artistic partners at the Mark Morris Dance Group, we reach the close of Cal Performances’ 2021 Fall Season. It’s a particular pleasure to celebrate this milestone with Mark and his terrific dancers and musicians performing a wide-ranging repertory program—including the brand new Water, which premiered only three months ago at Brooklyn Bridge Park—that spans almost 25 years of this singular choreographer’s magnificent career. I’m delighted that you could join us during what promises to be a memorable weekend; after such a long period of imposed shutdown, it’s wonderful that we can gather together again, enjoying great dance under the same roof!
When the pandemic forced Cal Performances to close its doors in March 2020, no one could have imagined what lay ahead. Since then, we’ve witnessed a worldwide health crisis unlike any experienced during our lifetimes, an extended period of political turmoil, recurring incidents of civil unrest and racially motivated violence, and a consciousness-raising human rights movement that has forever—and significantly—changed how each of us views social justice in our time.
Of course, the pandemic remains with us to this date and future challenges—including many adjustments to “normal’ procedures and policies—can certainly be expected. I encourage you to check Cal Performances’ website regularly for the most current information regarding our COVID-19 response. First and foremost, I assure you that there is nothing more important to us than the health and safety of our audience, artists, and staff. (And I remind one and all that proof of vaccination is mandatory today, as is protective masking throughout the event.)
Our season continues next year with a calendar packed with the kind of adventurous and ambitious programming you’ve come to expect from Cal Performances. You won’t want to miss…
- the ever-popular Les Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo (Feb 4–5); Joffrey Ballet (Mar 4–6); and Alvin Ailey American Dance Company (Mar 29 – April 3)
- jazz legend Wayne Shorter and the brilliant esperanza spalding with their thrilling new opera …(Iphigenia) (Feb 12)
- early-music masters Jordi Savall and Le Concert des Nations (Mar 4) and the English Baroque Soloists with conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner (Apr 10)
- the peerless London Symphony Orchestra, appearing under the direction of superstar conductor Simon Rattle (Mar 20)
- pianist extraordinaire Mitsuko Uchida with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra (Mar 27)
- our brilliant 2021–22 artist-in-residence Angélique Kidjo in her exciting new music-theater piece Yemandja (a highly anticipated Cal Performances co-commission, Apr 23)
And so much more… with dozens of performances by the world’s finest music, dance, and theater artists, stretching into June. In particular, I want to direct your attention to this year’s Illuminations: “Place and Displacement” programming, through which we’ll explore both loss and renewal, disempowerment and hope, while seeking paths forward for reclaiming and celebrating vital cultural connections that can fall victim to political and social upheaval.
Please take the opportunity to explore the complete schedule through our website and season brochure and begin planning your performance calendar; now is the perfect time to guarantee that you have the best seats for all the events you plan to attend.
Throughout history, the performing arts have survived incredible challenges: periods of war, economic collapse, and, yes, terrible disease. And if it will take time for us—collectively and individually—to process the events of the past 21 months, I’m certain that the arts have the power to play a critical role as we come to terms with what we have experienced and move together toward recovery.
I know you join us in looking forward to what lies ahead, to coming together once again to encounter the life-changing experiences that only the live performing arts deliver. We can’t wait to share it all with you during the coming year.
Cal Performances is back. Welcome home!
Jeremy Geffen
Executive and Artistic Director, Cal Performances
