Mark Morris Dance Group
Friday and Saturday, January 23–24, 2026, 8pm
Sunday, January 25, 2026, 3pm
Zellerbach Hall
The January 23rd performance of the Mark Morris Dance Group is made possible in part by Helen and John Meyer.
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About the Performance
MOON is a dance and music show built on thoughts and studies of our Moon. The source of so much mystery, curiosity, ritual, superstition, art, and fascination, there is a lot to celebrate and to puzzle over. Our Earth and its Moon are a match made in heaven, with our Moon as a dazzling accessory to Earth’s terrible beauty. The Moon is credited with time and tide, fertility, power, and romance.
The desire to touch the moon and know about it has always driven us, as has the compulsion to make contact with potential beings on other heavenly bodies. The famed, futile Golden Record, which was thrown into space as part of the 1977 Voyager missions, is a perfect example of our curiosity and enormous ego. I have used it and a variety of other materials—textual, visual, and musical—as sources of imagination in the construction of this piece. The space program, the moon landings, the 12 Earthlings who have walked thereon… so many passes have been made at and beyond the Moon, but the occasional moon walk is not enough to satisfy our Earthly need to spread the news about ourselves and wait, no doubt forever, for a response. I hope to provide a possible way to observe and enjoy the Moon and outer space, without understanding a thing.
NASA’s Golden Record is a time capsule carrying music, sounds, and greetings from Earth—an enduring message of peace, curiosity, and the richness of human culture, sent across the cosmos to tell the story of life on our planet. Led by Carl Sagan, the project sought to capture the essence of humanity and our place in the universe.
—Mark Morris
Happy New Year from Cal Performances! I’m delighted to welcome you back to campus as we move into the second half of our extraordinary 2025–26 season. We now begin the busiest period of our calendar, as we continue a season distinguished by an wide range of carefully curated events designed to appeal to the eclectic interests and adventurous sensibilities of Bay Area audiences. Over the coming months, we’ll see visits by dozens of companies, ensembles, and soloists offering a wide range of opportunities to revisit old friends as well as discover thrilling and unfamiliar performers and artworks.
Our programming this month begins on a truly auspicious note as we welcome the return of revered maestro Riccardo Muti and his legendary Chicago Symphony Orchestra for a program of orchestral gems by Brahms, Ravel, and Stravinsky (Jan 17, Zellerbach Hall [ZH]; a Maria Manetti Shrem Great Artist Performance). Muti stepped down as the esteemed ensemble’s music director in 2023 to assume the role of Music Director Emeritus for Life, but his close rapport with this group of remarkable musicians continues to enchant.
In other classical music presentations this month, we’ll enjoy the Cal Performances debut of American mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey as she and pianist Myra Huang offer an inviting program that combines Robert Schumann’s much-loved song cycle Dichterliebe with cabaret songs, lieder, and popular favorites (Jan 18, Hertz Hall [HH]). And one week later, on January 25 (HH), we’ll see the beloved Takács Quartet in its first of two programs this season, this one featuring the brilliant Jamaican American violist Jordan Bak (another Cal Performances debut) in a rare performance of Mozart’s revelatory viola quintets in C major (K. 515) and G minor (K. 516).
In dance, the sensational Mark Morris Dance Group returns for its annual visit to campus, this time with the West Coast premiere of Morris’ brilliant new MOON, a multimedia feast danced before a backdrop featuring video, animation, and photographs of our constant celestial companion (Jan 23–25, ZH). And to close out January, we are thrilled to present the marquee Broadway star, opera diva, and acclaimed television actor Kelli O’Hara (Jan 31, ZH), singing favorite show tunes and classics from the Great American Songbook (our third Cal Performances debut this month).
In the coming months, our season will continue with a wide range of talent including vocalists Renée Fleming and Joyce DiDonato; the virtuoso JACK Quartet; early-music superstars The English Concert, Jordi Savall, and The Tallis Scholars; jazz greats Cécile McLorin Salvant and Somi; and appearances by Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens.
And our acclaimed dance series continues, distinguished by genre-defining artists and major new productions including the Martha Graham Dance Company celebrating its centennial; The Joffrey Ballet in a bold new work set during Midsommar, the traditional Scandinavian summer solstice festival; the long-awaited Cal Performances debut of A.I.M by Kyle Abraham; and, of course, a return April engagement with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
As you explore the calendar, I recommend you pay particular attention to our Illuminations theme of “Exile & Sanctuary,” focusing this season on how issues of displacement can inform bold new explorations of identity and community; and how artistic expression can offer safe harbor during times of unrest or upheaval.
The opportunity to engage with diverse artistic perspectives and share the transformative power of the live performing arts is one of life’s greatest pleasures, and I look forward to encountering these profound and entertaining experiences with you in the months ahead.
Jeremy Geffen
Executive and Artistic Director, Cal Performances