DANCE > MOZART MOVES MORRIS.

Byline: EVAN HENERSON

>LA.COM 

The music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart doesn't necessarily lend itself to dance interpretation.

Unless, that is, it's within the context of an opera. Or unless you are choreographer Mark Morris, whose "Mozart Dances" will make its Southern California premiere in October at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

"I wouldn't be surprised if, in another life, Mark Morris wasn't a conductor or a musician. He's very musical in terms of his choreography," says Renae Williams, director of dance presentations for the Music Center. "He works a great deal with live music, and that's the best way to experience that work."

Indeed, Morris' company committed to performing exclusively to live music in the mid-1990s, and at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion -- home of the Los Angeles Opera and former home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic -- and live music is what the Mark Morris dancers shall have. The orchestra will include featured pianists Garrick Ohlsson and Yoko Nozaki and will be conducted by Jane Glover.

"Mozart Dances" was originally commissioned by the Barbican Centre in London, New Crowned Hope in Vienna and Lincoln Center in New York. Williams saw the piece performed in New York and will catch it again in Chicago.

"To me, it's the epitome of why he's so revered," Williams says. "It's this sweeping movement that's his modern aesthetic as well as his underpinning of ballet movement. I think it was George Balanchine who said that choreography to Mozart is not an easy task -- and here you have an entire piece of movement to it.

"For people who have seen his work in the past, there's definitely going to be a sense of knowing and understanding," she continues. "Mark might say differently, but that's my take on it."

The 2007-08 Dance at the Music Center series continues in March with American Ballet Theatre's production of "Swan Lake" followed by visits by Complexions Contemporary Ballet in April and Teatro alla Scala Ballet Company in July.

The Music Center will also feature "Slow Dancing," a free video installation highlighting dancers from around the world showing nightly on the plaza Sept. 18-26.

"Mozart Dances" performs 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20, and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21. For tickets, call [phone].

Evan Henerson, [phone]

[e-mail]

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) The Mark Morris Dance Group presents "Mozart Dances," which blends folk dances, balletic lifts, pose and ensemble sculptures to express the beauty of Mozart's works.

(2) "Twenty-seven" is one of the features presented by Mark Morris Dance Group on Oct. 20 and 21 at the Music Center.