Dance partners.

Morgan Scott Ballet directors Daniel Scott and Edward Morgan honor the anniversaries of their dance company and of Matthew Shepard's death

Daniel Scott, codirector of MorganScott Ballet, remembers all too well hearing the newscast about Matthew Shepard's death on October 12, 1998. "I saw myself as a student at his age and what could have happened to me. I was horrified and wanted to do something about it," says Scott.

He and his partner in life and art, Edward Morgan, produced a dance concert not long after to re-create the feeling of the Manhattan vigil for Shepard. "We decided to do it in a church because of the `religious' people who said `God hates fags' and `Matthew Shepard got what he deserved,'" says Scott. The event, held at St. Mark's Church in the East Village, was lauded by New York critics.

On October 12, the MorganScott Ballet will present a new program to commemorate the third anniversary of Shepard's death and the fifth anniversary of the founding of the company. This time the concert has more of a joyous tone. "It's a celebration of the fact that there has been a change as a result of Matthew Shepard's death," says Scott, citing the passage of the New York State hate-crimes law as well as the general overall push that's being made in Congress for a federal hate-crimes bill.

The dance concert, titled Remembering Matthew Shepard: A Celebration of Love, will be presented at the new Harvey Lerner Auditorium at the recently renovated Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center in Manhattan. The free event also features comments by gay activists Ann Northrup and Andy Humm. Three ballets featuring four dancers have been choreographed for the program by Morgan, a former Joffrey Ballet star and choreographer for Club MTV. The ballets are set to music by three gay composers from different periods: Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky, who was tormented by his homosexuality; Samuel Barber, who for years lived with composer Gian Carlo Menotti in a "don't ask, don't tell"--style relationship; and Billy Strayhorn, who, Scott says, "took it a step further, living his life openly, accepting the limitations that meant for him."

Morgan and Scott, who have been together since 1991, want to present a new paradigm to the closeted world of corporate ballet by being honest about their relationship. It hasn't been easy. "The positive reaction has all been within the gay community," says Scott. "Within the straight community the implication is that we could be a little more discreet, or that when we mature and become more like other companies with big budgets, we will become more conservative in how we represent ourselves."

However, the two men refuse to sacrifice their beliefs just to expand the company. "There's still a lot of hate and anger out there and a need to raise consciousness about homosexuality," says Scott. "The way we want to make a change is to keep creating works full of love and beauty to help balance things out."

Carman also writes for The New York Times.