26 replies to this topic

[Ray]

It's John Clifford himself who is posting his pics to the site!

Yes--one can cull from one's own collection. And I'm glad he is. Makes me wonder how many others he must have!

[Paul Parish]

I believe she was second violin in the CBC recording of Concerto Barocco with Suzanne Farrel -- she was thrilling in it ,esp the last movement....

She is one of the few NYCB dancers one can actually see fairly often on tape: she appears in Dance in America's recordings of Four Temperaments (she's the First Theme woman) and Divertimento No. 15. I'd have to do some sleuthing, but I bet she's in that Italian film (1969?) of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Any others people can think of? As others note, she was in the original cast of Who Cares?, but I don't think she appears in the Dance in America version of it taped in the 80s (?).

Interesting fact about that tape of 4Ts: MM was slightly bowlegged, so before she begins the steps, she stands in plie so that the light from the cyclorama doesn't appear between her knees--she straightens her legs just before taking her first step. An interesting accommodation made for an extraordinary dancer!

[Ray]

[quote name='Paul Parish' date='22 June 2011 - 03:09 AM' timestamp='1308726561' post='287706']
I believe she was second violin in the CBC recording of Concerto Barocco with Suzanne Farrel -- she was thrilling in it ,esp the last movement....

But don't quote me on this--as someone pointed out, I got this wrong!

[Mme. Hermine]

not incorrect, ray, marnee morris is the second violin in that concerto barocco recording, suzanne farrell is the first and the man is conrad ludlow.

[Ray]

not incorrect, ray, marnee morris is the second violin in that concerto barocco recording, suzanne farrell is the first and the man is conrad ludlow.

Thanks, but the second part of my message was wrong--I can't even bear to replicate it here!

[debhig]

I knew her briefly in Los Angeles when she was dancing for John Clifford's Los Angeles Ballet. We would take classes together. She would make me laugh when she would say that she wanted to be by me because I was "so together" and that I would keep her on track with "what she needed right now". I'd go to lunch with her and we would talk about health, about her child (a son, I believe) and about her career, her life after her career and her dreams of opening a holistic ballet academy.

She was a warm and wonderful human being. She was very kind to me and we both enjoyed each other's company. She gave me tickets to see her perform with LA Ballet and whatever doubts I had about her being in shape were dispelled when she was onstage. Open, gracious, radiant, exquisite, musical and with a definite love of what made her happy.....dancing.

Rest in peace, Marnee. Dancing angel, still smiling amidst all the hardship.

[bart]

Like Marga and others, I definitely remember Morris in "My One and Only" from Who Cares? (I last saw this ballet in 2010 and always remember Morris when watching it.) There were many other roles to which she brought technical sparkle and a warm stage personality. A small solo in the last act of Balanchine's Don Quixote, with a wonderful variation, pops into mind -- one of the ballet's highlights for me.

Seeing the name "Marnee Morris" on a cast list was always a pleasure.

Morris was one of the young dancers brought into the company before the move to Lincoln Center, the same year as Farrell, I believe. She was one of those dancers shunted to secondary roles and second casts during the time of Balanchine's fixation on Farrell. This must have been discouraging.

I hope she knew just how much her audience loved her dancing, and that this knowledge helped sustain her during her difficult times and long illness.

[rg]

scan of a photo of Morris, undated, and stamped with little information other than the name of NYCB and of "Rubies," the ballet's name in which Morris danced the solo ballerina, originally performed by Patricia Neary.

Attached Files

•  MMrubiesWM.jpg   156.93KB   37 downloads

[ViolinConcerto]

Thought I'd add this, which I found recently:

Info about the tragic death of an NYCB alumna, a few months ago:
By Judy Atchinson, the Schenectady Gazette:
Dance honors

This next item saddens me intensely. Marnee Morris, one of Schenectady’s own, died recently. Born and raised in this town. I studied piano for many years with her father, and I was 7or 8 years older than she. Her first love was ice skating, and as I visited her house weekly I would see her skating on the ice rink in the back yard. Her father had constructed it and kept it flooded and swept clean.
She moved on from skating to ballet and was a soloist under Balanchine with the New York City Ballet. Her epitaph and a photo of her at SPAC are on my wall posted by Heather. Dance magazine writes movingly of her sweetness and openness. But her life hit a downhill spiral and she contracted HIV in 1990. AIDS/HIV touches all of us. Support the Aids walk and other such programs. Too many people here die from AIDs/HIV.

[lmspear]

Here's the Dance Magazine obituary, http://dancemagazine...Morris-19462011

[Dale]

Here's the Dance Magazine obituary, http://dancemagazine...Morris-19462011

That's a very lovely tribute. Thank you.

Somebody earlier in this thread mentioned that she was in a video of Rubies in the tall girl part. It was on a Villella documentary but not Man Who Dances. This had more dancing clips. Patricia McBride performances in Rubies and Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux and Villella does the solo from Apollo. I saw it at the Performing Arts Library at Lincoln Center.

[rg]

the NYPL cat. listing fails to name Morris but this I think this is the film you mean, Dale.

Ballet with Edward Villella 1970.27 min. Notes : (Introduction to the performing arts).
: Written and narrated by Edward Villella. Choreography: George Balanchine.
: Summary: An introduction to ballet, demonstrated by Edward Villella, Patricia McBride and other artists of the New York City Ballet.
: PARTIAL CONTENTS.--Tchaikovsky pas de deux excerpt, Villella and McBride.--Pantomimic scene from Act II of Giselle, Villella as Albrecht; music by Adolphe Adam.--Solo from Apollo, Villella; music by Igor Stravinsky.--Excerpt from the Rubies section of Jewels, McBride, Villella, and artists of the New York City Ballet; music by Igor Stravinsky

also as noted on the 'ballet history and music' forum, in the recently posted scan of a photo of Balanchine's SWAN LAKE - under 'undated NYCB performance photo' - Morris can be seen in ensemble of swan maidens behind Kent's Odette to the right of the dark haired dancer (Teena McConnell)