ABSTRACT
Mark Morris was born and raised in Seattle, where at age nine he began studying flamenco and then ballet with Verla Flowers. It was clear from the start that his dancing had a deep rhythmic sense. At age thirteen—the same year that he began making his own pieces—he took up Balkan folk dance and began to perform with the Koleda Folk Ensemble. This group became a center of community for him and a utopian locus of singing and dancing.
