Mark Morris’s “The Look of Love” begins with praise. Dancers stand in a circle facing inward with clasped hands and chests lifted as Burt Bacharach’s “What the World Needs Now” resonates in the theatre. Morris’s dance, which was first performed in 2022 and had its New York premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on March 20th, is a celebration of Bacharach’s music and his idea of love, which, in spite of minor ups and downs, remains, as the opening song suggests, overwhelmingly “sweet.”
How the Mark Morris dance group is bringing the late Burt Bacharach’s music to life
The Mark Morris dance group is bringing the iconic music of the late Burt Bacharach to life right in Brooklyn.
The Mark Morris Dance Group’s “Look of Love” Takes Our Breath Away
In a genius bit of theatre, Mark Morris opens “The Look of Love,” his delightful new program of dance set to the music of Burt Bacharach, with solo piano, down in the pit. It is composer/arranger (and frequent Morris collaborator) Ethan Iverson, giving a restrained, harmonically dense account of “Alfie.”
The Berkshire: DANCE REVIEW: Mark Morris’ passionate and penetrating celebration of Burt Bacharach at Jacob’s Pillow
On entering the newly refurbished Ted Shawn Theatre in Becket, it became evident that live musical performance would take a principal role in future Pillow Productions. Here before the stage was a generous orchestra pit, with experienced classical and jazz musicians noodling happily on piano (Colin Fowler), bass (Simon Wilson), and drums (Vinnie Sperrazza).
The Boston Globe: Mark Morris Dance Group opens Jacob’s Pillow with buoyant ‘The Look of Love’
BECKET — Jacob’s Pillow opened its 91st season on Wednesday night with the Mark Morris Dance Group, the company that has appeared on the Ted Shawn stage more than any other in the festival’s history. For his troupe’s first performances at the venerable summer festival since 2019, Morris presented his newest work, “The Look of Love,” to a score of 13-plus songs from the Burt Bacharach-Hal David songbook of the 1960s and 1970s, arranged by Ethan Iverson.
Broadway World: Review: THE LOOK OF LOVE at Eisenhower Theater
MD Theatre Guide: Dance Review: Mark Morris Dance Group's ‘The Look of Love’ at the Kennedy Center
The Washington Post: Mark Morris’s tribute to Burt Bacharach is what the world needs now
Fjord: The Look of Love, Mark Morris’ evening of dance to Burt Bacharach
A breath of fresh, brilliant, joyous—and much needed—air blew into BroadStage on Thursday for the world premiere of Mark Morris’ “The Look of Love.” Co-commissioned by a national consortium of arts presenters, including BroadStage, the work is set to music from the vast cannon of multi-Grammy-award winning pop composer and songwriter, 94-year old Burt Bacharach, with lyrics by his frequent collaborator, Hal David, who died in 2012.