Now they tell us. For those lucky dance fans who bought tickets to the (now sold-out) Mark Morris Dance Group performance at On the Boards this weekend, you'll be privy to a pretty special show: Not only will Seattle native Morris debut a brand new work—A Wooden Tree, set to the music and words of humorist-songwriter Ivor Cutler—but Mikhail Baryshnikov will be one of eight dancers performing it. Morris and Mikhail go way back; the two cofounded the White Oak Dance Project in 1990, and Baryshnikov has appeared in Morris premieres before, including 1999's The Argument at Boston's Wang Theatre. "After working on theater projects for the past two years, I wanted to have a taste of dance," Baryshnikov said in a statement. "I missed being on stage in that way." Notice he did not say, "I miss my leading man status in Sex and the City."

MMDG revisits its roots this weekend—the dance company got its West Coast start at On the Boards in 1980—with the Seattle premieres of The Muir and Petrichor, and a performance of 1993’s Grand Duo, which The Guardian has called "one of the masterpieces of the late 20th century." It's only the beginning of Mark Morris season in Seattle, which also includes a world premiere at Pacific Northwest Ballet in November. (Tickets are on sale now; read more in our Fall Arts interview with Morris.) Two local premieres in one month for Morris? He might not admit it, but that's a lot of love for his “ancestral home.” 

Mark Morris Dance Group: Back on the Boards
Oct 4–6, On the Boards, sold out, no waitlist