10 REASONS WHY I LOVE MORLEIGH

1. Independent women rock my world.

-- I'm always looking for female role models, and Morleigh's a perfect one. In the words of Bill Flanagan: "Unlike practically everyone else on the [Zoo TV] tour, Morleigh does not wait on the whims of the kings... If there's a call she'll be there on time and ready to work, but if no one remembers to call her she will go about her business" (U2 At The End of the World 255-56).

2. She has a great sense of humor.

-- At one of their Elevation concerts in Providence, we met this incredibly nice truck driver named Scott, who pushed the camera dolly that followed her around during Zoo TV as she danced. They became friends, and Scott said that she used to play pranks on him all the time. Specifically, she'd sneak up behind him and "pull down my britches." 'Nuff said, eh? Obviously, she rocks!

3. She was already self-established long before she became U2's famed belly-dancer.

-- Morleigh's never counted on her connection with the band to get her anywhere. "A Californian who travels the world with the ISO dance company, Morleigh met U2 in L.A. in the late 80s... Far more self-contained and independent than most of the Zoo people, Morleigh has real reservations about putting her career on hold to join their European tour next spring and summer" (Flanagan 139).

4. She can still count many personal successes independent of her work with U2.

-- Just like Edge, she does EVERYTHING and is great at it all. Not only is she a dancer, but she is a choreographer, lighting designer, and a filmmaker. Besides directing the Miami version of U2's "Staring At The Sun," she also directed many other music videos including "Dark Girl." In 1986, Morleigh co-founded the ISO Dance Theater, whose choreography and dancers have been featured in David Bowie's Glass Spider World Tour and Sting's "They Dance Alone." For the first film that she conceived and directed called "Traveling Light," she won the Prize of the Dance Professional Jury at the Mediawave Awards 1996. In 1999, she was one of UCLA's National Dance/Media Project Fellows. Recently, she's also directed a choreographic film called "Stir." And while she continues to juggle all her professional successes, she manages to be a wonderful mom and girlfriend. Pretty amazing woman, eh??

5. Just like the members of U2, she has a strong social conscience.

-- In 1988, after performing in the music video "They Dance Alone," Sting's protest song against General Pinochet's military regime, her dance company, ISO, organised a dance benefit as a fundraiser for Amnesty International.

6. She helped heal Edge's broken heart.

-- While Edge was going through his painful divorce, Morleigh was there to cure his loneliness. "How remarkable that after the long emotional journey Edge began at the start of the ZooTV experience, he actually came out at the other end with a new hand to hold. He pushed himself and U2 past all their old limits and traveled to the ends of the earth to fall in love with someone he'd known the whole time" (Flanagan 504).

7. The thought of her alone is enough to put a smile on Edge's face.

-- If the glow on his face wasn't enough as he spoke about her on VH-1 Legends, here are Bill Flanagan's testimonies to the wonderful effect Morleigh had on Edge as their relationship first developed: "Edge's guitar stops. He comes into the room and picks up the phone. He calls Morleigh in Los Angeles - eight time zones earlier - to ask if she'll be around next week when he stops on his way to Australia. When he gets off the phone he's as happy as a sixteen-year-old with a prom date" (375); "Edge is grumbling about impending disaster when Morleigh slips up behind him, puts her hands on his shoulders and, when he turns his head, plants a kiss on his lips. Edge's mood lightens at once" (403).

8. She taught Edge how to dress.

-- This is totally speculation, but once he became involved with Morleigh near the end of Zoo TV or Zooropa, Edge's fashion sense has progressively gotten better. Maybe Fintan's taste has improved (if he's still with U2), but thank God (or Morleigh) that Edge doesn't still wear the outfits he wore up until Zoo TV.

9. She was proud of her pregnant body.

-- A feminist to a great degree, I admire seeing pregnant women revel in the fact that a precious new life is growing inside them. In the video for "Mofo (Phunk Phorce remix)," you can see Morleigh bare her belly as she's dancing at a PopMart concert.

10. Edge loves her.

-- That's all we really need to know, eh?