The Paul Taylor Dance Company will appear at the University of Utah's Kingsbury Hall in Salt Lake City for one performance on Tuesday, October 12, 2004. The program includes "Arden Court," "Dante Variations," and "Piazzola Caldera." The Salt Lake press previews.

Brandon Griggs in the Salt Lake Tribune:

http://www.sltrib.com/arts/ci_2424861

Scott Iwasaki in The Deseret News:

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595096963,00.html

The Paul Taylor Dance Company appears at The University of Washington's Meany Hall for the Performing Arts in Seattle from Thursday through Saturday, November 18-20, 2004. Programmed are three works never before performed in this area:
"Klezmerbluegrass," "Dante Variations," and "Promethean Fire." Curtain is at 8:00 p.m. for all three performances. Moira Macdonald previews in The Seattle Times:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artsentertainment/2002089310_taylor14.html

Reviews of the Thursday, November 18, 2004 performance at Meany Hall from the Seattle press.

Alice Kaderlan in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/theater/200378_paul20q.html

Moira Macdonald in The Seattle Times:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/theater/200378_paul20q.html

Promethean Pilot Light
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Friday, 19 November 2004
Meany Hall Theatre, University of Washington
Seattle, Washington
by Dean Speer

Paul Taylor used to be one of my choreographic heros. His stature was diminished slightly in my eyes by the showing of three of his latest dances. By his own admission in his quite wonderful autobiography, Private Domain, he purports to work very hard at not repeating himself. I’ve long agreed that he has been successful at this until now.

The 2002 Promethean Fire was derivative of himself. It was the (strange) experience of watching a paint-by-numbers dance of his own movement vocabulary. Let’s see, we’ll put in four strong lunges with a reach of the right arm with the hand jutting out each time from the shoulder, we’ll run with the arms dipping low and reaching up and out, palms up, we’ll do quick parallel sissonnes. In his other dances that I’ve seen, he created a fresh movement vocabulary (motifs if you will) for each one. Roses does not look like Cloven Kingdom, which does not look like Company B, etc. However, Promethean Fire looks like ALL of his dances thrown together in a salade russe. On the plus side, it is organized well and is set to a score that I’ve always wanted to see someone make a dance to – the Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor plus two Preludes. I just wish he had made something truly new. And I have to ask to myself, “Why does using ones own vocabulary work for some (like Martha Graham) and not for Taylor, at least in this case?” Is he trying to codify his style?

Dante Variations I found to be the most unique and interesting on the bill. It was really like something out of a sketch or painting depicting tormented souls. It begins and end with the dancers in a clump and as they peel off, it looks as if the whole group is given a jolt charge of electricity. (Oh, that nasty devil!)

It’s to music by Ligeti (one of the flavors-of-the-month composers; see Phillip Glass, among others) and is made slightly more tolerable here by its adaption to barrel organ. If you say “Ligeti” four times in a row real fast several times, you get how his music sounds to my ear. Hearing one of the San Francisco Ballet’s accompanists at a pre-performance talk a few months ago, who played for one of Christopher Wheeldon’s many creations to this composer, didn’t help my impression. Very “notey.” [La-DAH-dah-DAH-dah-dah, la-DAH-dah-DAH-dah-dah in a quick rhythm.]

Klezmerbluegrass is to traditional Jewish music, arranged by Margot Leverett and was a good “opener.” Bouncy, light and with just a hint of melancholy, I felt like the commissioning organization got their money’s worth.

As always it was a pleasure seeing Taylor’s beautiful and strong dancers. It was very interesting to observe that while the pre-performance lecturer said to look at the varying body types in the Company – and I was nodding my head, as I had known this to be true – the Company has undergone a big change. While the women’s hair styles were different, I have to say that the look of his company has become much more uniform. No extreme short to tall and tolerance for builds. The men particularly looked like they came out of the same cookie-cutter, skin color aside. Also in the past, Taylor tended to choose dancers with Graham backgrounds. This has shifted to mainly ballet backgrounds and this has most definitely altered the look and feel of this 50 year-old major American modern dance company.

<small>[ 30 November 2004, 01:18 PM: Message edited by: Dean Speer ]</small>

Paul Taylor's Marvelous Melting Pot
By Sarah Kaufman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 18, 2004; Page C01
more

also in the Post:

The Soloist
After 50 Years, Paul Taylor Still Creates Works for His Dance Company. But His Favorite Steps Are the Ones That He Takes on His Own.
By Sarah Kaufman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 16, 2004; Page C01
MATTITUCK, N.Y.
more

more

<small>[ 11 March 2005, 05:02 AM: Message edited by: kurinuku ]</small>

FIFTY YEARS OF HEAVEN AND HELL

Paul Taylor Dance Company / City Center, NYC / March 1-20, 2005

Celebrating its 50th anniversary with a tour to the full 50 United States, the Paul Taylor Dance Company is playing three weeks in New York City, its hometown. The repertoire encompasses a host of golden (and silver) oldies and a pair of new works. Newish, anyway; both had their premieres out of town.

Klezmerbluegrass honors an even more venerable anniversary than Taylor can lay claim to. The piece was commissioned by the National Foundation for Jewish Culture to celebrate 350 years of Jewish life in America.

click for more