Why I Care

There are a myriad of reasons why I have a reverence towards the work of Paul Taylor and the influence that he has had on the world of modern dance.  The main reason that I am so drawn to his work is his ability to have a social commentary about his work in a powerful and moving way that strays away from politics and the often stoic nature of that aspect of our society here in America.  He is able to successfully combine dark and serious and witty and funny in a way that is always natural and inventive.  Because of his revolutionary approach to choreography and movement, he is an artist that I greatly admire and appreciate for his contribution to what dance is today.

One characteristic of Paul’s work that I find to be fascinating is his sense of humor.  It is so subtle and yet so obvious such as in the work “From Sea to Shining Sea” where he pokes fun and questions the icons found in American culture.  What makes him so unique is the fact that he doesn’t just make statements solely to say what his opinions are, but he poses questions for society to ponder on many touchy subjects that we often don’t like to talk about in society.  When I am choreographing I find myself making dances that are serious and about personal experience.  I think I can learn a lot from Paul about using my personal experiences to be inquisitive and look more at the subtleties of life.  Taylor often uses pedestrian movements to inspire his choreography like in “Esplanade.”  This was one of my favorite pieces of his with the beautiful movement quality and the structure that the 5 different sections employed. 

The public needs to take note of Paul Taylor and his contribution to dance because of the sheer scope of his work.  He is over 80 years old and has been making dances since a young age.  By seeing his dances over the years, you can see the history and events in society that were the driving force for his work.  Looking at his dances, you can see the social commentary and the emotions that were felt at the time the dance was made.  It is fascinating that his dances have such a resonance and connection with our history and our social culture because he himself has described his work as being something purely for him and not for society, yet it has so much impact for society. Today, it is easy to see the influence that Paul Taylor has had on the dance world.  He is still making dances at such an old age and doesn't intend to stop.  I admire how driven and passionate he is about making dances and know that learning more about him will forever impact me as an artist.

"Company B"

“Evokes the exuberant rhythms of the '40's as well as the grim and persistent shadow of war. But even more vividly, it honors Taylor's magnificent dancers. Some of the most glorious dancing to be seen anywhere…” – Laura Shapiro, Newsweek

Music: Songs sung by the Andrews Sisters
Costumes: Santo Loquasto
Lighting: Jennifer Tipton
Date First Performed: June 20, 1991

http://www.thefastertimes.com/dance/2010/07/04/a-note-on-paul-taylor%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Ccompany-b%E2%80%9D/

By Jose

Why I Care

One of the things that interests me about Paul Taylor is his ability to make work that is both funny and uplifting or dark and serious. I have just begun to realize how more comfortable I am in making work that is serious or psychological rather than light-hearted or funny. Paul Taylor though, seems to find a balance between both, and I admire that. He is able to drop subtle hints of something being "off" and then proceed with moments of humor, but always getting to the tragic humor of our faults as humans.

For instance, in "Company B", a work centered around music from the forties and the cheerfulness of wearing pastel colors dancing and celebrating being American, there is an underlying message of war and how at any moment they may be called to serve their country and die. The piece quickly introduces this parallel idea of joy and darkness by having people fall and "die" and then getting up again like nothing happen. Paul drops these subtle ideas that begin to compile and make sense, and the tragedy is that we forget about these psychological ideas of mourning, depression, and fear until we make the connections. Paul's ability to layer his work through costumes, music, dancing, and ideas is something that I appreciate.

Generally the public should note his work and follow his legacy as I would describe him, a virtuosic choreographer. He has created work about war, incest, homosexuality, and religion among other polar ideas. Paul has also been able to juxtapose and layer his works through concepts and music and even created work based on daily observation of people such as a woman trying to catch a bus ("Esplanade").  Even more interesting is that he does all of these works because it interests him, rather than making work that is solely about war or innocence.

Paul Taylor is just as in the "scene" as any other younger choreographers (in comparison to his age of 81 years old). He is still making work, two of his most recent within the last year are "House of Joy" and "Gossamer Gallants". His works still explore varying subjects like prostitution, insects, memory, an artists' experiences among others. Though some of our current choreographers explore site specific, improvisation, and/or technology, Paul is still holding strong with what he does, and from what I learn of him is that he would not have it any other way. He would not be jealous or envious, he would simply keep working until some new idea comes to him, not necessarily trying to compete with the more current dance scene, but perhaps leaving room to create work on the present day advances and probably poke fun of in some way.

by Jose

"From Sea to Shining Sea"

“If the United States had a proper arts policy, Paul Taylor would be declared a national treasure…Sea [has a] naughtily satiric view of Lady Liberty and the other symbols of America ranging from Superman to the KKK… Darkly funny.” – Christine Temin, Boston Globe


-AR

Blog Post 3: The Bigger Picture

Paul Taylor's choreographic works are known to be a depiction of complex societal issues and observations of life and its many trials and tribulations.  The reason that his work reflects and comments on issues that were relevant to a certain time period in which the work was made.  In saying this, we will discuss the historical situations, politics, industry, technological, and social events that informed what is considered as "Paul Taylor dance."

Taylor's first work her ever created was called 3 Epitaphs (1954), a symbolic expression of both the drudgery of life (plodding to the sounds of the mournful music of New Orleans jazz,)  and the joys that can be found in life seen through the humorous swinging movements. The 1950's in America were full of hopeful attitudes and prosperity.  In this piece, Paul was making a comment that although there was a brighter side to everyday life, another darker side still exists.  Although this piece is often looked upon as being humorous, it can also be seen as contrasting between two different views of outlooks in the 1950s.  

Another famous work by Paul Taylor is a collection of works entitles "Seven  New Dances" performed in October 1957.  All sections of the piece were inspired by pedestrian movement.  The scores to the sections were ordinary sounds such as rain, wind, heartbeats, telephone sounds, and avante-garde composer John Cage.  In this time period, this piece was extremely daring and unlike any previous work done by other choreographers.  His work was influenced by people in everyday life walk through the world and how they see themselves fitting into society.  This collaboration with John Cage was very influential during this time and opened the door for more pedestrian movement and a new way to look at music.  

Scudorama (1963) was greatly influenced by the political and social unrest that was going on in the United States.  In this time period, John F Kennedy was the president.  Americans were at the brink of having a nuclear war erupt after the Cuban Missile Crisis.  Taylor depicts the fears and anxieties of this generation through the unsettling aura illuminated in this piece.  

In 1965 taylor choreographed From Sea to Shining Sea, a piece with a dark humor towards the American ideals and icons during this time period.  The piece takes a stance regarding social attitudes towards Lady Liberty, Superman, and the KKK to deliver a satirical view of society in the 1960s. 

In the '70s Taylor put rape and incest into view in his work entitels Big Bertha.  He was attempting to reveal the inner beast found beneath the surface of what is seen to the outside eye.  In the '80s Taylor continued to continue to explore issues that were never talked about by the public.  He explored marital rape and the intimacy between men at war during the Vietnam era.  In Byzantium Taylor looks at religion and the rule of a "superpower" society that starts with a religious ceremony and ends in the disintegration of the society.  

In Company B (1991)  Taylor depicts the 1940s and the despair and turbulence in an era where many Americans went off to WWII and many to never return again.  The piece is set to rather uplifting Andrews Sisters music to depict the falsely held belief by the American people that there was hope because of the newfound escape from the Great Depression.  This piece includes death and distress among the American people and is truly a depiction of the changes seen in America during that time period.  He is seen as one of the greatest war poets.  

In the '90s he choreographed A Field of Grass (1993) that is a relfection of the 1960s and the decade's value for love, drugs, and death.  He explores the idea of conformity and religious following seen in the '90s in The Word (1998) In the 2000's he has made worked such as Fiends Angelical (2000,) Antique Valentine (2001,) In the Beginning (2003,)  that touches on feminism, American imperialism, good and evil, death, and religion.  

-AR & JL

Paul Taylor "Esplanade"

 

Music: 

 Johann Sebastian Bach

Costumes: 

 John Rawlings

Lighting: 

 Jennifer Tipton

Date First Performed: 

 March 1, 1975

Notes: An esplanade is an outdoor place to walk; in 1975 Paul Taylor, inspired by the sight of a girl running to catch a bus, created a masterwork based on pedestrian movement. If contemporaries Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg could use ordinary “found objects” like Coke bottles and American flags in their art, Taylor would use such “found movements” as standing, walking, running, sliding and falling. The first of five sections that are set to two Bach violin concertos introduces a team of eight dancers brimming with Taylor’s signature youthful exuberance. An adagio for a family whose members never touch reflects life’s somber side. When three couples engage in romantic interplay, a woman standing tenderly atop her lover’s prone body suggests that love can hurt as well as soothe. The final section has dancers careening fearlessly across the stage like Kamikazes. The littlest of them – the daughter who had not been acknowledged by her family – is left alone on stage, triumphant: the meek inheriting the earth.

Source: http://www.ptdc.org/repertoire/esplanade

Paul Taylor "Scudorama"

Music: 

 Clarence Jackson

Set and Costumes: 

 Alex Katz

Lighting: 

 Thomas Skelton

Date First Performed: 

 August 10, 1963

 The dance dates from 1963, when Americans were still in the grip of nuclear fear following the Cuban missile crisis.  Taylor was keenly attuned to the anxiety of the era and expressed these unresolved tensions in the dance, which carries a program note quoting Dante: “What souls are these who run through this Black haze… These are the nearly soulless whose lives concluded neither blame nor praise.”    The title combined the type of clouds that race across the sky before a storm with a 1960s term for “bigger and better” that to Taylor connoted “tacky.”

-AR