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