The Paul Taylor Dance Company has returned to the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for its annual fall season. Before last week's extravaganza began, artistic director Michael Novak spoke passionately about the importance of performing and experiencing art in trying times and the Company's unwavering commitment to diversity. He closed his remarks by saying that he hopes that the Company can be an example of “what modern dance can be and where modern dance needs to go.”
The gala opened with the world premiere of choreographer Lauren Lovette Chaconne in winterdedicated to vice chair of the Paul Taylor Dance Foundation Board of Directors and founder of the Company's Dancemaker Fund, Stephen Kroll Reidy.
The episode begins with three singers (Charles Yang, Nicolas Kendall and Ranaan Meyer of the Grammy Award-winning Time in Three) dressed in glittering black, standing on platforms against a dark backdrop. As musicians perform Johann Sebastian Bach and Justin Vernon, two dancers (Madelyn Ho and John Harnage) blow up on stage in sparkling white costumes designed by Mark Eric. They swirl, curl and dip into the mysterious imitation of snowflakes. The duet is simple and lovely, and Lovette's background as a dancer with the New York City Ballet is spot on—the choreography is crisp and precise, with the music on point. Most of the episode, the dancers have an otherworldly quality. However, towards the end, they pause and really look at each other and in this silence, they are sad people. After this short contact, they explode again, and it is clear that we have seen something unusual, that they may not meet again.
The next episode on the show was the one-night-only world premiere of guest artist Robert Battle's Dedicated to Youtribute to Battle's mentor and teacher at the Juilliard School, Carolyn Adams. Adams, a former Company dancer and renowned dance teacher, is now the Taylor School's director of education. Battle danced with Parsons Dance before founding his own company, Battleworks Dance Company, and became the artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from 2011 to 2023. This is his first assignment for the Company, although it was recently announced that he will be the Company's second Resident Producer.
READ MORE: ASMA Exhibition at SculptureCenter Stages Ambiguous But Dystopian Reality in New Hybrid Forms
Dedicated to You again set to Bach's music, this time performed live by the Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL). The solo, danced by the dazzling Jada Pearman in a blue satin dress, begins at center stage. In the first episode, Pearman seems shy and awkward on purpose. He goes through what Taylor's students will recognize as a class exercise, pausing to check his form and correct himself. Then the blue lights turned green, and the sultry voices of Sarah Vaughan and Billy Eckstine came over the speakers. Pearman's moves become jazzier and more confident. In the third act, Bach returns, and the choreography is strong and fluid, Pearman smiling and confident. The same Taylor-inspired moves are repeated throughout—the telltale V arms, the spire—but they gradually become War's and then Pearman's.
The program closed with the classic: Promethean Fire (2002), edited by Company founder Paul Taylor (1930-2018). After the quiet intimacy of the duet and solo, the stage seemed to explode with sixteen dancers. Another Bach masterpiece, Toccata and Fugue in D minoremerges from the orchestra pit as the ensemble stands tall in Santo Loquasto's tight black robes. Flawless coordination and seamless team building shows a master at work. The dancers came in and out, running in circles as fast as the blur of a centrifuge. They jump and hold each other and slide to the ground. In the beginning, a collection is a collection; then two dancers (Devon Louis and Ho) come out of the pile as a central duet, and their performance is amazing. Louis seems divine, while Ho is a gentle flame. As the other dancers return, the dance grows, resembling the music of Bach's fairy tale in its endless intensity.
What a way to end the show. And what a way to show—as Novak hoped—what dance can be and how it's done and where it can go from here.
Paul Taylor Dance Company will be at Lincoln Center until November 24. Chaconne in winter will be held again on 11/14 at 7:00 pm Promethean Fire will be performed again on 11/17 at 3:00 pm and 11/20 at 7:00 pm The Company's fall season also includes ten Taylor classics, two more works by Lovette, two by Jody Sperling and returning audience favorites of – Ulysses Dove. and Larry Keigwin.
