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Perhaps it was because we had just seen the opening of the 2024 Paris Olympics that day…
Stately 18th Century music from composer William Boyce that some were later heard to have mistaken for the Brandenburg Concertos primed us to see powdered wigs, brocade coats and women in unforgiving bodices and hoop skirts. Instead, here were bare chested men — some wearing tights that from a distance made them look almost naked. They are super-sized and even at the distance of the rafters their 6-pack abs would seem chiseled. Olympians! Yet, they float like a butterfly, as the great Mohammed Ali would say. They don’t sting like a bee, however. They instead make us want to giggle, and especially when coupled with a relatively diminutive female dancer who sees a bent knee as a step, and openings in poses as places to crawl through and otherwise flits around these posed giants in circles. It’s a comedy of manners, Arden Court, and a great reminder of why Paul Taylor Dance Company is an evergreen staple of contemporary dance.
When we return from a first intermission, the stage is divided by curtains that make it impossible to see all the goings on behind them. Here too we want to laugh when the dancers in skimpy bathing suits shift their hips lasciviously while others cavort behind the curtains. This is Private Domain, choreographed by Taylor in 1969 when the sexual revolution was raging and Hitchcock’s thriller Rear Window had already become part of the public’s shared imagination.
A brilliant red backdrop greets us with the opening of Mercuric Tidings. The dancers in red tights then begin their fast-paced gliding siege of the stage. It’s as if Shubert’s Symphonies are not so much accompanying them but rather serving as the pace setter for a marathon. You too, like this writer, might begin to focus on a Taylor signature here —as in the earlier works —of BIG arms.
It didn’t surprise to learn in the post-performance discussion that Taylor came to dance via a swimming pool where he was being groomed to be a champion competitive swimmer. In Olympics’ season, the dance gives us a new lens of the swimming competitions we are about to see on TV.
American Dance Festival Closes Out Summer With Tried and True Audience Favorite
We learn from the program notes that Paul Taylor Dance boasts over 170 dances in its canon, with 147 choreographed by the late Paul Taylor himself. It was clear that the audience was thick with Paul Taylor Dance Company groupies of some many years’ standing. Sexy, funny, athletic—- what’s not to love?
Photos: Elyse Mertz
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
ARDEN COURT First performed in 1981
Music William Boyce Excerpts from Symphonies Nos. 1, 3, 5, 7, 8
Choreography Paul Taylor
Set and Costumes Gene Moore
Lighting Jennifer Tipton
Performers: Eran Bugge, Madelyn Ho, Lee Duveneck, Alex Clayton, Devon Louis, John Harnage, Jessica Ferretti, Austin Kelly, Kenny Corrigan
PRIVATE DOMAIN First performed in 1969
Music Iannis Xenakis, Atrees
Choreography Paul Taylor
Set and Costumes Alex Katz
Lighting Jennifer Tipton
Performers: Eran Bugge, Madelyn Ho, John Harnage, Maria Ambrose, Lisa Borres, Jada Pearman, Shawn Lesniak, Kenny Corrigan
MERCURIC TIDINGS First performed in 1982
Music Franz Schubert, excerpts from Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2
Choreography Paul Taylor
Costumes Gene Moore
Lighting Jennifer Tipton
Performers: Eran Bugge, Madelyn Ho, Kristin Draucker, Alex Clayton, Devon Louis, John Harnage, Maria Ambrose, Lisa Borres, Jada Pearman, Shawn Lesniak, Jessica Ferretti, Austin Kelly, Kenny Corrigan
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About the Author: Amy Munice
Amy Munice is Editor-in-Chief and Co-Publisher of Picture This Post. She covers books, dance, film, theater, music, museums and travel. Prior to founding Picture This Post, Amy was a freelance writer and global PR specialist for decades—writing and ghostwriting thousands of articles and promotional communications on a wide range of technical and not-so-technical topics.
