Paul Taylor Dance Company

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The Paul Taylor Dance Company performing Taylor's Esplanade.

Paul Taylor Dance Company, is a contemporary dance company, formed by Paul Taylor, an American choreographer of the 20th century. One of the early touring companies of American modern dance, the Company has "performed in more than 500 cities in 62 countries"[1] and still spends more than half of each performance season touring in American cities.

Paul Taylor originally performed in the companies of Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, and George Balanchine, but founded his own, Paul Taylor Dance Company in 1954. Dancers/Choreographers who emerged from his company include David Parsons, Twyla Tharp, Laura Dean, Dan Wagoner, Christopher Gillis , Senta Driver and Amy Marshall.

Twyla Tharp joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in 1963 and two years later formed her own company. Christopher Gillis joined in 1976. He was a member until his death in 1993.

The Company has appeared in PBS programs nine times. In 1999, the PBS American Masters series aired Matthew Diamond's Oscar-nominated documentary about Paul Taylor and his company, Dancemaker.

In 2005, it was among 406 New York City arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.[2][3]

Contents

[edit] Dancers

The dancers as of February 2012 (with year of debut in the company):[4]

  • Michael Trusnovec (1998)
  • Amy Young (2000)
  • Robert Kleinendorst (2000)
  • James Samson (2001)
  • Michelle Fleet (2002)
  • Parisa Khobdeh (2003)
  • Sean Patrick Mahoney (2004)
  • Jeffrey Smith (2005)
  • Eran Bugge (2005)
  • Francisco Graciano (2006)
  • Laura Halzack (2006)
  • Jamie Rae Walker (2008)
  • Michael Apuzzo (2009)
  • Aileen Roehl (2010)
  • Michael Novak (2010)
  • Heather McGinley (2011)
  • Elizabeth Bragg (2012)

[edit] Reviews

  • The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts says "...one of the world’s most exquisite ensembles."[5]
  • PBS refers to this Dance Company as "one of American's premier troupes"[6]
  • Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts says "One of the world's most brilliant dance companies..." and calls Paul Taylor "...a living legend."[7]

[edit] References

  • Nonesuch VHS (1992) Speaking in Tongues, ASIN: 6302550394
  • PBS Thirteen/WNET VHS (1996) The Wrecker's Ball (Company B, Funny Papers, A Field of Grass)
  • Warnervision VHS (1999) Paul Taylor Dance Company (Esplanade, Runes), ASIN: 1568327889
  • Docurama DVD (2000) Dancemaker, ASIN: 0767023447

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ http://www.performances.org/performances/performances.asp?performanceID=571
  2. ^ City Groups Get Bloomberg Gift of $20 Million - New York Times
  3. ^ Carnegie Corporation - News
  4. ^ "Dancers". Paul Taylor Dance Company. http://www.ptdc.org/about-artists/paul-taylor-dance-company/dancers. Retrieved February 26, 2012. 
  5. ^ Kennedy Center: Information about Paul Taylor Dance Company
  6. ^ American Masters . Paul Taylor | PBS
  7. ^ Penn Presents: Paul Taylor Dance Company

[edit] External links


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