I went with my terrifically good-looking dance pal to see the Paul Taylor Dance Company at Lincoln Center last night. I picked up the tickets via TDF last week and we had excellent orchestra center seats about 20 rows back. Of course, the only drawback to orchestra center seats is that I can't cheat and take photos of the curtain calls. Back of the balcony does have some advantages... ;)
Anyway, I went on the Paul Taylor Dance Company website to try to decide which evening we should attend - they were never doing the same complete program twice, so I was picking and choosing in a haphazard way. Finally, I started listening to the sound clips on the website and made a decision based on the music in each piece. A roundabout way to choose, probably, but I think all turned out well. And I thank my dance pal for going along with my randomness.
First up was Scudorama, first performed in 1963. (The photo is from the Paul Taylor Dance Company website; the photographer is Paul B Goode; I will happily remove the photo if they ask.) In the playbill is a quote from Dante: "What souls are these who run through this black haze?" And he to me: "These are the nearly soulless Whose lives concluded neither blame nor praise." What does that mean? No clue, though the piece does seem otherworldly. Or maybe a type of purgatory. And Paul Taylor himself (according to the website) described the piece as 'a dance of death leavened with light touches.' OK. I found this piece rather fascinating. The score by Clarence Jackson was commissioned for the company, and I really enjoyed it. It had a sort of 60s sci-fi movie sound, which meshed well with the rather apocalyptic set and costumes. The choreography was angular and strange, with some comic touches - people crawling around the stage, men entering while 'wearing' a female dancer almost like a scarf - and the shapes in the choreography were fascinating. All of the dancers were outstanding, though I have to make special mention of the soloist in red, who was solitary and lovely, and the dancer who briefly appeared in the grey pajamas. I found the freedom of that choreography and that dancer to be almost sublime. I will admit that I'm not as familiar with modern dance, and since I'm such a plot girl, sometimes plotless choreography frustrates me, but I really enjoyed this piece. The gal behind me? Not so much. She did not employ the five-block rule and started trashing the piece as soon as the first intermission started. I hate that.
The second piece was Lost, Found and Lost, first performed in 1982. The 'elevator music' (as listed in the playbill) was orchestrated by Donald York. This was a fun and whimsical piece that was very playful yet sometimes quite poignant. At first, I wasn't really into the sparkly unitards and the sparkly hats with the veils, but they grew on me. According to the website, where I enjoyed doing some research last night, Paul Taylor was experimenting with ordinary posture and found movement, and how that would lead to gesture and dance. I could see that, with a lot of standing still with arms folded, casual 'walking' across the stage, and mimicry of other movement. There was one really funny bit when the ensemble suddenly, for no reason, formed a line, and one by one, they all walk offstage, as if they're waiting to get into a bank line or something. The different behavior of each of the dancers was great, while there were still two ladies, not in line, posing and hoping someone would see them. Fascinating. Again, the shapes made in the choregraphy were terrific. This photo, borrowed from the website and taken by Lois Greenfield, gives you a hint of the whimsical and wonderful shapes. 
Each evening during their run, the company is doing one of their pieces set to music by Bach. Last night's piece was Brandenburgs, set to concertos # 6 (movements 1 & 2) and #3. It was first performed in 1988. LOVED. Seriously. LOVED. I always forget how much I love Bach - I have no idea why it slips my mind. But setting beautiful dance to beautiful music is always inspiring and moving, whether there's a plot or no. It's as if there would be no other way to move to this music, it just seemed so organic and perfect. The dancers were gorgeously exuberant, with so much air and speed. Their arms were amazing and the fact that they did such beautiful turns on bare feet (without making that squeaking sound) was wonderful. I loved the color of the costumes and the way they moved onstage. There were nine dancers in the piece - a lead male, Michael Trusnovec, who was BRILLIANT, plus three ladies and five men in the ensemble. Each dancer had moments to shine and they were all fantastic. They just all soared. I was enchanted from start to finish, as was the rest of the audience, if the lengthy applause is any judge. Of course, this piece was probably the most accessible of the evening, so that could be why everyone responded to it, but it wasn't just that. At least I don't think so. The photo at left is by Paul B Goode.
I'm not very good at really dissecting choreography or assessing quality of dance, I just know what I like when I see it. And I really liked last night's program. Every time I see the Paul Taylor Dance Company, I think to myself "why don't I see them more often?!" I will definitely have to do something about that from now on. :)
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