Paul Taylor (choreographer) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Paul Taylor
Taylor in 1960, photo by Carl Van Vechten
Born	(1930-07-29)July 29, 1930 Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	August 29, 2018(2018-08-29) (aged 88) Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Education	Juilliard School (B.S. 1953)
Occupation	choreographer
Years active	1954–2018

Paul Belville Taylor Jr. (born July 29, 1930 – died August 29, 2018) was a famous American dancer and choreographer. He was one of the last great artists from the third generation of American modern dance. In 1954, he started his own group, the Paul Taylor Dance Company, in New York City.

Early Life and Dance Beginnings

Paul Taylor was born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. He grew up near Washington, DC. By the time he was a teenager, he was over six feet tall. In the late 1940s, he studied painting and was a swimmer at Syracuse University. He even got a scholarship for swimming!

While at the school library, Paul discovered dance through books. This led him to create his first dance piece, called Hobo Ballet, for students in the dance department at Syracuse. Later, he moved to Juilliard, a famous arts school. He earned a degree in dance there in 1953. People say that his dedication to swimming and other experiences helped him become a committed dancer. These experiences also helped him develop his unique and varied dance style.

A Career in Dance

In 1954, Paul Taylor started his own small dance company. He began creating his own dances. Even though he started dancing a bit later than some, he was a powerful performer. In 1955, he joined the Martha Graham Dance Company. He danced there for seven seasons as a main dancer. During this time, he also kept choreographing for his own group. He also worked with other famous choreographers like Doris Humphrey and Jerome Robbins. In 1959, George Balanchine invited him to perform with the New York City Ballet.

Paul Taylor dancing in 1960

Paul Taylor's early dances were quite different from the strong, physical works he became known for later. He worked closely with the painter Robert Rauschenberg. Rauschenberg's paintings inspired some of Taylor's dances, like Three Epitaphs. One very famous and unusual piece was Duet (1957). In this dance, Paul Taylor and another dancer, Toby Glanternik, stood completely still for four minutes and thirty-three seconds. This was set to a "silent" music piece by John Cage. This performance was part of a show called Seven New Dances. It made Paul Taylor famous because it was so different and surprising!

After Seven New Dances, Taylor kept creating new works. He went on two tours in Europe and made ten new dances. He was still dancing with Martha Graham's company during this time. A big moment in his career was the premiere of his dance Aureole (1962). This dance had no story. Its success convinced him to leave the Graham company. He then focused full-time on choreographing for his own dancers.

With Aureole, he moved away from very experimental dance. He even used classical music for his modern movements, which was a playful challenge to dance critics. Paul Taylor was interested in both the look of his dances and what they were about. Some of his movements were inspired by insects or by his love of swimming. He often used dance to explore big ideas like war, spirituality, and life and death.

One of his most famous dances is Esplanade (1975). For this piece, Taylor was fascinated by everyday movements. These included running, sliding, walking, jumping, and falling. The dance has five parts and uses music from two of J.S. Bach's violin concertos. Taylor loved how simple changes in timing or position could turn everyday actions into beautiful dance. For example, in his dance Polaris (1976), he showed the same choreography with two different groups of dancers. This highlighted how each dancer made the movements unique.

Another well-known work is Private Domain (1969). Taylor explored ideas about perspective and how things look versus how they really are. For this dance, artist Alex Katz designed a set with panels that blocked parts of the stage. This meant the audience saw different things depending on where they sat.

In 1980, Taylor created his own version of The Rite of Spring. He called it Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rehearsal). It was a detective story with gangsters and kidnappings. But it also honored the original ballet. For example, a grieving mother in his version reminded people of the "Chosen Maiden" from the original. This mix of old and new was highly praised.

Paul Taylor created 147 dances in total. Some of his other well-known works include Big Bertha (1970), Airs (1978), Arden Court (1981), Sunset (1983), and Company B (1991). Many of these dances are performed by the Paul Taylor Dance Company. Other famous dance groups, like the American Ballet Theatre, also perform his works.

Dance experts often group Taylor's dances into "light" and "dark" categories. For example, Aureole (1962) is seen as light and joyful. But his next dance, Scudorama (1963), was very different and seemed to represent evil. This showed how versatile his choreography was. However, some experts say his dances are too varied for just two categories. He also made funny, romantic, and movement-focused pieces. Sometimes, he even told stories in his dances, like in Snow White (1983).

Taylor worked with many other artists. These included painters like Jasper Johns and Ellsworth Kelly, and lighting designers like Jennifer Tipton. His career and creative process have been featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary Dancemaker. He also wrote an autobiography called Private Domain.

Awards and Recognition

Paul Taylor received many important awards for his contributions to dance.

• In 1992, he was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors.
• He won an Emmy Award in 1991 for his dance Speaking in Tongues.
• In 1993, President Bill Clinton gave him the National Medal of Arts.
• He received the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, sometimes called the "genius award."
• He also got many honorary degrees from universities like Juilliard School and Syracuse University.

The French government also honored him many times. In 2000, he received France's highest award, the Légion d'Honneur. This was for his amazing contributions to French culture.

His autobiography, Private Domain, was nominated as a top biography in 1987. The film Dancemaker about him was called "perhaps the best dance documentary ever" by Time magazine.

Paul Taylor Dance Company

The Paul Taylor Dance Company performs Paul Taylor's dances around the world. The company has 16 dancers.

In 1992, the company started the Repertory Preservation Project. This project aimed to document 30 of Taylor's dances, including some that were rarely seen. This led to the creation of Taylor 2. This is a junior company that helps preserve Taylor's works by performing them.

A 2015 documentary, Paul Taylor: Creative Domain, showed how he created his dances. It gave a close look at the making of his 133rd modern dance piece.

Paul Taylor American Modern Dance

In 2015, Paul Taylor started a new program called Paul Taylor American Modern Dance. This program includes dances by other modern choreographers. These dances are performed by dancers who specialize in those styles. The program also asks modern choreographers to create new dances for the Paul Taylor Dance Company. Since 2015, live music has been played at every performance by the Orchestra of St. Luke's.

Death

Paul Taylor passed away on August 29, 2018, in a Manhattan hospital. He was 88 years old.

Selected Works

See also

• Modern dance
• Postmodern dance
• 20th century concert dance
• List of dance companies
• Dancemaker