Dance Review: Paul Taylor Dance Company- Modern Classicism with a touch of Comedy

Paul Taylor Dance Company comes to New York’s City Center with a season chock full of so much repertory, it’s hard to choose.  With nearly twenty pieces presented this season (running from Feb 25 through March 15), Paul Taylor brings two New York premiere’s and a host of classic Taylor favorites.  On Wednesday, March 11, I got the pleasure of watching three of his wonderful pieces:  Images, Last Look, and the delightful, Offenbach Overtures.

Images was the first on the program, opening with the image of dancers in a clump, their arms folded overhead as if forming a grass hut. This piece exuded archaic imagery, as the dancers became strutting hieroglyphics.  All the dancers wore crowns, connecting them to archetypal images of kings and queens.  The men wore almost nothing, showing off their athletic physiques in small black trunks with serpentine trim.  The women wore leotards similar in style, with skirts reminiscent of stained glass in the opening sequences.  The choreography expressed the linear movement of people over time, through history, as expressed through art.  Watching the performance was much like taking a trip to the Natural History Museum, and seeing the pottery with dancing figures circling.  The dancers moved in circular patterns, that also reminded me of traditional circuitous dances done among many cultures.

Annamaria Mazzini and Amy Young were enchanting as the “Totem birds” playfully twittering about each other. Amy Young did a lovely solo as the “Oracle” wearing a skirt that looked like roof tiles, aptly creating the sense that she was high above and omniscient.  Very gestural in her porte de bras, Amy Young finished her solo with a spark of beautiful expression, as if everything suddenly made sense. The duet “Moon Reflections” with Annmaria Mazzini and Robert Kleinendorst was interesting for all its interactions without physical touching. The dancers responded to each other’s movement, reflecting and refracting the choreography, with only one fleeting touch like a fingertip in a pool of water that inspired waves of movement to echo outwards.  “Totem Horses” was another highlight within this piece, not solely because Michael Trusonovec has a stunningly hot, sculpturesque body, but also because he performed so well . . . of course.  In its entirety, Images was rhythmical and pleasing in its use of patterns with a sporadic burst of Paul Taylor’s signature quirkiness.

Last Look was the meat of the program, filling the center slot and attracting many familiar with Paul Taylor’s work to come see this particular performance.  Michael Trusnovec was featured with a tormented solo.  The entire dance seemed expressive of inner turmoil, as the dancers’ focus never rose above eye level, and movement seemed to stem from unseen inner jolting forces.  I was told by another audience member that this dance was apocalyptical in nature, dealing with the end of time or impending doomsday.  I saw another more literal interpretation.  The women wore satin robes of varying colors, emphasizing to me the pressure to conform to a certain image of beauty.  The men wore the same green jumpsuits, categorizing them as working class, almost slaves to the standards set by society.  Around the stage mirrors were strategically placed, offering us a “last look” on ourselves.  I could relate to the struggle many dancers have with the mirror, as we strive for perfection in our art and sometimes taking to extreme desires to look a certain way. 

Other works I have seen that use mirrors dancers did not engage with the mirror forcefully as in this piece, but instead the mirrors functioned merely to give the audience a full view of the beauty of the featured dancers.  The set and costume designer- Alex Katz with Paul Taylor’s direction seemingly had positioned the mirrors to emphasize sections of the choreography by giving the illusion of more dancers.  The choreography was spastic and jolting, at times focusing on certain body parts.  The dancers thrashed about, consumed in themselves or sometimes fighting with a partner.  A sexual thread began as Amy Young seduces Michael Trusnovec by exposing her thigh, and perpetuated as dancers stepped towards each other thrusting their hips forward.  At times the dancers seemed to be caught in their own cycles of self destruction, as they hurled their bodies onto the floor then ran straight confrontationally at the mirror.  There was nothing outwardly fun or happy expressed in this dance, which was to be made up for in the last work of the program.

Offenbach Overtures was a delightful satirical piece- like the others choreographed by Paul Taylor.  The design was exquisite, opening with a bright red backdrop and dancers in silhouette.  The costumes were like modern renditions of classic costumes for a ballet.  The choreography wasn’t extremely technically challenging, but was tremendously challenging artistically because of all the humor used- comedy is undoubtedly the most difficult genre of theater to master.  The company pulled it off; they were hysterical!  Laura Halzack and Orion Duckstein were funny in a pas de deux that expressed overtly all the inner workings of mistakes that happen and usually go unnoticed, as one partner strove to upstage the other, or accidently dropped the person.“  American Eagle Waltz” with Michael Trusnovec, Sean Mahoney, Robert Kleinendorst, and Jeffrey Smith made fun of old militaristic rituals of preparations made for battle.  Shoulders were brushed off, plumes were straightened- extensive preparations made as the duelers showed off to intimidate their opponent.   Dancers particularly would appreciate the humor behind this work, but laughter was heard throughout the audience, and it was apparent that Paul Taylor had succeeded in creating a humorist piece that spoke to everyone.

Photography by Lois Greenfield

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Lea McGowan
Performance: Paul Taylor Dance Company
Choreography:  Paul Taylor
Venue: City Center, New York City
Performance Date:  Wednesday, March 11, 2009
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