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Paul Taylor: An American Choreographer The Celebration of Paul Taylor's 80th Birthday by Dr Tom Ferraro February 24 - March 14, 2010 -- New York City Center
Who is Paul Taylor? Born and raised in and around Washington D.C. Shipped from family to family. He reminds me of Jasper Johns, another lonely child prodigy shunted from place to place. Fatherless, alone with his imagination, nicknamed variously Peter Rabbit, Paulie, Pedah, Peter Paul Mounds, Pablo, Geek, Boss or simply P.T. Who is Paul Taylor? The award winning choreographer, who is the recipient of an Emmy, the Kennedy Center Honors, and a National Medal of Arts. He has also received three Guggenheim Fellowships and the prestigious MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, often referred to as the ‘genius award.’ They have knighted him in France with the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1969. This will give you a sense of who we are dealing with but this also is not who Paul Taylor really is.
“Dream Girls” was first performed in 2002 and gives us a very clear glimpse of who Paul Taylor is. It is danced to the music of The Buffalo Bills who were one of the outstanding barbershop quartets at mid century (they appeared in the film “Music Man”). Mr. Taylor used this quintessential American music along with sets and costumes by Santo Loquasto to create a light, buoyant, fun and energetic piece of dance. All this music was straight out of every Americans childhood and included “Toot Toot Tootsie,” “I Want a Girl,” and “Hard Hearted Hannah.” We are beginning to get a sense of who this Paul Taylor really is. And the costumes were delicious. The next piece on the program is “Beloved Renegade” first performed in 2008 to music by Francis Poulenc and costumes again by Santo Loquasto. This piece is based upon poems from Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. Whitman was one of America’s most renowned poets and the father of free verse. He was a Long Islander who wrote “Leaves of Grass” in 1855 as an epic poem intended for the common man. The music and the movement of “Beloved Renegade” are far more somber than “Dream Girls” and it is obviously about the end of Paul Taylor’s long and glorious career. Scenes that were most touching were Michael Trusnovec being carried off stage overhead and the very end with him being reluctant to leave center stage for the last time. So now we see a bit more about Mr. Taylor. Finally we watched the New York premiere of “Also Playing” set to music by Gaetano Donizetti with costumes by Santo Loquasto. This dance pays homage to Vaudeville which is again a singular American art form which typically consisted of separate acts including singing, dancing, comedy, film, animal tricks, and athleticism. Vaudeville or ‘voice of the city’ was considered the heart of American show business and was popular from 1880 through the 1930’s. This piece is no doubt a reference to Paul Taylor’s own company which has trooped around the globe for the last fifty years in all manner of circumstance. This dance was a light hearted comical spoof on dance from Egypt, Spain, the Apaches, classical ballet, and even gypsies. I think this last piece reveals exactly who Paul Taylor really is. Throughout the last fifty years Paul Taylor and his dancers have traveled the globe as American ambassadors of goodwill and showing others what it is to be an American. These pieces are all free and lighthearted, sweet and fun, and terribly optimistic. This is what so many in the world hope to find when they relocate here. Taylor was funded by the State Department and with their knowledge and support he took his message of hope to others. He has done this his whole life. At the end of “Also Playing” was a march and in it we watch one of his prettiest African American dancers hold up a flag and march proudly around the stage. This was at once funny and tacky, and touching and sweet. Paul Taylor grew up fatherless and lonely but clearly found a home on the American stage. And he also found his identity as an American. So who is Paul Taylor? He is an American choreographer. Maybe our best to date. He is all light and tender and free and fun. He does indeed sing the body electric.
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So who is Paul Taylor? The best way to find out is to go see his work and this is just what I did. On this particular Sunday they performed “Dream Girls,” “Beloved Renegade” and “Also Playing.” I believe choreography never lies and can reveal much of its creator if you know how to deconstruct it. Let us take a crack at “Dream Girls” first.