By Abira Pathak & Shreya Das
Paul Taylor is probably the last living stalwart of the American concept of modern dance. The octogenarian still refuses to accept his age as an impediment and continues to be as vibrant and prolific as ever. Paul Taylor established ‘Taylor 2’ in 1993 to ensure that his works would showcase to audiences all over the world, irrespective of economic or technical confines. Mr. Taylor retrospected on the origins of the Paul Taylor Dance Company (PTDC) of 1954 for the structure of his new company. The six new professionals were envisioned to be endowed with a particular panache for his style. His world renowned dance troupe, Paul Taylor Dance Company (PTDC) is scheduled to perform in the City of Joy after 13 long years. PTDC comprising Latra Wilson, Justin Kahan, John Eirich, Nic Ceynowa, Christina Lynch Markham, Madelyn Ho, Manuel Sanchez and Ruth Andrien addreses the media during a press meet.
In the first decade of the new millennium, he had censored American imperialism, ridiculed feminism and looked death square in the face. And yet, while his work has largely been renegade, since the very start of his career Mr. Taylor has also made some of the most purely romantic, most astonishingly athletic, and downright funniest dances ever put on stage. If, as Balanchine said, there are no mothers-in-law in ballet, there certainly are dysfunctional families, ex-lovers, fallen preachers, rapists, angels and insects in Taylor dance. In the 1950s, when his work was so cutting-edge that it could send confused audience members flocking to the exits, Martha Graham dubbed Mr. Taylor the “naughty boy” of dance. In the ’60s he shocked the cognoscenti by setting his trailblazing movement to music composed 200 years earlier, and inflamed the establishment by lampooning America’s most treasured icons. In the ’70s he put incest center stage and revealed the beast lurking just below humans’ sophisticated veneer. In the ’80s he looked unflinchingly at marital rape and intimacy among men at war. In the ’90s he warned against religious zealotry and blind conformity to authority. Alana Allende, one of the performers of PTDC 2 on current visit said at a press meet, “I compose a whole story when I’m performing. But, I see a dysfunctional family in the whole group as well.” Corroborating her view, Christina Lynch Markham said, “we actually donot look at each other while performing. It is like an emotional rollercoaster. We start on a very happy note, hopping and kipping like when we were young, but later there is a lot of yearning, a desire to be loved and touched.”
Speaking about their art form, they said, “Everybody here is trained in ballet. Even though it is very dynamic, it needs a lot of body technique. So when dancing, I know how to do the body math. Though it’s a scary feeling… but you have this ‘muscle memory of your body. The body reacts to particular music which is a natural response to the rhythm and the choreography. In ‘Taylor dance’, he very much engages the back to impart a viscous quality to the movement, focusing on the posture, as well. Hence, there is walking, running, skipping, tumbling, hopping….tripping can be a dance movement too. He was never trained in music but he has this uncanny sense of musicality. In every dance, he tries to create something new, constantly striving to improve. Building trust in a partner comes overtime. We are great friends, on and off stage. We have a great emotional camaraderie. That is what about group ballet. This makes the dancing special.” Allena stressed that “the music has a great role. It is sad, touching and soulful. Another good thing about our choreography is that we are never told how to feel or do… You have the freedom to do your thing. It’s a true inspiration of gestures. There should be complete commitment to the movement…having the correct proportion of exertion and exhaustion.” Ruth reiterated, “Its motion. Not emotion. If you have the correct gesture, the emotion comes gushing in.”
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