Summer dance festivals are one of the highlights of the season, and we can’t get enough of them. But not all of them are held in a bucolic outdoor setting (looking at you, Jacob’s Pillow). In fact, one of the best performances we’ve seen so far this summer was in Manhattan, inside a charming theater perfect for dance: the Joyce. Our correspondent Abbie Martin Greenbaum shares her perspectives as the Paul Taylor Dance Company performed its brilliant new works in NYC at the Joyce Theater. Spoiler alert: it was a thrilling, gorgeous and uplifting series of dances that left us filled with joy.
Paul Taylor Dance Company continues the brilliant work of its founder
In mid-June, dance lovers flocked to the Joyce Theater in New York City – an cozy, elegant venue in Chelsea – for the latest program from Paul Taylor Dance Company.
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An alum of the companies of Martha Graham and of George Balanchine, Taylor founded Paul Taylor Dance Company in 1954. More than half a century later, they are one of the most legendary and critically acclaimed modern dance groups of all-time.
the Paul Taylor Dance Company performing new works in NYC at the Joyce Theater.
Many of the world’s brightest dance stars and choreographers have performed with the Company. Including Twyla Tharp, David Parsons, Laura Dean, and others. Taylor himself passed away in 2018, leaving the Company in the capable hands of artistic director Michael Novak.
One of the best summer dance programs we’ve seen so far is the Paul Taylor Dance Company performing new works in NYC at the Joyce Theater.
And just this spring, the Company announced that one of our favorite dancers and choreographers, Lauren Lovette, formerly of the New York City Ballet, was joining as the resident choreographer. It’s a marvelous new addition and we can’t wait to see her work in future performances.
One of the best summer dance programs we’ve seen so far is the Paul Taylor Dance Company performing new works in NYC at the Joyce Theater.
Paul Taylor Dance Company performs brilliant new work in NYC
For those who may be novices in the world of dance, the Company’s latest programs might feel something like a whirlwind, “choose-your-own-adventure” novel.
Though there are eight dances in total, there were three different programs: A, B, and C. One of our Dandelion Chandelier team saw one program, and another attended a different one. When we compared notes, we agreed that the order of performances presents a unique experience as an audience member. Any two people who attend on two different nights might have completely different (or almost completely different) experiences. Which engenders a marvelous feeling of spontaneity.
One of the best summer dance programs we’ve seen so far is the Paul Taylor Dance Company performing new works in NYC at the Joyce Theater.
And this is to say nothing of the facts that the dances themselves feel wonderfully like short stories in an anthology – each is so completely unique from the others on the program that the rise of the curtain begins to resemble the opening of a portal.
You never know the rules of the universe you’ll find on the other side.
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Some of these universes are ominous (Profiles) and some melancholy (Events II). Others sparkle with hard-earned joy (Hope is the Thing With Feathers). The costumes and musical accompaniments range from dystopian strips of fabric (Fibers) to sumptuous inches of tulle (Images and Reflections). And from the sounds from Handel (Aureole) to Bob Marley (Hope Is the Thing With Feathers).
In fact, the one thing that all of these universes have in common is how different they are – and how each of them is as exciting to visit as the one before.
Paul Taylor Dance Company. Courtesy Photo.
Of the eight pieces performed at The Joyce this June, six were by Taylor, and two were commissioned works. Taylor’s works included Fibers (1961), Images and Reflections (excerpt) (1958), Tracer (1962), Events II (1957), Profiles (1979), and Aureole (1962).
The two commissioned pieces were the work of choreographers Michelle Manzanales (Hope is the Thing With Feathers) and Peter Chu (A Call for Softer Landings).
highlights of the Paul Taylor Dance Company’s recent NYC performances
To share a flavor of what the programs were like, we’re focusing on just two pieces. Both were among the highlights of the program – and they feel like two sides of the same coin. Although they’re opposite in energy and atmosphere – with Manzanales’ carrying the spirit of the Emily Dickinson poem from which it gets its name, and Chu’s carrying the trepidation of an underground fight club – they share the element of surprise and a sense of delight in the unexpected.
One of the best summer dance programs we’ve seen so far is the Paul Taylor Dance Company performing new works in NYC at the Joyce Theater.
These are longer works, with more bodies on the stage, more minutes for things to happen. The music changes throughout both pieces. At one point in A Call for Softer Landings, there’s even a short moment of audience participation. In other words, you never know what will happen. And in this way, the two pieces begin to feel related to each other. And they also feel related to – and reflective of – the evening as a whole.
All three programs are defined by its constant shapeshifting, and so are these two new pieces. You can’t keep up with all the changes, but it’s thrilling to try. And thrilling to try and imagine what narrative might lurk beneath the story-slice you see on stage. (And even if the answer is nothing, part of the magic is that it feels like there’s something there).
the Paul Taylor Dance Company performing new works in NYC at the Joyce Theater. Courtesy Photo.
No matter which evening of the program you attended, your experience would have ended with Taylor’s famous dance, Aureole. This is a lovely choice, because Aureole – in its stunning choreography, but also in its cheerful demeanor – helps to gently return the audience back to themselves. Aureole – with its dancers smiling, leaping joyfully across the stage – manages to return the room to an equilibrium. It prepares you to leave the theater, feeling at least a little better than you did when you arrived.
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the luxury of live dance performances
The show serves as a good reminder of how lucky we are to once again be able to experience art in person. Dance in particular – perhaps even more so than theater or music – loses so much of its power when it’s seen through a screen. So much of the enchantment comes from watching your fellow human beings move in such a way that you can feel whole worlds of emotion and story through their bodies. That kind of transcendence can easily get lost in the translation of a livestream.
the Paul Taylor Dance Company performing new works in NYC at the Joyce Theater. Courtesy Photo.
Paul Taylor Dance Company’s special engagement ran from June 14th to June 19th at the Joyce Theater in Chelsea, New York. Be sure to check out the Company’s website to see where they are performing next (so far, we see a Colorado show next year), and to read more about these incredible dances and their performers.
Paul Taylor Dance Company in NYC
In a summer schedule packed with outstanding performances, one of the best summer dance programs we’ve seen so far is the Paul Taylor Dance Company performing its brilliant new works in NYC at the Joyce Theater. Don’t miss your next chance to experience this phenomenal troupe. We can’t wait to see what they do next!
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Abbie Martin Greenbaum grew up in New York City and currently lives in Brooklyn, where she drinks a lot of coffee and matches roommates together for a living. At Oberlin College, she studied English and Cinema, which are still two of her favorite things, along with dessert and musical theater. She believes in magic.
