As Orange County’s Musco Center for the Arts on the campus of Chapman University continues its programming of some of the historically significant modern dance makers of the 20th century, the Paul Taylor Dance Company inhabits its stage on Wednesday, March 18, for its single show at 7:30 pm.
The globally renowned New York City-based organization will showcase its newer, as well as its celebrated, masterworks for this event. Founded by Paul Taylor, the company’s repertory is filled with creations by the now late dance maker. In this show, the PTDC offers two of the choreographer’s highly acclaimed pieces. The more recently produced “Piazzolla Caldera” (1997) is described in promotional materials as “a tango-infused suite of driving intensity and theatrical design.” The other, “Esplanade” (1975), is considered a “beloved masterpiece” set to two of J.S. Bach’s violin concerti.
Along with these two classics, the company will present “Under the Rhythm,” a 2025 creation by now-resident choreographer and former artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and of Battleworks, his own namesake entourage, Robert Battle.
Accompanied by an “eclectic soundscape” that includes songs by Damian Bassman, Ella Fitzgerald, Wycliffe Gordon, Mahalia Jackson, and Steve Reich, the dance also contains original text by Ermira Mitre Kokomani.
Taylor created his company in 1954 and made 147 pieces for it over the decades. The Taylor Collection now houses these works, and the company offers classes and workshops based on his movement vocabulary. A former dancer in the pioneering Martha Graham Dance Company, the artist also made dance headlines with the 1957 duet where he, dressed in a man’s suit with a briefcase by his side, explored the limits of movement (or lack thereof) in dance. In this piece, he stood still and motionless for several minutes. The subsequent review in The New York Times left three inches of blank space in the column. In “Esplanade,” Taylor limited his movement vocabulary to pedestrian movements such as running, walking, falling and sliding. It builds to an exuberance never to be missed.
—Benn Widdey, Culture Spot LA
LOCATION:
415 N. Glassell St., Orange 92866
TICKETS:
$38-$68
https://muscocenter.org/Online/mapSelect.asp
INFO:
Photo courtesy of the artist