Paul Taylor Dance Company

Paul Taylor: man of many moods.

by Deni Kasrel

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Published: Oct 19, 2006

In the 120-plus dances that Paul Taylor has created, he's proven a man of many moods. Still, Taylor's choreography largely breaks down into variations on three essential approaches to movement: joyous celebration of music, expression of the light-hearted and lyrical, or peering into the dark side of human behavior. His company's program, opening tonight at the Annenberg Center, features all of the above.

With Piazzolla Caldera Taylor both deconstructs and expands upon tango dance technique in a piece set to the sounds of Astor Piazzolla. "The movement is the personification of the music, and he plays out in a group a dance style that is for couples, so he really plays with the structure," says Randy Swartz, artistic director of Annenberg's Dance Celebration series, who adds, "It's like looking at a gorgeous wristwatch and then taking the face off and looking at the mechanism — you're seeing what makes it work."

That selection is erotic and pleasurable, while on the flip side there's Banquet of Vultures, a work that makes references to war that's done to dissonant contemporary music by Morton Feldman. Here making its Philadelphia premier, Swartz says this packs a powerful punch, because it deals with "anger, belligerence and hate."

The neo-classical "Aureole" and playful "Triolus and Cressida" round out a robust program that ventures into light, dark and points in-between.

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