Dancing in the Dark

Paul Taylor's "Banquet of Vultures" is definitely not Taylor-lite.

by Janet Anderson

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Published: Oct 25, 2006

At an age when he reasonably could be expected to sit around being wise, 76-year-old modern dance great Paul Taylor is, instead, choreographing new work. He's in good company: Martha Graham was onstage in her 80s, and Merce Cunningham continues working at 85.

Taylor's most recent work, "Banquet of Vultures," which premiered in New York this year, was the centerpiece of Dance Celebrations' 25th Annenberg season opener — and definitely not Taylor-lite. While many moderns continue examining their psyches, Taylor chose an anti-war theme, more didactic and less dancey than usual. He says it's not Iraq, okay?

"Vultures"' darkly lit staging is murky with smoke drifting onstage. In this eerie setting, anonymous figures in fatigues tumble on stage, a rolling, colliding human assemblage. Only two people are spotlighted, both men in business suits. One, the excellent Michael Trusnovec, is a real baddy, the devil or an evil government official. You pick. His moves are upright and crisp. With a slice of the hand he sends the camouflaged people falling to the floor. The second suited man is less ominous. Although not a nice guy, he apparently represents some kind of moral hesitation, since his incomplete final leap lands him splat on his back. Morton Feldman's dissonant pings, gongs and squeals accompany the maneuvers.

What all this means is obscure, literally as well as figuratively, since the dancing really is in the dark. For some this dance probably is more Matrix than anti-war, and for others it may be simply unreadable. Still, thank goodness someone other than the Dixie Chicks is willing to tackle the subject.

"Aureole," a deceptively pretty dance to Handel from 1962, began the program. Here is Taylor's signature style in an early incarnation, generous open body movement in sync with music. "Troilus and Cressida" was the dance equivalent of a snack. This brief comedic outburst is pleasantly silly (lots of falling down, and trousers dropping). The lovers are unsuspecting dweebs brought together by fluttery lady cupids. Lisa Viola as Cressida and Robert Kleinendorst as Troilus hammed it up deliciously.

The evening closed with the ambitious Piazzola Caldera, a suite of sultry dances all glossing the tango. Taylor merged dramatic Latin stalking moves with his signature silky lifts to bring things to a crackling finish. Don't expect to see a closed sign on his studio doors anytime soon.

(d_kasrel@citypaper.net)

Paul Taylor Dance Company

Oct. 19 Annenberg Center

Things That Matter To People Who Matter
The Unblinking Ear
On Golden Pond
Reading Writers
Sankai Juku
Book 'Em
Petit Four
Spread the Word
Taming of the Screw
Things Falls Apart