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I like bugs, too

"Somewhere in the Middle", "Eventide", "Esplanade"
Paul Taylor Dance Company
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
November 12, 2023 

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2023 by Mary Cargill

“I love bugs!” Eran Bugge says Paul Taylor told her at her audition.  The audience at her retirement certainly agreed as she and Christina Lynch Markham, the most senior members of the company, both retired at the end of the Lincoln Center season to cheers and flowers.  Neither looked retirement age and they both flew through the slides, skids, and fearless jumps of “Esplanade” with a carefree and joyful abandon.  Bugge had announced her retirement before the season opened, so the audience had had time to savor her dancing all season, but Markham’s retirement was a surprise, and she got especially heartfelt applause.

Eran Bugge in her "Esplanade" costume photo © Whitney Browne

Looking Back

"Book of Beasts", "Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rehearsal)", "Black Tuesday"
Paul Taylor Dance Company
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
November 8, 2023 

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2023 by Mary Cargill

This all-Taylor program showed the choreographer looking backwards, from the zany take on Medieval bestiaries (combined with satires of ballet dancers) of “Book of Beasts”, to the odd homage to Nijinsky in “Le Sacre du Printemps (the Rehearsal)” with its oblique references to gangster melodramas, and ending with “Black Tuesday”, Taylor’s salute to Americans in the Depression, set to recordings of popular songs from the period.  The program also gave the Orchestra of St. Luke’s a night off, since in addition to the recorded songs of “Black Tuesday”, "Book of Beasts” used what sounded like a child’s harpsichord, played with verve by Matthew Lewis, the two piano score of Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” made by Stravinsky for Nijinsky’s rehearsals played by Margaret Kampmeier and Blair McMillen.

Paul Taylor dancers in "Book of Beasts" photo © Whitney Browne

A for Effort

"Echo", "Vespers", "Piazzolla Caldera"
Paul Taylor Dance Company
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
November 4, 2023 evening

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2023 by Mary Cargill

This triple bill showed the Taylor Company expanding its repertoire offering a new work by Lauren Lovette (“Echo”) with an all-male cast and “Vespers”, choreographed in 1986 by Ulysses Dove for the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company with an all-female cast.  Both of these works got committed, fierce  performances, showing off the company's thrilling technique.  But, when compared with the final work, "Piazzolla Caldera", Paul Taylor's smoky exploration of isolation, with its vivid vignettes of various emotions, these dances seem a bit anonymous, with exciting dancing but sometimes indistinct emotions.

Paul Taylor dancers in Ulysses Dove's "Vespers" © Whitney Browne

The Human Touch

"Dreamachine", "Eventide", "Esplanade"
Paul Taylor Dance Company
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
November 1, 2023

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2023 by Mary Cargill

The Paul Taylor Company returned to its now traditional Fall Lincoln Center season with a mixture of modern choreographers and Taylor classics.  Lauren Lovette, the former NYCB dancer, was appointed the resident choreographer in 2022, has two premieres, and the season also includes works by Ulysses Dove, Amy Hall Garner, and Larry Keigwin,  It also includes live music by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, a gift in this era of recorded music.  

Paul Taylor dancers in "Eventide" photo © Whitney Browne