Paul Taylor Dance Company at the Quick Center for the Arts, Fairfield, CT, USA

Paul Taylor Dance Company
Piazzolla Caldera

What we especially enjoy about the Quick Center is its extensive and vibrant program of dance, theater, opera, concerts, lectures, and much more to appeal to wide audiences, and on Friday, January 26, 2018, we had the pleasure of attending the Paul Taylor Dance Company performance which was the perfect way to start the new year and the exciting 2018-2019 season at the Quick Center.

Born in July of 1930, Paul Taylor established himself as a professional dancer and choreographer, choreographing his first dance in 1954 and has since choreographed 146 dances. Throughout his illustrious and highly renowned and honored career he established himself first as a dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company as well as a guest artist with the New York City Ballet, for which the legendary Balanchine created the Episodes for him, and later as a preeminent choreographer, Paul Taylor is someone who has influenced and shaped the world of American Modern Dance through the Paul Taylor Dance Company, and his choreography has been performed by dance companies throughout the world.

Paul Taylor Dance Company:

Artistic Director: Paul Taylor

Rehearsal Director: Bettie De Jong

Principal Lighting Designers: Jennifer Tipton and James F. Ingalls

Principal Set & Costume Designer: Santo Loquasto

Executive Director: John Tomlinson

The exciting and diverse program featured three different dances and opened with the Paul Taylor choreographed dance, Roses, which was first performed in 1985, with music by Richard Wagner: Siegfried Idyll, and Heinrich Baermann: Adagio for Clarinet and Strings.

The genius of this dance was in its simplicity and elegance of Paul Taylor’s choreography, lighting by Jennifer Tipton, and counterpoint costumes by William Ivey Long. Making use of the color contrast of black long dresses for the female dancers and beige clothing for the male dancers, it was a gorgeous study in contrasts and lines that vibrantly captured the imagination.

Roses Dancers:

Michael Trusnovec and Eran Bugge

Jamie Rae Walker and Alex Clayton

Heather McGinley and Sean Mahoney

Madelyn Ho and Michael Novak

Christina Lynch Markham and Lee Duveneck

Kristin Draucker and Michael Apuzzo

Paul Taylor Dance Company – Continuum

The next dance on the program was Continuum (choreographed by Lila York, 2017), which was an engaging, energetic, and athletic dance performance. Exciting in its physicality, this dance captured the imagination of possibility.

Continuum Dancers:

Michael Trusnovec

Robert Kleinendorst

James Samson

Parisa Khobdeh

Sean Mahoney

Eran Bugge

Laura Halzack

Jamie Rae Walker

Michael Apuzzo

Michael Novak

Heather McGinley

George Smallwood

Christina Lynch Markham

Madelyn Ho

The Paul Taylor Dance Company ended the evening with the dance, Piazzolla Caldera choregraphed by Paul Taylor and first performed in 1997 with music by Astor Piazzolla and Jerzy Peterburshsky. This grand finale dance was seductive, engaging, and provocative with its gritty seediness of the Argentine tango elements enhanced by the dramatic set and costumes by Santo Loquasto and lighting by Jennifer Tipton.

There were four segments that comprised Piazzolla Caldera: El Sol Sueño, performed by the full cast, Concierto Para Quinte to performed by Ms. Parisa Khobdeh, Ms. Eran Bugge, and Mr. Robert Kleinendorst, Celos performed by Mr. James Samson and Mr. Michael Apuzzo,and Ms. Michelle Fleet and Mr. Trusnovec, and Escualo performed by the full cast for an exhilarating finale.

Piazzolla Caldera Dancers:

Michael Trusnovec

Robert Kleinendorst

James Samson

Michelle Fleet

Parisa Khobdeh

Eran Bugge

Laura Halzack

Jamie Rae Walker

Michael Apuzzo

Michael Novak

George Smallwood

Lee Duveneck

From the start of the program to its grand finish, Artistic Director Paul Taylor and the Paul Taylor Dance Company pushed the envelope of modern dance to create an evocative evening celebrating dance as an art form as well as a movement of life. Bravo!

Conveniently located in Fairfield, Connecticut, the Quick Center for the Arts is a 30-minute drive from Greenwich and New Haven, a 60-minute drive from Hartford, and a 90-minute drive from New York City.

The Quick Center for the Arts has an extensive program of theatre, dance, opera, classic, and jazz series, as well as family productions throughout the year.

A sampling of themany exciting upcoming programs at the Quick Center for the Arts:

For information and the complete list of upcoming programs and events, please visit the website, www.QuickCenter.com.

For tickets or information, please call: +1-203-254-4010 or toll-free:1-877-ARTS-396 (1-877-278-7396).

For information the Paul Taylor Dance Company and upcoming performances, please visit the website: www.ptamd.org

Quick Center for the Arts
Fairfield University
1073 North Benson Road
Fairfield, CT 06824
United States
Telephone: +1-203-254-4010
Toll-Free: +1-877-ARTS-396

Email: boxoffice@quickcenter.com
Website: www.QuickCenter.com

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/FairfieldQuickCenter

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