The 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday performances, each featuring a different program, reflect Taylor's unique vision that mixes the beautiful and the grotesque with the light and dark realms of humankind.
Friday night's performance will feature three works: "Equinox," their newest work "De Sueños que se Repiten (of recurring dreams)," and "Arden Court." Saturday night will feature three different works: "Le Grand Puppetier," Taylor's newer dance "Banquet of Vultures," and "Esplanade."
The Rose Lehrman Arts Center is the only venue in Pennsylvania to present the powerful "Banquet of Vultures," a compelling, dark work focusing on President George W. Bush.
The Taylor PA Tour taking place this spring encompasses a series of 20 different works in 26 engagements at colleges and theaters throughout the state. This tour includes the main Paul Taylor Dance Company as well as the organization's second dance company, Taylor 2.
Taylor continues to astound critics, the public and the dance world with his signature works. Praised as "the greatest living American choreographer" by the San Francisco Chronicle, Paul Taylor, artistic director and founder, has created 124 dances in his 52 years of choreography. Taylor's distinguished dances have redefined modern dance in America, with its over-arching architectural shapes and structures, sublime musicality and detailed subject matter.
Taylor has created a unique, creative style that put him in the company of the giants of modern and classical dance. Taylor's career in choreography began at age 23. He spent seven years as a soloist in Martha Graham's Company and was a guest artist with the New York City Ballet in George Balanchine's "Episodes" in 1959. By 1962, he had created the masterful "3 Epitaphs" and captivated audiences with the landmark "Aureole." Retiring as a performer in 1975, Taylor devoted himself to choreography, creating the classic dances "Esplanade," "Cloven Kingdom," "Lost, Found and Lost" and dozens more.
In 1960, his company made its first international tour to Italy and it has performed in more than 450 cities in more than 60 countries. The American Ballet Theatre, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, the Joffrey Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Teatro alla Scala of Milan and many other companies around the world have performed his work.
In 1966, the Paul Taylor Dance Foundation was established to help bring his works to the largest audiences possible, facilitate his ability to create new dances and preserve his growing repertoire. In 1993, he formed Taylor 2, a six-dancer company that brings his masterworks to smaller venues, including public schools.
Show sponsors are HACC Alumni Association, Eastern PCM, the PA Council on the Arts and The National Endowment for the Arts. The media partner is WITF-TV. The Taylor PA Tour is part of "American Masterpieces" in Pennsylvania, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, with support from the NEA and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
Tickets are $32 adult, $30 senior citizen, $20 student. Contact the Rose Lehrman Arts Center Box Office at 231-ROSE (7673), or online using the Web site below.