SU sponsors public performance by world-renowned Paul Taylor Dance Company April 15

SU sponsors public performance by world-renowned Paul Taylor Dance Company April 15March 31, 2006Jaime Winne Alvarezjlwinne@syr.edu

The College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University is sponsoring a public performance by the world-renowned Paul Taylor Dance Company April 15 at 8 p.m. in the Mulroy Civic Center Theater at Oncenter. The event, which includes a world premiere of an original work commissioned in part by Cathryn R. Newton, dean of the college, will mark the culmination of a weeklong campus and community residency by acclaimed dance ensemble Taylor 2, part of the Paul Taylor Dance Company.

“The grace, creative imagination, energy and verve of the Paul Taylor Dance Company are legendary and very much of the moment,” says Newton. “Because Taylor was a student at SU and has been a visionary force who has transformed the world of dance, we sought to commission an original work to celebrate both his towering contributions to the arts and our own commitment to affirming their value to our campus and community. We are thrilled that he agreed, and it is with pride and joy that we offer this premier performance of what will surely be a dazzling presentation of modern dance at its enthralling best.”

Paul Taylor H’86 has been called “the reigning master of modern dance” by Time magazine and “the best choreographer in the world” by the New York Daily News. A native of Washington, D.C., Taylor studied art and was a swimmer at SU in the late 1940s. He discovered dance and studied at the Juilliard School and by 1954 had assembled a small company of dancers and presented his choreography. One of the world’s most exquisite modern dance ensembles, the Paul Taylor Dance Company has performed Taylor’s works in more than 60 countries and 450 cities. It has represented the United States at arts festivals in more than 40 countries and has toured extensively under the aegis of the U.S. Department of State.

In 1993, Taylor established the smaller Taylor 2 ensemble to create a company that could accommodate performance requests and teach and provide community outreach. Taylor 2’s repertory includes dances that span the broad spectrum of Taylor’s work and have been reworked for a smaller ensemble.

Beginning April 8, Taylor 2’s weeklong campus and community residency will consist of free master classes for dance students and instructors at SU’s Department of Drama in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, Dance Centre North in Mattydale, Onondaga Dance Institute in Syracuse and Syracuse’s YMCA Arts Branch at Elmwood Elementary School.

Culminating the residency will be the public performance by the entire Paul Taylor Dance Company April 15 at 8 p.m. in the Mulroy Civic Center Theater at OnCenter. Works to be performed include “Aureole,” “Spindrift,” “Esplanade” and the world premiere of “Troilus and Cressida (reduced),” commissioned by Newton, Gregg R. Hopkin and Murray Nimmos.

Tickets for the April 15 performance are $12 for the general public; $10 for SU faculty, staff and alumni with valid SU I.D.; $5 for all students with valid I.D.; and $30 for a family four-pack. Tickets may be purchased at SU’s Schine Box Office, (315) 443-4517. The $12 general public and $30 family four-pack tickets may also be purchased at the OnCenter Box Office, (315) 435-2121.

The performance and residency of the Paul Taylor Dance Company and Taylor 2 in the Oswego and Onondaga County region are made possible through the additional support of the New York State Council on the Arts.

For more information about the Taylor 2 residency, the April 15 Paul Taylor Dance Company performance and the commissioned work, contact The College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office at (315) 443-7192 or visit http://www-hl.syr.edu. For more information about Taylor 2 and the Paul Taylor Dance Company, visit http://www.ptdc.org.