Taylor, Paul

Taylor, Paul, 1930–, American modern dance choreographer, b. Pittsburgh. Taylor trained as an artist before he received scholarships to study dance. In 1953 he made his debut with the Merce Cunningham company and performed his first dance composition. From 1955 to 1961 he won acclaim both as a leading soloist with the Martha Graham company and as the creator of witty and innovative avant-garde dances for his own company, which he had formed in 1954. He has choreographed more than 100 works, including Jack and the Beanstalk (1954), Aureole (1962), Esplanade (1975), Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rehearsal) (1980), Company B (1991), The Word (1998), Arabesque (2000), Promethean Fire (2002), and Le Grand Puppetier (2004). His later works have been generally less radical than his earlier ones.

Bibliography

See his autobiography, Private Domain (1987); The Paul Taylor Dance Company (video, 1978).

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Taylor, Paul (Belville)

Paul Taylor and Bettie de Jong in Scudorama, 1967

(credit: Jack Mitchell)

(born July 29, 1930, Wilkinsburg, Pa., U.S.) U.S. modern dancer, choreographer, and director. In 1953 he joined Martha Graham's company, where he was a leading soloist until 1960. In 1957 he established the Paul Taylor Dance Company. As a choreographer he employed a wide variety of movement styles, some of which he described as “flat” (two-dimensional in appearance), “dance scribbling” (emphasis on action rather than on shape or line), and “lyric” (“long arms”). His works include Duet (1957), Aureole (1962), Orbs (1966), and Nightshade (1979). In 1993 he formed Taylor 2, a small group of dancers who perform in smaller venues and teach the Taylor style.

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Taylor, Paul (1930–  ) choreographer, modern dancer; born in Pittsburgh, Pa. He danced with Merce Cunningham (1953–54) and Martha Graham (1958–62) before forming his own company in 1957. Known for his singularly lyrical style, he is recognized as one of America's leading choreographers.