Student Matinée Study Guide
PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY
Choreographer Paul Taylor is the last living member of the pantheon that
created America’s indigenous art of modern dance. At an age when most
artists’ best work is behind them, Mr. Taylor continues to win public and
critical acclaim for the vibrancy, relevance and power of his creations.
As he has since his origins as a dance maker in 1954, he offers cogent
observations on life’s complexities while tackling some of society’s
thorniest issues. While he may propel his dancers through space for
the sheer beauty of it, he more frequently uses them to illuminate
such profound issues as war, piety, spirituality, sexuality, morality and
mortality. If, as George Balanchine said, there are no mothers-in-law in
ballet, there certainly are dysfunctional families, disillusioned idealists,
imperfect religious leaders, angels and insects in Mr. Taylor’s dances.
The Paul Taylor Dance Company and Taylor 2, created in 1993, have
traveled the globe many times over, bringing Mr. Taylor’s ever-burgeoning
repertoire to theaters and venues of every size and description in cultural
capitals, on college campuses and in rural communities – and often to
places modern dance had never been before. The Taylor Company has
performed in more than 540 cities in 64 countries, representing the
United States at arts festivals in more than 40 countries and touring
extensively under the aegis of the U.S. Department of State. In 1997
the Company toured throughout India in celebration of that nation’s
50th Anniversary. Its 1999 engagement in Chile was named the Best
International Dance Event of 1999 by the country’s Art Critics’ Circle.
In the summer of 2001 the Company toured in the People’s Republic
of China and performed in six cities, four of which had never seen
American modern dance before. In the spring of 2003 the Company
mounted an award-winning four-week, seven-city tour of the United
Kingdom. The Company’s performances in China in November 2007
mark its fourth tour there. While continuing to garner international
acclaim, the Paul Taylor Dance Company performs more than half
of each touring season in cities throughout the United States. The
Company’s season in 2005, marking its 50th Anniversary, was attended
by more than 25,000 people. In celebration of the Anniversary and 50
years of creativity by one of the most extraordinary artists the world
has ever known, the Taylor Foundation presented Mr. Taylor’s works
in all 50 States between March 2004 and November 2005. That tour
underscored the Taylor Company’s historic role as one of the early
touring companies of American modern dance.
TALKING POINTS
Here are some things to think about after you’ve seen Paul Taylor’s
work. We hope that thinking about these questions will enhance your
experience.
Many of Mr. Taylor’s dances draw inspiration from particular moments in
American cultural history — the 1940s world of Company B, the poetry
of Walt Whitman in Beloved Renegade. What might future generations
gain from these danced chronicles of American life that they can’t get
from history books?
What does it mean to say that a body of dance works is “all-American”
or “quintessentially American,” as has been said of Mr. Taylor’s
repertoire? What qualities make a dance or an art work of any kind
“American”?
Darkness and light, the sublime and the profane, are central to the
worlds Mr. Taylor creates, often showing up in the same work. How
do these elements figure in the Taylor dances you saw? How do they
interact in a single dance or on a program of dances?
Dance critic Clive Barnes wrote that “Cunning diversity is the heart
and soul of dance repertory,” yet asserted that Mr. Taylor’s dances also
share a common “signature imprint.” How would you characterize this
“imprint”? What elements or features contribute to it?
“Don’t be a slave to, or a mutilator of, the music,” modern dance pioneer
Doris Humphrey exhorted aspiring choreographers. How do Mr. Taylor’s
dances fulfill this advice? How would you describe the relationship of the
movement to the music in his choreography?
Mr. Taylor often makes dances that are not only light-hearted, but truly
funny. What makes a dance humorous? What makes humor “work” in
danced form? What modes of humor (e.g., dark, slapstick, sardonic)
were in the works you saw?
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OBSERVATION AND INCITE
Prior to the performance, consider the following questions.
1. Does dance have a specific purpose? Describe why or why not.
HISTORY
Students can create a dance, with corresponding movements, to illustrate
an historical event, like the signing of the Declaration of Independence, or
the Bering Strait Migration.
2. How could story be conveyed through dance?
3. How are the sets, lighting, costumes and music help make the
show more enjoyable and understandable, enhancing the mood of
each section?
PERFORMANCE REFLECTION
1. Describe your reaction to the performance.
What did it make you think and feel?
2. What were some of the objects used in the performance?
Why do you think that they were chosen?
3. Identify an example of metaphor through movement or lighting that
you witnessed in the performance.
VOCABULARY
Common social studies words such as democracy, revolution, or freedom,
can be demonstrated by students using movement, shape, tempo, etc.
SCIENCE
Movement, collaboration and teamwork are particularly valuable in the
sciences. Dances can be created to show the dependence (collaboration
or teamwork) of:
Body Systems: respiratory, circulatory, digestive, nervous
Seasons and Cycles: life cycles, a specific season
Machines and Mechanical Actions: pulleys, levers, tools, engines
Electricity and Magnetic Forces: polar opposites, pull, repel, circuits
Space and Solar Systems: rotation, relative size, order of planets
4. What did they mean to you?
5. What do you know about story-telling through dance that
you didn’t know before?
FOR TEACHERS
BRANCHING OUT WITH CURRICULA –
CLASSROOM CONNECTION
Metaphors and symbolism are elements used in a variety of subjects and
mediums.
■■ Discuss with your students how symbolism and/or metaphor relate
to a text or other media subject in your curriculum.
■■
MATH
Math dances can be enlightening exercises to demonstrate how clearly
students understand basic math concepts. Students can be given
problems (adding, multiplying, geometric shapes, fractions, etc.) and then
asked to show the solution to the problem through movement, phrases,
shapes and working together.
In addition, dance can help a student understand quantity, for example,
75%, 1/3, etc. Students can be given set tempos at which to move, and
then changes in tempo will be called out (“now move at 50% of that
speed”). Areas can be marked out, or students may be asked to walk
through 2/3 of the space.
If they were to create a dance inspired by that text,
what would the movements look like?
■■
Brainstorm ideas for an appropriate set.
■■
What objects might they incorporate in to the piece?
CURRICULUM APPLICATION/ARTISTRY
Dance is an excellent barometer of student understanding of various
concepts and lessons. “It’s hard to dance it if you don’t understand it.”
Dance can also enhance and help understanding, leading the student to
explore, think creatively, and ultimately learn. To follow are some ideas for
dance artistry/ curriculum application.
GEOGRAPHY
Students can create a dance that demonstrates their understanding
of terrain by using changes in body levels. A narrator can be added to
describe a tour across a place. The dance will show a relationship to
mountains, valleys, deserts, canyons, etc. Students can pick a specific
country, or area, or state, then use movements, shapes, as well as their
imaginations, to create a dance metaphor.
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LANGUAGE ARTS
There are a variety of ways to demonstrate or enhance students’
understanding of language, and ideas. For example: story telling through
dance and a narrator, or using word cards to increase vocabulary and an
understanding of the meaning of individual words.
Students can create poem dances, by choosing a poem, and
choreographing movements for each line of the poem.
Create antonym and synonym movement comparisons by asking students
to create movement for basic emotions and their opposites: love/hate,
sad/happy; etc. Move onto other word pairs: smooth/jerky, tight/loose. Pair
the students and have one create movement for one word, the other for its
antonym. Do the same for synonyms.
Dance a scene from a play or a story. Or, in groups working together,
choose a scene from a play or story and create a shape that best
describes it. Freeze in the shape.
Branching out lessons and final thoughts adapted from CJSB/ SJU Fine
Arts Programming “Catch” Study Guide developed by Tim Ternes.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS
SPEAKING & LISTENING
GRADE 7
■■ CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1 Engage effectively in a range of
collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led)
with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building
on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
■■
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS
SPEAKING & LISTENING
GRADE 7
■■ CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1 Engage effectively in a range of
collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led)
with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building
on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
■■
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1a Come to discussions prepared, having
read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that
preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to
probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS
HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES
GRADE 6-8
■■ CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.7 Integrate visual information (e.g.,
in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other
information in print and digital texts.
■■
■■
English Language Arts Standards » Science & Technical Subjects »
Grade 6-8
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.4 Determine the meaning of symbols,
key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1a Come to discussions prepared, having
read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that
preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to
probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.
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