Dance Troupe Dazzles Packed Crowd

A popular dance troupe attracted overflow crowds to the Rieman Center in Radcliffe Yard yesterday for a demonstration and informal lecture on the ground-breaking choreography of dance legend Paul Taylor.

Taylor II, a six member modern dance company that has toured and taught dance internationally for the past ten years, performed several excerpts from Taylor’s diverse repertory.

“This is the first time Taylor II has performed at Harvard. Their informal demonstration is a great opportunity for students to get a sense of the creative process, the life of a dancer, and the development of new dance styles,” said Susan Larson, a coordinator in the Office for the Arts Dance Program.

Taylor was not present at last night’s performance.

The company performed a total of five pieces that spanned some fifty years of Taylor’s work and presented several of the choreographer’s trademark movements, which were inspired by everyday actions, such as walking, or objects, such as figures painted on ancient Greek vases.

Kent Tossey, a former member and current rehearsal director of the group, stood in the wings of the stage during the performance and commented on the choreography of each excerpt in addition to fielding questions from the audience.

“Taylor’s work is interesting, because he takes simple actions and uses the stage and the relationships between people to make them beautiful and lyrical,” Tossey said. “He creates a language through his movements and articulates that language to his audience.”

Tossey also revealed the mechanics of professional choreography by relating the daily schedules of the dancers and the process of creating a new dance. “Paul begins with his music and a vision, and with his artistry he molds the energy and drama of that vision with his ensemble of dancers. Then, the dancers work the movements, and the piece takes on a life of its own,” he said.

According to Tossey and the members of Taylor II, once the dance is created, the dancers usually face between five and seven hours of daily rehearsal in addition to a master class.

“It’s a lot of work, and Paul’s style is particularly difficult to perfect. But when you know a dance is great, you buy into it no matter how difficult and are determined to do it right,” Tossey said.

Tossey also conducted a master class designed to replicate the training of the company’s professional dancers exclusively for Harvard students before the performance.

Last night’s event was co-presented by the Learning for Performers and the Office for the Arts Dance Program.