Paul Taylor Dance Company in Paris

This disk contains two relatively new dances. The first, "Brandenburgs" with music by J. S. Bach, is essentially abstract with no discernible story or meaning to it. Judging from this video, Paul Taylor's choreography has evolved a lot over the past decade or so. A change from the earlier days when he wanted a variety of different body types and sizes "looking like real people" is that his dancers now are all very much alike in height and with consistent ballet type body proportions. Most dancers today have a solid foundation in classic ballet before they begin modern techniques, and Taylor is making use of these skills.The style is still unmistakably Paul Taylor, and much of his dance continues to be based on walking, running and skipping. Now, however, there are ballet turns, jumps, spins and even ballet lifts being used. There is also much use of "attitude" leg position in turns and jumps where the trailing leg is parallel to the floor and bent at 90 degrees. I never saw anything quite like true classical ballet positions, but his dancers show a definite turn out in their foot work, and I even saw steps very close to fifth position. He continues to make great use of complex mixing of groups of dancers as they move around the stage and difficult floor work. This is still full body dancing. A real surprise was to see many elements of Merce Cunningham's style of angular movements and poses with straight arms and flat hands (shown on the cover). An element he continues to use with great effect is using the fabric of the women's dresses as an integral part of the movement. "Brandenburgs" has a lot of fast sections with large groups of dancers maintaining perfect synchronization. It is a long, difficult piece, and the dancers perform it flawlessly.The second piece is "Beloved Renegade" a dance based loosely on the life of Walt Whitman and danced to Francis Poulenc's "Gloria." This piece has considerable floor work, and it continues with the strong ballet element. Essentially all lifts, turns, and leaps are done using the "attitude" position of the legs. It begins with a representation of Whitman's hospital work during the civil war. Somber scenes alternate with bright frolicsome ones and even a child like part with leapfrog in it. The dance leads up to Whitman's declining health and eventual death. Together these two dances make for a completely delightful hour of great dance.

There was a listing on PBS Great Performances a few months ago, which was a program of the Paul Taylor Dance Company moving to the music of parts of the Bach Brandenburg concertos. Familiar with the concertos but not with Paul Taylor, I tuned in. A few bars into the showing my eyes widened in amazement. From soloists (if that the right term) to up to 9 dancers flowing around the stage, I repeatedly asked myself how Taylor was able choreograph what was occurring on the screen. What kind of mind could integrate the music, three physical dimensions and time, and the motions of the company? Amazing.In math you have calculus to help predict motion in space and time. But Taylor somehow manipulated all his variables in his brain without math (I presume), and then had the actions performed by the dancers. Amazing.I bought the DVD and had the same reaction. How does he do it?There is one reservation I have with the video. I dislike the editing. What annoyed me was the many jump cuts between wide and medium shots andtalong with panning and scanning. On a widescreen and HiDef TV it's hard to follow the dancers. But I suppose a static camera would be unthinkable.All in all a worthwhile buy.

While I have seen and very much enjoyed live performances of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, I simply wasn't prepared for the absolute beauty, or the mesmerizing and hypnotizing quality that this film miraculously manages to capture. Of particular note is the thrilling choreography and the extraordinary dance performance level revealed in "The Brandenburgs" to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, but "Beloved Renegade" performed to the music of Francois Poulenc is also completely remarkable. What an utter joy and complete treat to behold!

Total joy. Taylor has a certain loose, improvisatory charm, and the glimpses into his intuitive way of working is fascinating. Interviews with the dancers are candid and revealing, and it was moving for me to see some of the company's original dancers such as Carolyn Adams and Ethel Winter then and now. No full dances but wonderful excerpts from Cloven Kingdom, Arden Court and others.

The first performance was based on Bach's Brandenburg Concertos and the second was based on music by French composer Francis Poulenc. I recommend this performance highly.

Thanks for the great video.

Beautiful!

This 55 minute DVD contains a 2012 performance of two important Paul Taylor works created 10 years apart, presented in Paris and filmed by New York's PBS station WNET. Each of the pieces - 1988's "Brandenburg's" and 2008's "Beloved Renegade" ( Taylor's tribute to poet Walt Whitman) runs about 25 minutes. They are performed on a stage with no scenery and the camerawork includes both wide-angle and close-up shots. The dancers are - as Taylor's always are - incredible.There is a 10-minute "bonus featurette" "Paul Taylor: Architect of Energy" which features comments by both Taylor and his featured dancers. They discuss the two pieces on the DVD. There are French subtitles for the featurette - which is in English.)I'm sure Taylor fans (of which I count myself as one) will enjoy this DVD.I hope you found this review both informative and helpful.Steve Ramm"Anything Phonographic"

As one of of the last great heroes of the golden era of modern dance, this Paul Taylor Co. performance totally lived up to my expectations. Human beings dancing onstage, no technical robotisms imitating human (e)motion which goes under the name of theatrical dancing these days in too many dance co's worldwide. Great, intricate choreography, superbly danced, continuously emanating the best of the human spirit.

Paul Taylor Dance Company is marvellous!