By Walter Rutledge
When Robert Battle discussed Under the Rhythm prior to the Paul Taylor Dance Company New York season the poignant story of his upbringing was inspiring. Dessie Williams, his mother by choice, introduced him to the arts and encouraged his terpsichorean journey. The nonagenarian still plays the piano at the same church little Robert attended. Continue reading
Promethean Fire (2002) is danced to the music of three of Leopold Stokowski’s famous Bach transcriptions (Opus 116). The ensemble work is one of Paul Taylor’s six ballets set to the music of the baroque master. This excerpt is the first movement choreographed to the celebrated Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Continue reading
Taylor Time is in full swing. The Paul Taylor Dance Company held their Gala performance tonight at New York State Theater in Lincoln Center. The evening presented two world premieres by Resident Choreographers Lauren Lovette and Robert Battle and the Taylor classic Sunset. This is a quick recap of the evening. A review(s) will follow, but we wanted to keep you in the know. Continue reading
The Paul Taylor Dance Company‘s New York City season opened on Tuesday November 4 at the New York State Theater in Lincoln Center for 20 performances through November 23. The opening night performance presented Paul Taylor’s Concertiana and Cascade, and the New York premiere of Hope Boykin’s How Love Sounds. That evening Boykin’s work programmatically felt like a culinary intermezzo, a refreshing palette cleanser between two Taylor classics; but on Thursday’s program How Love Sounds proved to also be a versatile audience pleasing closer. Continue reading
The Paul Taylor Dance Company opened its New York City season tonight in State Theater at Lincoln Center. I very really can just watch a performance without a critical eye. This evening the Taylor Company indulged me with a ticket to tonight’s performance. Review(s) will follow, but it would be remiss of me not to give you a sneak preview of the Taylor season. Continue reading
Its Taylor Time! The Paul Taylor Dance Company returns to Lincoln Center’s State Theater November 4 through 23. The company will present a total of eighteen works including the New York premiere of choreographer Hope Boykin and world premieres by resident choreographers Lauren Lovett and Robert Battle. Out and About NYC Magazine Editor- in Chief Walter Rutledge and Battle sat down for a long overdue conversation about his new work Under the Rhythm, his second work for the Taylor Company. Continue reading
By Walter Rutledge
There is no greater pleasure than attending a performance as just an audience member. No notes, no critique. I am one of many enveloped in a communal cocoon of darkness enthusiastically sharing the wonderment and power of the creative collective. Tuesday November 19th was one such occasion at the Paul Taylor Dance Company. But after seeing the performance it would be remiss of me not to briefly mention the ethereal Clair de Lune.
The well curated program opened with Taylor’s masterwork Arden Court and closed with his Bach signature piece Esplanade. Two additional works by female choreographers Jody Sperling and resident choreographer Lauren Lovette completed the program. It was Sperling’s visually mesmerizing homage to modern dance pioneer Loie Fuller’s 1891 Serpentine Dance that wowed the audience.
Pianist Margaret Kampmeier’s rendition of Debussy’s impressionist chestnut Claire De Lune summoned dancer Emmy Wildermuth to open her gossamer like wings. Billowing swirls of fabric provided a lulling comfort to the eye; then a burst of cyclonic energy created a centripetal cylinder of fabric seemingly ten feet high that left us in awe. The works beguiling elegance and courageous simplicity make this tribute timeless. The spirit of Loie Fuller’s groundbreaking modern dance work dances once again in Clair de Lune.
The last opportunity to see Clair De Lune is the Saturday November 23 matinee. Unfortunately, some of you will see this commentary after the mid-day performance. So, O&A NYC would like to share a 2013 performance of the work by choreographer/performer Jody Sperling.
Claire de Lune- Jody Sperling
The Taylor Company ends its 2024 New York season with a special dance reunion where former company members perform with the present company in Esplanade. For more information and or ticket information visit https://paultaylordance.org/performances/newyorkseason/.
In Photo: Emmy Wildermuth in Jody Spering’s “Clair de Lune”
Photo by Whitney Browne
By Walter Rutledge
It’s Taylor Time! The Paul Taylor Dance Company began their New York City fall season on Tuesday, November 5th at the State Theater at Lincoln Center. The three-week, twenty-one performance season will offer eighteen works by seven dance makers including four world premieres by Robert Battle, Lauren Lovette and Jody Sperling. During the Wednesday November 6th Gala performance, the public was treated to two premieres by Battle and Lovette. Continue reading
A programme note for “Promethean Fire” states that the ballet “examines a kaleidoscope of emotional colors in the human condition” and Leopold Stokowski’s three Bach arrangements suit the balletic action perfectly! Continue reading
By Walter Rutledge
The Paul Taylor Dance Company began its sixty-ninth season on Tuesday October 31 at the New York State Theater. The two-week fifteen performance season will offer a total of fourteen works by five choreographers. The season will present a world premieres by Larry Keigwin and Lauren Lovette, the return of a work by Amy Hall Garner, company premiere by and Ulysses Dove and nine Taylor classics.
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth Avenue
Encounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
200 Eastern ParkwayThe new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueEncounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
200 Eastern ParkwayThe new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueEncounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
200 Eastern ParkwayThe new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueEncounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
200 Eastern ParkwayThe new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueEncounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
200 Eastern ParkwayThe new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueEncounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
200 Eastern Parkway
A dance and wellness classes design for Older Adults taught by Walter Rutledge
720 Nereid Ave, Bronx, NY 10466
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueEncounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
200 Eastern ParkwayThe new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueEncounter an artist who changed the face of portrait photography. Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens is the most expansive North American exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work to date. More than 280 works include iconic prints, never-before-seen portraits, textiles, and Keïta’s personal artifacts, all brought to life with unique insights from his family.
200 Eastern Parkway