Dancer Tastes Taylor Life at Summer Intensive.

An alarm clock buzzer invades my dream-filled, much-needed slumber on a midsummer Monday morning. It's eight o'clock. My hand slams down on the snooze button and I roll onto my raw, blistered feet. Although I yearn to dance, my body aches. Nonetheless, my desire overrules my soreness and I get dressed, eat a light breakfast, pack a lunch and make my way through the humid streets of New York City.

I walk through Lincoln Center and just beyond the complex, I enter LaGuardia High School, also known as The High School of the Performing Arts. Smiling at the guards, I display my Paul Taylor Summer Intensive ID card and head up the elevator to the eighth floor, where the four large dance studios are located. Schmoozing with newfound friends about our fabulous swing dance adventure at Lincoln Center Plaza last night, I change into my usual dance attire and walk into Studio 808 for my morning ballet class. I find a place at the barre and begin an intense seventy-five-minute class. Although this is a short ballet class, it marks the beginning of a long day. After ballet class, I cross the hall to Studio 840 where I take my daily modern dance class with former company member Susan McGuire. This class focuses on the specific technique of Paul Taylor. This crucial and rigorous two-hour class prepares me and the other participants for learning Taylor repertoire later in the day.

After a lunch break with friends and fellow dancers near the Henry Moore sculptures and reflecting pool in Lincoln Center, I hurry back to the studio for my two-hour repertoire class. Today I learn the opening selection from Paul Taylor's gorgeous Esplanade from another former company member, Constance Dinapoli. Once we split into three groups of eight dancers and are set in specific roles, Dinapoli plunges through the choreography and then works with individuals on their solo roles. We embrace as much of the pedestrian movements of the piece as possible in one class, because the next day we will inevitably move on. My day at the studio ends between four and five o'clock. By this time, my feet crave an ice bath to relieve the stinging and throbbing. Instead, however, I might be off one night to a comprehensive nutrition or injury prevention seminar; on another night, it could be a film screening hosted by company members. The most exciting evening event turns out to be an open rehearsal of the Paul Taylor Dance Company in their home studio: The company is rehearsing Company B and Esplanade--the work we are learning in repertoire.

So ends a normal day at the Paul Taylor Summer Dance Intensive 2000, directed by McGuire, who is also director of Taylor's second company, Taylor 2. The three-week intensive attracted approximately 100 students of varying abilities from the U.S. and abroad. At the beginning of the program, there were placement classes that split us into four groups for modern and repertoire classes and then divided us into three groups for ballet and pre-technique classes. The pre-technique classes, which prepare the muscles for a full day of dancing, are a refreshing alternative to the regular, necessary ballet classes.

Repertoire classes culminated in an informal showing at the end of each week. Throughout the three weeks, groups presented excerpts from Company B, Cloven Kingdom, The Word, Fiends Angelical, Images, Esplanade, Arden Court, Three Epitaphs and Eventide. Each week we absorbed these pieces of Taylor choreography and applied the new techniques we learned in modern class. They were set on us with the help of the Taylor 2 dancers, along with current and former Taylor company members. I was honored to have this legendary choreography worked into my muscle memory.

Having participated in both the Summer 2000 and Summer 1999 Intensives, I noticed some defining changes from one year to the next. Summer 1999, under different directorship, was limited to forty students and took place at the Paul Taylor Studios in SoHo, where Taylor 2 dancers taught all the repertoire. Summer 2000's program, for about 100 students, was greatly expanded and required a larger venue and additional teachers, with a rotating faculty over three weeks. This made the program seem more institutionalized and structured. Both years I attended, students were admitted on the basis of an application, which included a letter of recommendation and dance resume.

The program attracts students from all over the globe, and the administration compiled orientation materials, including maps and extensive lists of things to do and see in the immediate Lincoln Center area and beyond. We were encouraged to explore and take advantage of these opportunities. Of course, as we grew friendlier, we went out together and experienced New York City's many flavors. Although the classes were competitive, the social climate was not cutthroat: Students interacted with each other and the teachers, got to know each other and in many cases developed a warm camaraderie. This was especially helpful for partnering class!

Tuition for a three-week program was $600, and the Taylor people provided a list of dormitory housing all over the city. Work-study options were available on a financial-need basis. The Paul Taylor Dance Company Summer Intensive is not a program for dabblers, as it expects a great deal of commitment. It is also not for a dancer younger than 16, as you are on your own outside of class, which can be daunting if you are not big-city savvy. Also, strong modern training is essential to get the most out of this excellent and demanding program. But as with other summer intensive programs, it's a great way to expand your dance network and advance your training. Participating in these workshops gives company members a chance to view dancers in a working environment, and having it on a dance resume certainly can't hurt. Over the two summers I participated, I gained invaluable experience and made many cherished friends--both students and teachers--with whom I look forward to dancing in the future.

RELATED ARTICLE: Summer Study: A Dance Magazine Guide

Welcome to Dance Magazine's eighth annual Summer Study Guide. Our comprehensive international list of summer study programs features all kinds of dance in all kinds of places, from ballet in Brazil to tap in Tennessee. We tell you what you need to know about individual programs, too: What kind of dance you'll learn, where you'll stay, what you should bring, how much you'll pay, who to contact and how. (Be sure to check the symbols key next to the listings--it explains what each symbol means).

Alexis Silver, a two-year veteran of the Paul Taylor Summer Intensive in New York, gives new summer study students a sense of the joy-- and rigor--of serious programs (oh, those feet!), and Karen Dacko reports on a new series of ballet tours planned in Europe: First stop, Paris.

Enjoy the guide. We hope it serves you well and connects you with a great summer experience!

--Heather Wisner, Associate Editor

Alexis Silver is a first-year student at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, where she is an active member of the dance program. She is also exploring academic interests, including architecture and the history of science.