Paul Taylor Dance Company.

New York City Center 

February 28-March 16, 2008

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This season displayed the remarkable breadth of Taylor's work and his protean company in a wide-ranging 19 dances, with twin premieres and 17 revivals. The first section of the Mexican-influenced new work, De Suenos (Of Dreams), introduces haunting characters--Richard Chen See's specter of death in bowler hat and tails; Laura Halzack as the midas Virgin of Guadalupe; Michael Trusnovec's noble Yaqui stag dancer. As in a dream, they mix and float at will--with white-clad townsfolk, a butch drag queen (Rob Kleinendorst), and a flower vendor (Amy Young). Santo Loquasto's stunning costumes and backdrops of skulls and tree roots are lit like burning embers by Jennifer Tipton.

De Suenos que se Repiten (Of Recurring Dreams) begins as part one ended, with Chen See leering at us. Episodes unfold, film-like: Warriors engage in boisterous rituals before Chen See--aloft, with machete-sacrifices Young. Trusnovec, whose stag traditionally symbolizes good versus evil, performs a magnificent duet with Halzack without tangling antler and halo. Halzack, on tiptoe or in high extensions most of the solo, has the sangfroid, technique, and presence to match Trusnovec, whose stillness and grace are genuinely feral. Dancers appear in simple black costumes--radical, given Taylor's (and Loquasto's) affinity for the theatrical. Giving strong performances of character snapshots were Michelle Fleet and a faux-pregnant Parisa Khobdeh, who alarmingly drops her doll-baby that mate James Samson stuffs back up her dress, then punts offstage. In the finale, the crowd is cut down by Chen See and revived by Halzack in an unending battle of will. The two De Suenos, performed just once together at City Center, make sense this way, but the tandem breaks apart from Taylor's "square meal" programming.

Of the revivals, Diggity, Byzantium, and Equinox surprisingly haven't been performed in many years. Diggity (1978) centers on Alex Katz's obstacle course of winsome dog cutouts; with Donald York's music and light costumes, it evokes nostalgia for a genteel time. In the opening solo, Eran Bugge danced with radiant confidence. Equinox (1983) contains quiet moments of drama within a lyrical framework. Rob Kleinendorst, often the jester, was appealingly romantic. Byzantium (1984) offers enough structure, but not limiting detail, for us to create our own narrative involving religious/political power, order, and morality. James Samson injected the juicy opening solo with strength and abandon--another mid-tenure company member making the most of a featured role. Fiends Angelical (2000) also nods at belief systems, with the fearless Khobdeh ravishing in the priestess role, spinning a star-shaped web out of her subjects' symbolic blood. Annmaria Mazzini and Trusnovec, whose duets veered between harmony and discord, led the impassioned group through fervent maneuvers.

Two comical romps returned: Antique Valentine (2001) and Le Grand Puppetier (2004), striking for neon-bright costumes by Loquasto and deadpan roles by Lisa Viola, in her final season (see "Transitions," p. 80). In Valentine, stilted mannequins move in music box revolutions--dolls perhaps, but capable of emotions and hilarity. Puppetier, a take on Petrouchka, turns a period piece on its ear with gender-blending pairs. The vibrant Francisco Graciano pounced on the puppet role, convincing as both forlorn slave and revolutionary leader. And the intriguing Counterswarm (1988) reveals Taylor's affinity for insects, with multilimbed creatures coiling and stinging.

Cloven Kingdom (1976), Black Tuesday (2001), and Musical Offering (1986) are all major dances of different veins. The last, inseparable from its Bach score, is a richly textured formal tapestry that builds from Viola's still solo, often using Taylor's "archaic" vocabulary that resembles figures on a Grecian urn. The precision choreography and timing befit Trusnovec, who imbues Taylor's pattern-based lyricism with muscularity while delineating the underlying math. Black Tuesday, enriched by Loquasto's evocative designs, showcases the dancers in a suite of Depression-era songs--in particular a luscious down-and-out solo for Mazzini. Cloven Kingdom, with its incomparable male quartet, remains one of Taylor's great works--the fault line between the shifting plates of man's primitive and civilized sides. In returning repertoire, Orion Duckstein danced the male Aureole solo more beautifully than he ever has. In Piazzolla Caldera, Trusnovec nails the hot/cold essence of tango as interpreted by Taylor, and with partner Viola, he gives Promethean Fire a heart-rending stoicism. Viola's departure will open up many significant roles, so it will be fascinating to see the women expand their scope, as Taylor's dancers always do.