Dance Matters: A Moving Company

February 28, 2012

A change of address for the Taylor dancers

 

 

PTDC’s Michael Trusnovec arrives at Lincoln Center in style.
Photo by Jordan Matter, Courtesy PTDC.

 

 

The actual distance is only about 10 city blocks, but the Paul Taylor Dance Company’s shift of its New York season (March 14–April 1) from City Center—its home theater since 1977—to the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center represents a huge change for the company. For this move “uptown,” the repertoire will expand to 21 dances, including Taylor’s three latest works (one of them a world premiere). The 50th anniversary of his beloved classic Aureole will be marked, with its original cast reuniting at the March 15 gala.


For the dancers, everything will be new and slightly different. “Of course there’s an element of nervousness about making the transition,” says Michael Trusnovec, heading into his 14th New York season with Taylor. “We’re comfortable at City Center; that’s been home. It’s going to be an adjustment, but we’re all really excited about it.”


He says the move has not affected how the pieces are rehearsed, since the company routinely performs in theaters of many sizes, including some as expansive as the Koch. “I’m thinking more about the way the entire space feels; the connection to the audience. At City Center, the audience is so close; it feels very intimate. I’m curious about how it will feel in this space. I expect there will be an extra effort to explode out of our own bodies a little.”


“For our longtime audiences,” he continues, “seeing the rep in such a different setting, it should be fresh and new again.” And that rep is especially bountiful this season, with the return of seldom-seen works such as Junction (1961), House of Cards (1981), and Arabesque (1999).

 

 

Inset: Michelle Fleet’s fleet-footed entrance. Photo by Jordan Matter, Courtesy PTDC.