1 GRUPO / TAYLOR TEACHER RESOURCE GUIDE 2010–2011 PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY + GRUPO CORPO UMS YOUTH EDUCATION PROGRAM
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1GRUPO / TAYLOR
T E A C H E R R E S O U R C E G U I D E 2 0 1 0 – 2 0 1 1
PA U l TAy l O R D A n C E C O m PA n y+
G R U P O C O R P O
U m S y O U T H E D U C AT I O n P R O G R A m
2 UMS 10-11
The Andrew W. mellon Foundation
University of michigan
Anonymous
Arts at Michigan
Arts Midwest’s Performing Arts Fund
The Dan Cameron Family Foundation/Alan and Swanna Saltiel
CFI Group
Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Endowment Fund
DTE Energy Foundation
The Esperance Family Foundation
David and Jo-Anna Featherman
Forest Health Services
David and Phyllis Herzig Endowment Fund
JazzNet Endowment
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Masco Corporation Foundation
Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs
THE MOSAIC FOUNDATION [of R. & P. Heydon]
National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for
the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
Prudence and Amnon Rosenthal K-12 Education Endowment
Fund
PNC Bank
Target
TCF Bank
UMS Advisory Committee
University of Michigan Credit Union
University of Michigan Health System
U-M Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
U-M Office of the Vice President for Research
Wallace Endowment Fund
This Teacher Resource Guide is a product of the UMS Youth Education Program. Researched and written by Sarah Suhadolnik. Edited by Omari Rush.
Special thanks to Sue Budin, Tara Sheena, Pam Reis-ter, the University of Michigan Museum of Art, Linda Grekin, Mark Jacobson, and Michael Kondziolka for their contributions, feedback, and support in devel-oping this guide.
Cover Photo: Grupo Corpo Ima by Jose Luiz Pederneiras
SUPPORTERS
3GRUPO / TAYLOR
Photo: Piazzolla Caldera by Paul Goode
PAUl TAylOR DAnCE COmPAnyFriday, October 8, 12 NOON – 1 PM • POWER CENTER
GRUPO CORPOFriday, January 21, 11 AM – 12 NOON • POWER CENTER
U M S Y o U t h E D U C At I o N P R o G R A M
Y o U t h P E R F o R M A N C E S E R I E S ( D A N C E )
4 GRUPO / TAYLOR
ATTEnDInG THE yOUTH PERFORmAnCE6 Coming to the Show8 Map + Directions9 The Power Center10 Being an Audience Member
DAnCE12 Artistic Statement13 Types of Movement14 Dimensions of Movement15 Performance17 How to Watch Dance18 Dance History26 Visual Arts
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAUl TAylOR DAnCE COmPAny29 The Company30 Timeline32 Paul Taylor34 Why I Make Dances by Paul Taylor36 Dancers42 Artistic Staff43 Repertoire45 What makes the PTDC Unique?
GRUPO CORPO47 The Company48 Timeline51 The Pederneiras Family52 Dancers + Artistic Staff53 Repertoire
RESOURCES55 National Standards56 Curriculum Connections58 Lesson Plans60 Suggested Readings61 Other Resources63 Related Organizations64 Bibliography
ABOUT UmS66 What is UMS?67 Youth Education Program69 Contacting UMS
Short on time?If you only have 15 minutes to review this guide, just read the sections in black in the Table of Contents.
Those pages will provide the most important information about this performance.
5GRUPO / TAYLOR
Photo: Grupo Corpo Parabelo
AT T E n D I n G T H E C O n C E RT
6 UMS 10-11
TICKETS We do not use paper tickets
for Youth Performances. We hold school
reservations at the door and seat groups
upon arrival.
DOOR EnTRy A UMS Youth Performance
staff person will greet your group at your bus
as you unload. You will enter through the
front doors of the Power Center, which faces
Fletcher Street.
BEFORE THE START Please allow the usher
to seat individuals in your group in the order
that they arrive in the theater. Once everyone
is seated you may then rearrange yourselves
and escort students to the bathrooms before
the performance starts. PLEASE spread the
adults throughout the group of students.
DURInG THE PERFORmAnCE At the
start of the performance, the lights will
dim and an onstage UMS staff member will
welcome you to the performance and provide
important logistical information. If you have
any questions, concerns, or complaints (for
instance, about your comfort or the behavior
of surrounding groups) please IMMEDIATELY
report the situation to an usher or staff mem-
ber in the lobby.
PERFORmAnCE lEnGTH 60 minutes with
no intermission
AFTER THE PERFORmAnCE When the
performance ends, remain seated. A UMS staff
member will come to the stage and release
each group individually based on the location
of your seats.
SEATInG & USHERS When you arrive at
the front doors, tell the Head Usher at the
door the name of your school group and he/
she will have ushers escort you to your block
of seats. All UMS Youth Performance ushers
wear large, black laminated badges with their
names in white letters.
ARRIVAl TImE Please arrive at the Power
Center between 10:30-10:50 AM (Grupo
Curpo) and 11:30-11:50 AM (Paul Taylor
Dance Company) to allow you time to get
seated and comfortable before the show starts.
DROP OFF Have buses, vans, or cars drop
off students on Fletcher Street in front of the
Power Center. If there is no space in the drop
off zone, circle the block until space becomes
available. Cars may park at curbside metered
spots or in the visitor parking lot behind the
power Center. Buses should wait/park at
Briarwood Mall.
DETAILS
C O M I N G T O T H E S H O WWe want you to enjoy your time with UMS!
PLEASE review the important information below about attending the Youth Performance:
TICKETS
USHER
NOTE: These logistical details are applicable to both
the Paul Taylor Dance Company Youth Performance
and the Grupo Corpo Youth Performance.
7GRUPO / TAYLOR
BUS PICK UP When your group is released,
please exit the performance hall through the
same door you entered. A UMS Youth Perfor-
mance staff member will be outside to direct
you to your bus.
AAPS EDUCATORS You will likely not get
on the bus you arrived on; a UMS staff mem-
ber or WISD Transportation Staff person will
put you on the first available bus.
lOST STUDEnTS A small army of volun-
teers staff Youth Performances and will be
ready to help or direct lost and wandering
students.
lOST ITEmS If someone in your group loses
an item at the performance, contact the UMS
Youth Education Program (umsyouth@umich.
edu) to attempt to help recover the item.
AAPS
SEnDInG FEEDBACK We LOVE feedback
from students, so after the performance please
send us any letters, artwork, or academic
papers that your students create in response
to the performance: UMS Youth Education
Program, 881 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor,
MI 48109-1011.
nO FOOD No food or drink is allowed in
the theater.
PATIEnCE Thank you in advance for your
patience; in 20 minutes we aim to get 1,300
people from buses into seats and will work as
efficiently as possible to make that happen.
ACCESSIBIlITy The following services are
available to audience members:
• Wheelchair, companion, or other special seating
• Courtesy wheelchairs
• Hearing Impaired Support Systems
PARKInG There is handicapped parking very
close to the Power Center on Fletcher Street
and in the parking structure behind the Power
Center on Palmer Drive. The first three levels
of the Palmer Drive structure have 5 park-
ing spots on each level next to each elevator.
There are a total of 15 parking spaces in the
garage.
WHEElCHAIR ACCESSIBIlITy The Power
Center is wheelchair accessible and has 12
seats for audience members with special
needs.
BATHROOmS ADA compliant toilets are
available in the green room (east corner) of the
Power Center for both men and women.
EnTRy The front doors are not powered,
however, there will be an usher at that door
opening it for all patrons.
8 UMS 10-11
POWER
HILL
DR
oP
-oF
F Z
oN
E
PARK
PALMER DRIVE
E. hURoN St
E. LIBERtY St
WILLIAM St N. UNIVERSItY AVENUE
WA
Sh
tE
NA
W A
VE
NU
E
FL
Et
Ch
ER
St
th
AY
ER
St
St
At
E S
t
Ch
UR
Ch
St
MA
LL
PA
RK
ING
&
RACKHAM
Circle this block until
a spot is free in the
drop-off zone.
M A P + D I R E C T I O N SThis map, with driving directions to the Power Center, will
be mailed to all attending educators three weeks before the performance.
MAP
9GRUPO / TAYLOR
T H E P O W E R C E N T E R
VENUE
THE POWER CEnTER for the Performing
Arts grew out of a realization that the
University of Michigan had no adequate
proscenium-stage theater for the per-
forming arts. Hill Auditorium was too
massive and technically limited for most
productions and the Lydia Mendelssohn
Theatre was too small. The Power Center
was built to supply this missing link in
design and seating capacity.
In 1963, Eugene and Sadye Power,
together with their son Philip, wished to
make a major gift to the University. The
Powers were immediately interested in
supporting the University’s desire to build
University of Michigan, Power Center
a new theater, realizing that state and
federal governments were unlikely to
provide financial support for the con-
struction of a theater.
Opening in 1971, the Power Center
achieved the seemingly contradictory
combination of providing a soaring
interior space with a unique level of
intimacy. Architectural features include
two large spiral staircases leading from
the orchestra level to the balcony and
the well known mirrored glass panels
on the exterior. The lobby of the Power
Center presently features two hand-wo-
ven tapestries: Modern Tapestry by Roy
Lichtenstein and Volutes (Arabesque) by
Pablo Picasso.
The Power Center seats approximately
1,300 people.
POWER CEnTER
121 Fletcher St
Ann Arbor, mI 48109
Emergency Contact
number:
(734) 764-2538
(Call this number to reach a UMS staff person or
audience member at the performance.)
10 UMS 10-11
WHEn PREPARInG STUDEnTS for a
live performing arts event, it is impor-
tant to address the concept of “concert
etiquette.” Aside from helping prevent
disruptive behavior, a discussion of concert
etiquette can also help students fully enjoy
the unique and exciting live performance
experience. The following considerations
are listed to promote an ideal environment
for all audience members.
yOUR SURROUnDInGS
Concert halls and performing arts •
venues are some of the most grand
and beautiful buildings you might ever
visit, so be sure to look around while
you follow an usher to your group’s
seats or once you are in your seat.
UMS Ushers will be stationed through-•
out the building and are identifiable
by their big black and white badges.
They are there to help you be as
comfortable as possible and if you
have a question (about the perfor-
mance, about where to go, or about
what something is), please ask them,
and don’t feel shy, embarrassed, or
hesitant in doing so.
SHARInG THE PERFORmAnCE HAll
WITH OTHER AUDIEnCE mEmBERS
Consider whether any talking you do •
during the performance will prevent
your seat neighbors or other audience
members from hearing. Often in large
rock concerts or in movie theaters,
the sound is turned up so loud that
you can talk and not disturb anyone’s
listening experience. However, in other
concerts and live theater experiences,
the sound is unamplified or just quite,
and the smallest noise could cause
your seat neighbor to miss an impor-
tant line of dialogue or musical phrase.
Movements or lights (from cell phones)
may also distract your audience neigh-
bors attention away from the stage,
again, causing them to miss important
action...and there’s no instant replay in
live performance!
At a performance, you are sharing the •
physical components of the perfor-
mance space with other audience
members. So, consider whether you
are sharing the arm rest and the leg
room in such a way that both you and
your seat neighbors are comfortable.
As an audience member, you are •
also part of the performance. Any
enthusiasm you might have for the
performance may make the perform-
ers perform better. So, if you like what
you are seeing make sure they know it!
Maybe clap, hoot and holler, or stand
up and cheer. However, when express-
ing your own personal enjoyment of
the performance, consider whether
your fellow audience members will be
able to see or hear what’s happening
on stage or whether they will miss
something because of the sound and
movement you are making. Given this
consideration, it’s often best to wait
until a pause in the performance (a
pause of sound, movement, or energy)
or to wait until the performer(s) bow to
the audience to share your enthusiasm
with them.
Out of respect for the performer(s), if •
you do not like some part of the per-
formance, please do not boo or shout
anything derogatory. Remember, a lot
of hard work went in to creating the
performance you are watching and it
takes great courage for the performer
to share his or her art with you.
SHARE yOUR ExPERIEnCE WITH
OTHERS
An important part of any performing •
arts experience is sharing it with others.
This can include whispering to your
seat neighbor during the performance,
talking to your friends about what you
liked and didn’t like on the bus back to
school, or telling your family about the
performance when you get home.
mORE InFORmATIOn
For more specific details about coming •
to the concert (start time, bathroom
locations, length), see pages 6-8 of this
guide.
B E I N G A N A U D I E N C E M E M B E R
DETAILS
11GRUPO / TAYLOR
Photo: Grupo Corpo Ima 10 by Jose Luiz Pederneiras
D A n C E
A R T I S T I C S TAT E M E N T
UMS
In THE BOOK Anthropology of Dance,
Anya Peterson Royce labels dance “the
oldest of the arts.” She writes, “The
human body making patterns in time
and space is what makes dance unique
among the arts and perhaps explains its
antiquity and universality.1”
This season, UMS continues to celebrate
the vitality of this universal, living art
form while acknowledging the passing
of Merce Cunningham, legendary icon of
American modern dance.
Cunningham, dancer and revolutionary
choreographer, died July 26, 2009. A
performer until the end, Cunningham
appeared in every performance given by
the Merce Cunningham Dance Company
until the age of 70.
According to his obituary, Cunningham
was close to the founding members of
the New York Schools of Music, Paint-
ing and Poetry. “Mr. Cunningham
himself, along with Jerome Robbins and
the younger Paul Taylor, led the way to
founding what can retrospectively be
called the New York School of Dance.
These choreographers both combined
and rejected the rival influences of mod-
ern dance and ballet, notably the senior
choreographers Graham and Balanchine.
They absorbed aspects of ordinary
pedestrian movement, the natural world
and city life. They tested connections
between private subject matter and the-
atrical expression. And they re-examined
the relationship between dance and it’s
sound accompaniment.2”
UMS’s 10/11 dance series is bookended
with performances from the Paul Taylor
Dance Company (including a daytime
Youth Performance) and the Merce Cun-
ningham Dance Company, which will
dissolve upon completion of its 10/11
legacy tour. In addition to recognizing
the importance and influence of these
iconic figures in the history of modern
dance, the energy and intensity of Grupo
Corpo performances give UMS audiences
opportunities to experience and celebrate
contemporary dance thriving in another
region of the Americas: dance that will
clearly remain important in the years to
come.
Both the Paul Taylor Dance Company
and Grupo Corpo present daytime UMS
Youth Performances for K-12 school au-
diences on the 10/11 Youth Performance
Series. Beyond the opportunity they bring
to watch beautiful dance, they also bring
with them traditions from the past and
gestures towards the future that reflect
the diverse spirit of the Americas, the
possibilities of human expression, and the
products of a life dedicated to study.
1 Anya Peterson Royce. The Anthropology of Dance. (Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1977), 26.
2 Alastair Macaulay. “Merce Cunningham, Dance Visionary, Dies” The New York Times, July 27, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/arts/dance/28cunningham.html
12 GRUPO / TAYLOR
T Y P E S O F M O V E M E N T
DANCE
DEFInITIOn
SUSTAINED
PERCUSSIVE
SWINGING
SUSPEND
COLLAPSE
EXPLODE
TyPE
An even release of energy that stays constant, either fast or slow but not both.
Usually sustained movement feels best when it uses a large range of space and a
slow time. But changing any one element changes the quality.
Sudden short bursts of energy that start and stop quickly.
A drop of energy into gravity that sustains and follows through.
This is the movement at the end of a swing, before gravity takes over.
A sudden and complete release of energy, like fainting. You can have partial
collapse of the body like head, shoulders, arms, etc.
The opposite of collapse. Exploding requires gathering all of one’s energy then
letting it burst forth in one huge sudden action with the whole body.
WHIlE, OVER TImE, dance has taken a number of different forms in a number of different social and artistic contexts, the “pat-
terns in time and space” created by the dancer or dancers involved are essential to the artistic impact of the dance on its audience.
Choreography is the series or combination of movements that creates these fundamental patterns. Like words in a sentence, the
individual movements are just as important as the product of their combination. In dance there are many different types of move-
ment. Here are some options to explore as you think about dance.
13GRUPO / TAYLOR
D I M E N S I O N S O F M O V E M E N T
ABOUT
When watching dance, one can analyze the movement by breaking them down into the following key elements, easily remem-
bered with the acronym BEST: Body, Energy, Space, and Time.
14 GRUPO / TAYLOR
EnERGy
PARTS
ISOLATION
FORCE
WEIGHT
STRENGTH
FLOW
ACTIONS
Head, neck, torso (hips, abdomen, shoulders, back), arms and elbows, hands and wrists, fingers, legs, knees and feet (ankles and toes)
Movements restricted to one area of the body such as the shoulders, rib cage or
hips; isolations are particularly prominent in jazz dance.
SHAPES Curved, twisted, angular, small/large, flat/rounded
Smooth or sharp
Heavy or light
Tight or relaxed
Sudden or sustained, bound or free
(Non-locomotor: Movements organized around the spine of the body)Stretch,
bend, twist, rise, fall, circle, shake, suspend, sway, swing, collapse or (Locomotor:
Movements that occur when a dancer moves place to place) walk, run, leap, hop,
jump, gallop, skip, slide
BODy
TImE
RHYTHM Pulse, beat
ACCENT Light or strong emphasis
SPEED Time or tempo
DURATION Length
PHRASES Dance sentences, patterns and combinations
SPACE
LEVEL Low, middle, high. The height of the dancer in relation to the floor.
DIRECTION Forward, backward, up, down, sideways
S IZE Large or small
DESTINATION Where a dancer moves
PATHWAYS Patterns made with the body on the floor and in the air
FOCUS Where a dancer looks
P E R F O R M A N C E
DANCE
CHOREOGRAPHy
Different dance styles, or genres, use
different styles of movement, sometimes
called dance vocabularies. Ballet, for
example, uses a dance vocabulary that is
very different from the dance vocabulary
used in tap. Individual choreographers
can use their own signature style of
pre-existing dance vocabularies, the way
Grupo Corpo uses its own signature style
of contemporary ballet, or invent their
own dance vocabulary, the way Paul
Taylor and other modern dance choreog-
raphers typically do.
It is important to remember that chore-
ographers have different motivations for
creating a dance, which can include any
of the following:
to tell a story through their movement •
to design beautiful, geometric, or • sequentially connected “dance images.”
to explore larger abstract themes, such • as love, or relationships
to create a physical expression of sound•
PERFORmAnCE
DAnCER AS CHARACTER
To be able to convey these larger nar-
ratives or themes, choreographers can
assign certain characters or ideas. When
choreographing in this way, there are dif-
ferent techniques a choreographer might
use to convey this characterization.
Specific movements: Sometimes char-
acters do the same movement in differ-
ent ways to give you a sense of their own
individual personality.
Costumes: Depending on the type of
choreography, a dancer’s costume can
help define their character or role in the
dance’s narrative, or it can elaborate the
“dance image” the choreographer is
trying to create. When trying to deci-
pher a dancer’s costume, it is important
to remember that it is often the product
of a compromise between who or what
the dancer is meant to represent and the
dancer’s ability to move freely.
Props: In dance, a prop can serve a
number of different functions. Props can
further define a dancer’s character/role,
add to the scenery, or help to establish a
particular mood. Dance props are often
symbolic and not necessarily meant to be
what they look like.
SETTInG THE SCEnE
SPACE
The space in which a dance is performed
is almost as important as the choreogra-
phy used to create it. Depending on the
intent of the choreographer, a dancer’s
position in the dance space can define
the relationship between characters or
define the dancer’s relationship to the
dances plot or overall message.
Symbolic Hotspots: Certain positions
on stage can carry symbolic meaning.
This can be as simple as taking advan-
tage of where people naturally look to
emphasize certain events or movements
over others. It can also be as complex as
assigning different meanings to different
parts of the stage. The different sides of
the stage can represent good or evil for
example, characterizing the action that
occurs in those places or assigning cer-
tain traits to the dancers that enter and
exit from these respective sides.
SETTInG
Any sort of set, from the realistic to the
abstract, sets up a restraint on the space,
confining or controlling the dancer’s ability
to move. As a result, a choreographer’s
decision to use a set is deliberate. Chore-
ographers can use sets to define the larger
setting of their dance or they can use a
set more like a prop, using it to define
15GRUPO / TAYLOR
16 UMS 10-11
3 Kassing, 244.4 Wilcke5 Taylor, 77.
lIGHTInG
In addition to sets, lighting plays an im-
portant role in creating the larger setting
for a dance performance; often chore-
ographers use lighting primarily to guide
what the audience is looking at. In ad-
dition to this fundamental purpose, they
can also use lighting to create shadows
and achieve other effects that contribute
to characterization and/or create certain
moods. For example, depending on how
it is used, low lighting can signify a dark
or evil character, or it can set a generally
dark or sinister mood.
mUSIC
Depending on the type of dance and in-
dividual choreographer, music can define
the form and structure of the dance, exist
as an entirely separate entity indepen-
dent of the dancer’s movement, or fall
somewhere in between.
The relationship between the dance and
the music in Cunningham’s work for ex-
ample is one of coexistence. He typically
rehearsed his dancers without music, so
that they would hear it for the first time
during the performance. "He manipu-
lates movement for movement’s sake,
making it nonlinear and random.3"
The work of other choreographers is
more dependent on the music they have
chosen. For example, Rodrigo Pedernei-
ras, the choreographer for Grupo Corpo,
starts choreographing a new piece by
picking the music he will use – focusing
on the feelings that are conveyed by the
music he has chosen. From that point
on, he concentrates on translating the
music into movement – uninterested in
speech or mime. For Pederneiras, chore-
ography is all about creating movements
and patterns that echo sounds, shapes,
and feelings that are created by the mu-
sic he is using.4
For other choreographers, like Paul Taylor,
the relationship between dance and mu-
sic can fall somewhere in between these
two models. In his dance pieces, the
relationship between dance and music
can fall in and out of phase, striking a
middle ground between the type of rela-
tionship between music and dance that
is represented in Cunningham’s work and
that of Pederneiras’s work.
Choreographers of modern and con-
temporary dance also experiment with
different types of music when they
choreograph: some use the art music of
composers like Johann Sebastian Bach or
John Adams, popular music of Michael
Jackson, or just pure sound effects. In his
autobiography Private Domain, Paul Tay-
lor describes the diversification of musical
accompaniment used for dance in this
way. “If dance could be broadened to
include everyday moves,” Taylor writes,
“so could its accompaniment.”
H O W T O WAT C H D A N C E : B E F O R E , D U R I N G , A F T E RThere are many different ways to watch a dance performance.
Here are some things to think about before, during, and after the show.
DANCE
BEFORE: THInK ABOUT WHAT yOU
AlREADy KnOW
You have probably experienced dance
in your everyday life, as dance exists in
many forms beyond the formal stage.
Before attending the performance,
answer these questions to explore your
feelings about dance—and there are no
"right" answers:
What is dance? •
Have you ever attended a perfor-•
mance before? If so, what type of
performance and what was your
experience? If not, what do you think
this performance will be like?
What do you think are the differences •
between going to a sports event and
attending a play; or listening to the
radio and going to a concert? What
do you think the differences will be
between going to a dance perfor-
mance and attending a play?
Where have you seen or experienced •
dance (for example, at school dances,
in their neighborhoods, on MTV, in
movies, etc.)? What was the experi-
ence like?
DURInG: SUGGESTIOnS FOR
WATCHInG DAnCE
You don’t have to have any special
training or previous experience to watch
dance. You will be taking in information
with all your senses – your eyes, your
ears, even your muscles. You may be
fascinated with the physical activity you
see, the music, the production elements
(lighting, costumes, props), or with a
“story” the dancers convey (or at least
that you think they are conveying).
Every piece of choreography has a reason
for being. Dances may be celebrations,
tell stories, define moods, interpret
poems, express emotions, carve designs,
visualize music, or simply explore
movement. As you watch a dance, a
story may occur to you because of a
past experience. However, not all dances
relate to stories and the movement
sequences do not have to make literal
sense. Allow any images and personal
feelings to pop into your mind.
You may want to ask yourself some
questions as you watch:
How are each of your senses experi-•
encing the dance? What do you see?
What do you hear? What are the
dancers actually doing?
What are the technical properties •
in the dance? What kind of space is
being used? What are the shapes and
designs being made?
How does the movement make you •
feel?
AFTER: SHARInG yOUR
InTERPRETATIOn
After the performance, feel free to
discuss your thoughts with others, but do
not be disturbed if you find that oth-
ers have a different reaction than yours.
Think about these questions to reflect on
your experience watching dance:
Was it fun to watch? •
Did the dance remind you of experi-•
ences in your own life?
Did the choreography inspire you •
to express yourself – write a poem,
draw a picture, or make up your own
dance?
17GRUPO / TAYLOR
18 UMS 10-11
D A N C E 1 0 1 :A C R A S H C O U R S E I N D A N C E H I S T O RY
ABOUT
DAnCE IS A TyPE OF DynAmIC SOCIAl ExPRESSIOn that, over time, has taken many forms. Sometimes dance is a mode of
community communication, marking significant community events, such as births, marriages, or funerals. Other times dance is
employed as a means of spiritual expression, used in ritualistic events like those that are used for healing or ancestor worship.
Dance is also a mode of entertainment that can bring people together in an entirely different way. In this form dance can be used
to demonstrate social status, as it did in the royal courts of late 16th and 17th century Europe. It can also be used to challenge social
norms, in the way that provocative dance crazes like the Twist have.
Last, but not least, dance is an art form that shows its audience the inherent beauty of bodies in motion. Be it in classical modes of
“theatrical dance,” like ballet, stylized forms of everyday movements, or bold new ways of movement that challenge our precon-
ceived notions of what dance represents, dance can both celebrate and critique the nature of our human experience.
19GRUPO / TAYLOR
Photo: LIBRARY oF CoNGRESS - Unidentified dancer
20 UMS 10-11
COnTEmPORARy VS. mODERn
DAnCE
Distinguishing between modern dance
companies and contemporary dance
companies can be difficult. Modern
dance companies, like the Paul Taylor
Dance Company, are typically companies
whose legacies are associated with the
late 19th and 20th centuries. These com-
panies promote and create within the
framework of their founding choreogra-
pher’s movement legacy. Contemporary
dance companies like Grupo Corpo,
on the other hand, become adept in a
number of different styles of choreogra-
phy, exploring both modern and classical
styles of dance.
While this distinction explains the
variation in repertoire that exists among
modern and contemporary companies
that are still active today, historically, con-
temporary and modern dance companies
share the history of modern dance.
A BRIEF InTRODUCTIOn TO mODERn
DAnCE HISTORy
As with all history, particularly in the case
of such an enduring and dynamic art
form as dance, it would be impossible to
go through the entire history of modern
dance in one sitting. The following out-
line highlights certain key concepts and
events in the history of modern dance,
with the hope of enhancing appreciation
of the type of dance performances on
the UMS Youth Performance Series.
Developed in the U.S and Europe in
the 20th century as a reaction to the
restrained, technical style employed by
classical ballet, modern dance chore-
ographers continually experiment with
new styles of movement, often develop-
ing their own unique dance techniques.
Whereas classical ballet restricted
expression because choreography had to
adhere to a specific form, modern dance
focused more on expression.
This new form of dance “did not simply
appear at the turn of the century.” In-
stead, this new trend in dance represent-
ed the synthesis of a number of different
events that occurred in the years leading
up to the start of the new century. The
stories of these choreographers show
how they pushed the limits of the ques-
tion of what is dance, and illustrate the
fact that it is okay to have many different
points of view on the subject of dance.
Keep in mind that this only represents a
small fraction of the numerous choreog-
raphers involved in modern dance.
Photo: A Cadet hop at West Point
21GRUPO / TAYLOR
6 Kassing, 1847 Kassing, 185.8 Kassing, 187
THE FOUnDERS of modern dance were
all influenced by the idea that dance did
not just have to be a momentary diversion
of entertainment and that it could move
audiences in a deep and serious way. In
the beginning, they often compromised
their artistic beliefs to gain a following;
the later founders rebelled much more
strongly against their traditional ballet
roots.
loïe Fuller (1862-1928) Loie Fuller was
a self-taught dancer, noted for improvisa-
tory performances in which she would
manipulate a filmy silk dress into shapes
through her dance. Fuller was also a major
innovator with interest in all aspects of
theater using material and lighting ef-
fects to enhance her choreography.6 Her
works were forerunners of mixed media
performances.
Isadora Duncan (1878-1927) Heavily
inspired by Loïe Fuller, Isadora Duncan
choreographed dance that grew out of
her personal responses to music empha-
sizing flow, symmetry, and the realization
of the beauty of simple movements in
her choreography. She sought a new kind
of movement language, extending the
role and range of the dynamic elements
in movement, making it organic rather
than merely decorative.7
maude Allen (1873-1956) Just like
Isadora Duncan, many of Maude Allen’s
works were the result of her appreciation
of music. The two actually engaged in
brief conflict during which Duncan ac-
cused Allen of imitating her art, but the
problems were resolved quickly. Allen
liked to call her style “dramatic dancing.”
Ruth St. Denis (1880-1968) Ruth St.
Denis formed the Denishawn Company
(1915) with her pupil and husband, Ted
Shawn. Denis’s use of exoticism coupled
with her ability to make dance widely
appealing to the American public made
St. Denis and Denishawn successful. The
dominant dance company of the 1920s,
Denishawn was the training ground for
Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, and
Charles Weidman, among other important
figures in the history of modern dance.
Ted Shawn (1891-1972) Shawn’s empha-
sis on the male dancer and establishment
of one of the first all male companies in the
early 20th century was a significant develop-
ment in the early years of modern dance.8
Photo: Afternoon of a Faun /dancer: det.: Nijinsky and nymphs
22 UMS 10-11
In THE EARly 1930’S, schools like
the Denishawn School and the Duncan
Dance School were incubators for the
development of the first generation of
American modern dance artists and
choreographers, which included dancers
like Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey.
“This first generation of dance artists
ushered in a new era of experiments that
were to emerge as modern dance.9” The
uncertain political climate led choreogra-
phers to comment on events in contem-
porary society, hoping to convince audi-
ences and critics that their work was a
legitimate dance form.10” The inspiration
for these choreographers came from folk
legends, social protests, and theatrical ex-
pressions of culture and ethnicity. These
choreographers made artistic statements
through American modern dance that
were both individual and collective.11
The Federal Theatre Project (FTP) was
the largest and most ambitious effort
mounted by the Federal Government to
organize and produce theater events. It
was an effort of the administration of
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to
provide work for unemployed profes-
sionals in the theater during the Great
Depression. The FTP was administered
from Washington, D.C., but its many
companies stretched the full breadth
of the nation. It functioned from
1935 to 1939 when its funding was
terminated. In that brief period, it was
responsible for some of the most in-
novative staging of its time. While the
primary aim of the FTP was the re-em-
ployment of theater workers on public
relief rolls, including actors, directors,
playwrights, designers, vaudeville art-
ists, and stage technicians, it was also
hoped that the project would result in
the establishment of theater so vital to
community life that it would continue
to function after the FTP program was
completed.12
mary Wigman (1886-1973) Important
figure in the history of German expres-
sionist dance. She used mythical subjects
that emphasized a bond with nature
while developing a style that evolved
from muscular tension and release.
martha Graham (1894-1991) To this
day, Martha Graham remains one of the
most well-known modern dancers. Her
contraction-and-release technique has
become one of the most widely taught
modern styles in the U.S. Developing a
company as she built a repertory, Graham
has explored a number of different themes,
“evaluating their personal relevance but
also their universal significance.”
“To perform the role of a character
in Graham’s dances, the dancer must
find the experience of that charac-
ter in his or her own psychological
life, grow into that experience, and
become completely identified with the
character.13”
9 Kassing, 20410 Kassing, 20411 Kassing, 205.12 http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/fedtp/fthome.html 13 Foster, 30
Photo: Ballet Russes Rite of Spring
23GRUPO / TAYLOR
14 Kassing, 224.15 Kassing, 224.
In THE 1940’S AnD 1950’S modern
dancers and their companies saw their
reputation and notoriety grown within
outside of the U.S. borders.14 “In the
postwar period, the earlier simple, stark,
group modern dance performances
became more elaborate, produced with
costumes, commissioned music, and set
décor. Most modern dance companies
were small; they rehearsed quickly, per-
formed, and then dissolved until it was
time to prepare for the next year’s perfor-
mance. New choreographic approaches,
techniques, themes, and styles branched
out from this generation of choreogra-
phers who took their places alongside
the pioneers. Meanwhile, as the Cold
War grew colder, the U.S. government
used modern dance to create a national
awareness of American arts by sending
artists around the world.15”
José limón (1908-72) Born in Mexico
and brought up in the U.S., Limón joined
the Humphrey-Weidman company
(1930-40) and organized his own troupe
after World War II. His dance possessed
a unique lyricism due to a technique of
fall and recovery, in which one gives in to
gravity and then rebounds off the ground.
This technique is often taught as a coun-
terbalance to Martha Graham’s technique.
mODERn DAnCE In THE 1960’S was
an abrupt change from what had been
established by previous generations.
Choreographers began to explore what
was happening in other contemporary
arts: the use of chance, serial, and elec-
tronic music; “happenings;” and theatri-
cal experiments. These choreographers
were more concerned with movement
and its performance than communicating
emotional themes or narratives.
These new dance forms were also present-
ed in new, outdoor and indoor, environ-
mental performing spaces like museums,
parks, gymnasiums, rooftops, and other
cityscapes. Because rents for theaters and
other performance venues continued to
escalate, dance was often presented in
lofts, warehouses, and garages.
merce Cunningham (1919-2009) As
one of the first to challenge the founding
principles of modern dance, Merce Cun-
ningham initially worked with the Martha
Graham dance company, only the second
male to do so. He formed his own com-
pany after leaving Graham and increas-
ingly used an approach which focused on
pure movement without a story, character,
or dramatic mood. He also frequently
used chance determination, in which parts
of choreography would be determined by
random methods, such as a coin toss.
Paul Taylor (b. 1930) Paul Taylor has
created an outstanding repertory of antic
wit and hard reality. Taylor scrutinizes the
epic and the everyday with tough inno-
cence and athletic vigor. His company has
served as a training ground for notable
choreographers such as David Parsons
and Twyla Tharp.
Alvin Ailey (1931-89) Showcasing his
versatility of style, Alvin Ailey choreo-
graphed for Broadway in addition to his
work in both ballet and modern dance.
As a choreographer, Ailey was known for
his exploration of the Black experience in
America in his work.
Twyla Tharp (b. 1941) The choreogra-
phy of Twyla Tharp has used a strong,
rhythmical use of the lower half of the
body, while the upper half possesses
a throwaway and rambling look. She
is classicist in structure, yet her dance
utilizes the body language of a graceful
athlete. Tharp has choreographed for
numerous styles of music ranging from
jazz to popular to classical.
Photo: 42nd Street
24 UMS 10-11
THE 1960’S AnD 1970’S both Ameri-
can culture and American dance were
experiencing radical shifts that chal-
lenged norms and traditions as well
as conventional modes of expression.
The Balanchine-Graham collaboration,
Episodes, though not an enduring work,
was a fuse for the changes that began
in the 1960’s and continued through the
1970’s. American ballet and modern
dance underwent changes that shook
their foundations. Societal issues and
arts movements exploded, and ballet ac-
quired a thirst for contemporary subjects
and passing fads, along with an aware-
ness of what was happening in modern
dance. These changes brought new
audiences to ballet, as did touring and
television exposure.16
THE 1980’S AnD 1990’S a second
generation of postmodern choreogra-
phers set upon exploring the possibilities
of dance and the lens through which it is
created. Mathematics grew as an artistic
tool, some performances moved to non-
traditional outdoor spaces, and pedestri-
an, folk, and highly repetitive movements
were incorporated in to work.17
Garth Fagan (1940 - ) Fagan studied
with Primus, Limón, Ailey, and Graham,
among other famous dance greats.
“After founding and dancing with several
companies in Detroit, in 1970 he joined
the faculty at the State University of New
York and began teaching dance classes
for youths from the streets of nearby
Rochester.18“ “Fagan’s style is a unique
blend of modern dance, jazz, and Afro-
Caribbean forms with some subtle ballet
influences.19”
16 Kassing, 25417 Kassing, 26718 Kassing, 26819 Kassing, 268.
Photo: Merce Cunningham
25GRUPO / TAYLOR
"The most brilliant scientific discoveries
will in time change and perhaps grow
obsolete, as new scientific manifestations
emerge. But art is eternal, for it reveals the
inner landscape, which is the soul of man."
– from I am a Dancer, Martha Graham
26 UMS 10-11
V I S U A L + P E R F O R M I N G A R T SThe following works of art are part of the University of Michigan Museum of Art collection.
CONNECTIONS
Max Ernst (German, 1891-1976)
Dancers (Danseuses)
1950
Lithograph
Museum Purchase made possible by the
Friends of the Museum of Art, 1987/1.264
Look at the images on pages 26 and 27 and consider the
following:
How does each artwork ex-
press movement or dance?
How might each piece relate
to the work of Paul Taylor
Dance Company or of Grupo
Corpo?
How are the two images alike
or different?
How would you interpret each
artwork as a real life dance
move?
27GRUPO / TAYLOR
Mark Bressler (American, born 1951)
Spirit Dancer
2001
Madrone burl
Gift of Robert M. and Lilian Montalvo Bohlen,
2003/2.79
28 UMS 10-11
PAUl TAylOR DAnCE COmPAnyPAUL TAYLOR artistic director • Friday, October 8, 12 NOON – 1 PM • POWER CENTER
U M S Y o U t h P E R F o R M A N C E
Sponsored by the David and Phyllis Herzig Endow-
ment Fund and the Prudence and Amnon Rosenthal
K-12 Education Endowment Fund.
Funded in part by the Wallace Endowment Fund and
by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of
American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic
Genius.
Photo: Also Playing by tom Caravaglia
29GRUPO / TAYLOR
T H E C O M PA N Y
ABOUT
FOUnDED In 1954, the Paul Taylor
Dance Company has become one of the
greatest modern dance companies in
America; the company has performed in
more than 520 cities in 62 countries and
has represented the U.S. at arts festivals
in more than 40 countries. Founder and
artistic director Paul Taylor has been the
recipient of every major honor given to
artists in the U.S. for his choreography,
including the Kennedy Center Honors
and an Emmy. His distinct use of gestural
movement has become a trademark of
his choreography and characterizes his
most famous work, Esplanade, set to mu-
sic by Johann Sebastian Bach. His singular
musicality and diverse creations have
become staples of American modern
dance. In addition to Esplanade, he has
won international acclaim with his mas-
terworks, including Aureole, Le Sacre du
Printemps (The Rehearsal), Musical Offer-
ing, Airs, Speaking in Tongues, Company
B, Piazolla Caldera, Promethean Fire,
Beloved Renegade, and, most recently,
Brief Encounters. He has collaborated
with important American painters such
as Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns,
and Alex Katz as well as with the famous
Tiffany and Co. designer, Gene Moore.
The National Book Critics Circle nomi-
nated his biography, Private Domain,
for the most distinguished biography of
1987, and the feature film documentary
created on his company, Dancemaker,
was nominated for an Academy Award
in 1998. His impact on the world of
American modern dance is comparable
to other notable choreographers such
as Merce Cunningham, Martha Gra-
ham, Jose Limón, and Doris Humphrey.
However, the true scope of Paul Taylor’s
career is seen in his dances, ranging from
outrageously humorous to purely roman-
tic to disturbingly tragic; he has proven
time and time again that he is one of the
prolific choreographers of the last fifty
years and, undoubtedly, the next fifty
years as well.
Photo: Also Playing by tom Caravaglia
30 UMS 10-11
C O M PA N Y H I S T O RY: T I M E L I N E
ABOUT
“More often than not, the kind of dance we work on together
turns out to be dependent on these different dancers as individuals.
Sometimes their limitations are as interesting as their strong points.
The finest choreography in the world does not mean a thing if the
dancers are not suited to it and they look terrible.20” —Paul Taylor
1 9 5 4
Taylor assembles a small company of
dancers and begins choreographing his
own works. Jack and the Beanstalk, Tay-
lor’s first professional work and collabora-
tion with artist Robert Rauschenberg, is
premiered.
1 9 5 5
Taylor joined the Martha Graham Dance
Company as soloist while continuing
to choreograph on his own troupe. He
would dance with the Martha Graham
Dance Company for seven years.
1 9 5 7
Dances by Paul Taylor, Taylor’s first full
evening performance of his own chorog-
raphy, is performed at the Kaufmann
Concert Hall in New York City. Seven
New Dances, a piece from this program,
provokes Louis Horst’s famous blank
review.
1 9 6 0
Taylor’s dance company makes its first
international tour. Meridian, Tablet, 3
Epitaphs, Rebus, and Circus Polka are
danced at Italy’s Spoleto Festival. While
at Spoleto, Taylor is invited to create The
White Salamander for the Netherlands
Ballet, using the pseudonym George H.
Tacet, Ph.D for the first time.
1 9 6 5
Paul Taylor choreographs From Sea to
Shining Sea, the first of a series of works
based on American themes and the first
in a series of collaborations with designer
John Rawlings. In addition, the Paul Tay-
lor Dance Company tours South America
on its first of eleven tours as goodwill
ambassadors under the auspices of the
U.S. State Department. The Company
also gets its first Music Director, Simon
Sadoff.
1 9 6 6
The Paul Taylor Dance Foundation is
established to preserve Taylor’s repertoire
while bringing it to the largest possible
audience and supporting the continued
creation of more dance works.
31GRUPO / TAYLOR
1 9 7 4
After the New York premiere of American
Genesis (Taylor's first full-evening work)
at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on
March 14, Taylor retires as a performer,
devoting himself fully to choreography.
1 9 8 0
Taylor receives the Dance Magazine
Award while Le Sacre du Printemps (The
Rehearsal) is seen by many as a landmark
approach to the renowned Stravinsky
score.
1 9 8 5
Taylor receives a MacArthur “Genius”
Award. Bettie de Jong, Company mem-
ber since 1962, retires from dancing but
remains Rehearsal Director.
1 9 8 7
Paul Taylor’s autobiography, Private Do-
main, which has since been nominated
for the National Book Critics Circle Award
in Biography, is published for the first
time. It is now in its third edition.
1 9 8 9
Taylor is elected Honorary Member of the
American Academy and Institute of Arts
and Letters.
1 9 9 2
Taylor receives an Emmy Award for
Speaking in Tongues, produced by
WNET/13. He also receives the Kennedy
Center Honors for “enhancing the lives
of people around the world and enrich-
ing the culture of our nation.” In addi-
tion, John Tomlinson, General Manager
for the Paul Taylor Dance Company, joins
the organization.
1 9 9 3
Taylor is awarded a National Medal of
Arts by President Bill Clinton at the White
House. Taylor also forms Taylor 2, now
directed by Linda Hodes, bringing many
of his masterworks to smaller venues
around the world. Taylor 2 also teaches
modern technique and Taylor style in
schools and workplaces, at community
gatherings, and during annual workshops
for pre-professional dancers.
1 9 9 5
Taylor receives the Algur H. Meadows
Award for Excellence in the Arts, for
work that “endures as some of the most
innovative and important the world has
ever seen.” He is also named one of
50 prominent Americans honored in
recognition of their outstanding achieve-
ment by the Library of Congress’ Office
of Scholarly Programs.
1 9 9 6
The Paul Taylor Dance Company performs
for the first time in the People’s Republic
of China.
1 9 9 9
Dancemaker, a film that documents the
experience of the Paul Taylor Dance Com-
pany’s trip to India, is nominated for an
Academy Award for best documentary
feature film of 1998.
2 0 0 4 - 2 0 0 5
Paul Taylor’s works were performed in all
50 States in celebration of the Paul Taylor
Dance Company’s 50th Anniversary.
2 0 0 5
Taylor wins the Association of Perform-
ing Arts Presenters Award of Merit for
Achievement in the Performing Arts,
and the Americans for the Arts Life Time
Achievement Award.
2 0 0 8
Taylor is awarded an honorary doctorate
by Adelphi University, with previous doc-
torates awarded by California Institute
of the Arts, Connecticut College, Duke
University, The Julliard School, Skidmore
College, Syracuse University, and the
State University of New York at Purchase.
20 Paul Taylor, “Down With Choreography” in The Modern Dance: Seven Statements of Belief
32 UMS 10-11
PA U L TAY L O R
PEOPLE
PAUl TAylOR was born in 1930 and grew up in and around Washington, D.C.
He was a swimmer and student of painting at Syracuse University in the late
1940s until he discovered dance, which he began studying at The Juilliard School.
He is now the last living member of the pantheon that created America’s indig-
enous art form, modern dance. At 80 – an age when most artists’ best work is
behind them – Taylor continues to win acclaim for the vibrancy, relevance and
power of his recent dances as well as his classics. As prolific as ever, he continues
to offer cogent observations on life’s complexities while tackling some of society’s
thorniest issues. He may propel his dancers through space for the sheer beauty of
it, or use them to wordlessly illuminate war, spirituality, morality, and mortality.
People in cities and towns throughout the world have enjoyed live modern dance
performances due largely to the far-reaching tours Taylor pioneered as a virtuoso
dancer in the 1950s. Having made his first dance in 1954, he has amassed a
growing collection of 132 dances performed by his celebrated company of 16
dancers and the six-member Taylor 2. He has set movement to music so memo-
rably that for many people it is impossible to hear certain orchestral works and
popular songs and not think of his dances. The subject of these dances represents
a breathtaking range: love, life, death, and everything in between. His work has
influenced dozens of men and women to create their own dances or form their
own troupe, and his own work has been influenced by collaborations with such
artists as Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Alex Katz, Tharon
Musser, Thomas Skelton, Gene Moore, John Rawlings, William Ivey Long, Jennifer
Tipton, and Santo Loquasto
Taylor has received every important
honor given to artists in the United
States:
the Kennedy Center Honors•
an Emmy Award•
the National Medal of Arts•
the Algur H. Meadows Award for •
Excellence in the Arts
one of 50 prominent Americans honored in •
recognition of their outstanding achieve-
ment by the Library of Congress’s Office of
Scholarly Programs
three Guggenheim Fellowships•
honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degrees from •
California Institute of the Arts, Connecti-
cut College, Duke University, The Juilliard
School, Skidmore College, the State Uni-
versity of New York at Purchase, Syracuse
University, and Adelphi University
a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (often •
called the “genius award”)
the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance •
Festival Award
the New York State Governor’s Arts Award•
the New York City Mayor’s Award of Honor •
for Art and Culture
elected one of ten honorary American •
members of the American Academy and
Institute of Arts and Letters
elected to knighthood by the French •
government
the • Légion d’Honneur, France’s highest
honor, for exceptional contributions to
French culture
33GRUPO / TAYLOR
PAUl TAylOR’S nEW yORK
The following is a snapshot from Paul Taylor’s insightful
autobiography Private Domain that gives a glimpse at
his experiences as an artist in mid-20th-century New
York City:
Up until then I had received scholarship handouts
from Syracuse, the American Dance Festival, and
Julliard. Classes at Martha’s School and Merce’s
were also gratis, and the ones from Tudor and Miss
Craske at the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School,
cut rate. Rehearsals with Martha, Merce, and lately
Pearl Lang I did for love, as did their other dancers;
and so, the subject of food being foremost on my
mind, I began to leaf through Variety and Show
Business, to find out who was holding auditions
for what. Although show dancing was not what I
had come to New York for, any kind of performing
experience was bound to be worthwhile, I started
making the rounds regardless of what the auditions
were for, as long as the job would pay.21
21 Taylor, 50.
Photo: Paul taylor by Maxine hicks
34 UMS 10-11
W H Y I M A K E D A N C E SB Y PA U L TAY L O R
PEOPLE
nO OnE HAS EVER ASKED me why
I make dances. But when flummoxed
by the financial difficulties of keeping a
dance company afloat, I sometimes ask it
of myself. Dance makers are most often
quizzed this way: which comes first, the
dance or the music? This conundrum was
answered most tellingly by the celebrated
choreographer George Balanchine, who
said: “The money.” Nobel Prize-winner
Orhan Pamuk has often been asked why
he writes. The savvy answer in his My
Father’s Suitcase was so meaningful and
struck such a chord of recognition in
me – his devotion, his steadfastness, his
anger – that it caused me to ponder my
own reasons. Motivated by Balanchine’s
sensible quip and Pamuk’s candid percep-
tiveness, this is how I might reply:
To put it simply, I make dances because
I can’t help it. Working on dances has
become a way of life, an addiction that
at times resembles a fatal disease. Even
so, I’ve no intention of kicking the habit.
I make dances because I believe in the
power of contemporary dance, its imme-
diacy, its potency, its universality. I make
dances because that’s what I’ve spent
many years teaching myself to do and
it’s become what I’m best at. When the
dances are good nothing else brings me
as much satisfaction. When they aren’t
I’ve had the luxury, in the past at least, of
being allowed to create others.
From childhood on, I’ve been a reticent
guy who spends a lot of time alone. I
make dances in an effort to communi-
cate to people. A visual medium can be
more effective than words. I make dances
because I don’t always trust my own
words or, for that matter, those of quite
a few others I’ve known. I make dances
because working with my dancers and
other cohorts allows me to spend time
with trustworthy people I’m very fond of
and who seldom give me trouble. Also
because I’m not suited to do the jobs
that regular folks do. There is no other
way I could make a living, especially not
at work that involves dealing face-to-face
with the public. I make dances because
crowds are kept at a safe distance. That’s
what proscenium stages are good for.
Dance making appeals to me because,
although group projects and democratic
systems are okay if they work, when on
the job I find that a benevolent dictator-
ship is best. I don’t make dances for the
masses, I make them for myself. That is,
even though they are meant to be seen
in public (otherwise, what’s the point?), I
make dances I think I’d like to see.
I’m not above filching steps from other
dance makers, but only from the best –
ones such as Martha Graham and Antony
Tudor – and only when I think I can make
an improvement.
Although there are only two or three
dances in me – ones based on simple im-
ages imprinted at childhood – I’ve gone
to great lengths to have each repeat of
them seem different. Because of the vari-
ous disguises my dances wear, viewers
sometimes mistake them for those made
by other choreographers. My reaction
to this depends on how talented I think
that person is. Imitating a chameleon has
always come easy. Maybe it’s genetic, or
a protective artifice. The only identity that
bugs me is that of the lauded person-
age. This is because the responsibilities
demanded by fame are nuisances that I
could easily do without. Ideally, my work
would be anonymous.
Stylized lies (novelistic truths) for the
stage are what the medium demands. I
love tinkering with natural gesture and
pedestrian movement to make them read
from a distance and be recognizable as
a revealing language that we all have
in common. Of particular interest is the
amorous coupling of men and women,
as well as the other variations on this
35GRUPO / TAYLOR
subject. In short, the remarkable range of
our human condition.
Whenever a dance of mine is controver-
sial it brings me much satisfaction. One
of my aims is to present questions rather
than answers. My passion for dance does
not prevent me from being terrified to
start each new piece, but I value these
fears for the extra energy they bring.
Getting to know the music I use is a
great pleasure even though toilsome.
After making sure that the rights to use
it are affordable, each piece needs to be
scanned, counted out and memorized.
Since I’ve not learned to read scores, this
can take an awful long time.
I make dances because it briefly frees
me from coping with the real world,
because it’s possible to build a whole
new universe with steps, because I want
people to know about themselves, and
even because it’s a thrilling relief to see
how fast each of my risk-taking dancers
can recover after a pratfall.
I make dances, not to arrange decorative
pictures for current dancers to perform,
but to build a firm structure that can
withstand future changes of cast. Quite
possibly I make dances to be useful or
to get rid of a chronic itch or to feel
less alone. I make them for a bunch of
reasons – multiple motives rooted in the
driving passion that infected me when I
first discovered dance.
The novelist Albert Camus said it best:
A man’s work is nothing but this slow trek
to rediscover through the detours of art
those two or three great and simple images
in whose presence his heart first opened.
from http://www.ptdc.org/about-artists/paul-taylor-
bio/why-i-make-dance
Photo: Esplanade by Lois Greenfield
36 UMS 10-11
D A N C E R S(in alphabetical order)
PEOPLE
mICHAEl APUzzO
North Haven, Connecticut
Appuzo studied economics and theater
at Yale University, graduating magna
cum laude in 2005. He began his dance
training while in college, performing and
choreographing in undergraduate organi-
zations. After being dance captain for an
original production of Miss Julie choreo-
graphed by Peter Pucci, Mr. Apuzzo de-
buted professionally at the Yale Repertory
Theater. He has performed in numerous
musicals and at equity theaters across the
county, and recently finished perform-
ing in the National Tour of Twyla Tharp’s
Broadway show, Movin’ Out. He holds
a second-degree black belt in Tae Kwon
Do. He made his debut with the Paul
Taylor Dance Company at New York City
Center in Spring 2009.
ElIzABETH BRAGG
Denver, Colorado
Bragg began dancing at the age of three.
She trained with Colorado Ballet and
Cleo Parker Robinson Dance. She gradu-
ated summa cum laude from Southern
Methodist University in Dallas, receiving
her B.F.A. in dance and an award for
outstanding achievement in dance. She
then moved to New York and has studied
at the Taylor School since 2005, attend-
ing several Taylor Intensives as well.
Ms. Bragg has performed with RedWall
Dance Theatre and Bardos Ballet. She
will make her debut with the Paul Taylor
Dance Company in Fall 2010.
ERAn BUGGE
Oviedo, Florida
Bugge began her dance training at the
Orlando Ballet School. She went on to
study at the Hartt School of the Univer-
sity of Hartford under the direction of
Peggy Lyman, graduating summa cum
laude with a B.F.A. in ballet pedagogy in
2005. She attended The Taylor School
and the 2004 and 2005 Taylor Summer
Intensives. Ms. Bugge has performed in
works by Amy Marshall, Katie Stevinson-
Nollet and Jean Grand-Maître. She
was also a member of Full Force Dance
Theatre and the Adam Miller Dance
Project. She joined the Paul Taylor Dance
Company in Fall 2005.
mICHEllE FlEET
Bronx, New York
Fleet began her dance training at age
four. She attended Ballet Hispanico of
New York during her training at Talent
Unlimited High School. There she was
a member of The Ballet Hispanico Jr.
Company. Ms. Fleet earned her B.F.A. in
dance from Purchase College in 1999
and received her M.B.A. in business man-
agement in 2006. She has performed in
works by Bill T. Jones, Merce Cunning-
ham, Kevin Wynn, and Carlo Menotti.
Ms. Fleet joined Taylor 2 in the summer
of1999. She made her debut with the
Paul Taylor Dance Company in September
2002.
FRAnCISCO GRACIAnO
San Antonio, Texas
Graciano began dancing and acting
at an early age. He received a B.F.A. in
dance from Stephens College for Women
(male scholarship), and scholarships from
the Alvin Ailey School and The Taylor
School. He has been a member of TAKE
Dance Company, Connecticut Ballet, Ben
Munisteri Dance Company, Cortez & Co.
Contemporary/Ballet, Pascal Rioult Dance
Theater, and Dusan Tynek Dance Theater,
among others. He also appeared in the
operas Aida and White Raven directed by
Robert Wilson. Mr. Graciano joined Taylor
2 in February 2004 and made his debut
with the Paul Taylor Dance Company in
Granada, Spain in Summer 2006.
lAURA HAlzACK
Suffield, Connecticut
Halzack began her dance training at
the age of four with Brenda Barna. She
furthered her training at The School of
the Hartford Ballet and studied at the
Conservatory of Dance at Purchase Col-
lege. Ms. Halzack graduated summa cum
laude with a degree in history from the
University of New Hampshire in 2003.
She then studied at the Hartt School
and at The Taylor School’s 2004 Summer
Intensive. She has performed with the
Amy Marshall Dance Company and Syren
Modern Dance and has enjoyed teaching
in her home state. Ms. Halzack studied
at The Taylor School for two years before
joining the Paul Taylor Dance Company in
Summer 2006.
37GRUPO / TAYLORPhoto: Esplanade by Lois Greenfield
38 UMS 10-11
PARISA KHOBDEH
Plano, Texas
Khobdeh trained under Kathy Chamber-
lain and Gilles Tanguay. She earned her
B.F.A. from Southern Methodist Univer-
sity and, while a student there and at the
American Dance Festival as a Tom Adams
Scholar, she worked with choreogra-
phers Robert Battle, Judith Jamison, and
Donald McKayle, among others. She also
attended Taylor and Graham Intensives in
New York City. Ms. Khobdeh has choreo-
graphed dances to benefit human rights
organizations, as well as for independent
films. In July 2006 she made her New
York theatrical debut at the Stella Adler
Studios in the lead role of Lanford Wil-
son’s Burn This. She premiered with the
Paul Taylor Dance Company at the Ameri-
can Dance Festival in Summer 2003.
ROBERT KlEInEnDORST
Roseville, Minnesota
Kleinendorst graduated from Luther
College in 1995 with a B.A. in voice
and dance. After moving to New
York, he danced with the Gail Gilbert
Dance Ensemble, and Cortez & Co. Mr.
Kleinendorst also performed with Anna
Sokolow’s Players Projects at The Ken-
nedy Center in Washington, D.C. Having
studied at The Taylor School since 1996,
he joined Taylor 2 in August 1998. Mr.
Kleinendorst joined the Paul Taylor Dance
Company in Fall 2000.
AnnmARIA mAzzInI
Mazzini began dancing in Allentown,
Pennsylvania under the direction of Fran-
ces Evers, and later earned her B.F.A.
at the Meadows School of the Arts at
Southern Methodist University. While
working as an art model for painters
and sculptors, she studied at The Taylor
School and in 1995 joined Taylor 2. She
has been a guest artist with CorbinDanc-
es, the Amy Marshall Dance Company,
Kim Gibilisco Dances, Karla Wolfangle,
and Juliette Soucie. Ms. Mazzini teaches
modern dance on the road and at The
Taylor School, choreographs and per-
forms her own work, and is an accom-
plished jewelry designer and creator of
AMulets, seen at www.annmaria.com.
She made her debut with the Paul Taylor
Dance Company at the 1999 American
Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina.
Photo: Also Playing by tom Cararaglia
39GRUPO / TAYLOR
SEAn PATRICK mAHOnEy
Bensalem, Pennsylvania
At age 12, Mahoney began training with
Fred Knecht and by attending Princeton
Ballet School on scholarship. He became
an apprentice at American Repertory
Ballet (ARB) and then became a featured
dancer with the company. After graduat-
ing high school in 1993, he was chosen
as one of the first members of Taylor
2. Mr. Mahoney later danced for David
Parsons, Alex Tressor, and Geoffrey Doig-
Marx and was in Radio City’s Christmas
Spectacular. He returned to ARB under
the direction of Graham Lustig and mar-
ried his dance partner, Peggy Petteway.
Mr. Mahoney rejoined Taylor 2 in Sum-
mer 2002. His debut with the Paul Taylor
Dance Company was in January 2004.
mICHAEl nOVAK
Rolling Meadows, Illinois
Novak started his dance training at age
ten at the Bonnie Lindholm School of
the Dance. He continued his training on
scholarship at The University of the Arts,
the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet, and
Springboard Danse Montreal, and in
2009, graduated magna cum laude and
Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University
with a B.A. in dance. He has performed
featured roles in repertory by Bill T.
Jones, James Kudelka, Vaslav Nijinsky,
and Stephen Petronio, and has worked
for numerous choreographers, includ-
ing Gina Gibney, Daniel Gwirtzman, and
Bonnie Scheibman. Mr. Novak started
studying at the Taylor School in 2008
and participated in the Taylor Summer
Intensive before joining the Company in
Summer 2010.
AIlEEn ROEHl
Hiedelberg, Germany
Roehl began her dance training at the
Heidelberg School of the Arts with Isabel
Christie and Carolyn Carattini. Under
Mrs. Christie’s direction she danced many
roles including Puck, The Firebird, Aurora
in The Sleeping Beauty, and Nikia in La
Bayadere. She received her B.F.A. from
the University of Hartford’s Hartt School
where she performed works by Martha
Graham, Peggy Lyman, Katie Stevenson-
Nollet, Jean Grand-Maitre, Kirk Peterson,
Alla Nikitina, Ralph Perkins, and Adam
Miller. Aileen was a member of the Amy
Marshall Dance Company from Septem-
ber 2005 through May 2010, and was
the Company’s resident costume de-
signer. She joined the Paul Taylor Dance
Company in June 2010.
Photo: Also Playing by tom Cararaglia
40 UMS 10-11
JAmES SAmSOn
Jefferson City, Missouri
Samson began his dance training at age
eight. He received a B.F.A. in dance with
a minor in business from Southwest Mis-
souri State University, then went on to
study as a scholarship student with the
David Parsons New Arts Festival, Pilobo-
lous Intensive Workshop, and the Alvin
Ailey Summer Intensive where he was se-
lected to perform in Paul Taylor’s Airs set
by Linda Kent. Mr. Samson has danced
for Charleston Ballet Theatre, Omaha
Theatre Company Ballet, Omega Dance
Company, New England Ballet, Connecti-
cut Ballet, and the Amy Marshall Dance
Company. He joined the Paul Taylor
Dance Company in February 2001.
JEFFREy SmITH
Rhode Island
Smith began his performing career sing-
ing and tap dancing. Upon entering the
Boston Conservatory as a musical theater
major, he had the opportunity to perform
works by Paul Taylor, José Limón, Sean
Curran, and Anna Sokolow, and later he
switched majors to graduate with a B.F.A.
in dance performance. After graduating
in 2001, he became a member of the
Martha Graham Ensemble performing
featured roles in Diversion of Angels, El
Penitente, and the duet from A Dancer’s
World, and Bertram Ross’s Nocturne.
During this time he participated in The
Taylor School Winter and Summer Inten-
sives and became a member of Taylor 2
in March 2005. Mr. Smith made his de-
but with the Paul Taylor Dance Company
in Cleveland in May 2005.
mICHAEl TRUSnOVEC
Yaphank, New York
Trusnovec began dancing at age six,
and attended the Long Island High
School for the Arts. In 1992 he was
honored by the National Foundation for
Advancement in the Arts (youngARTS)
and was named a Presidential Scholar in
the Arts. In 1996 he received a B.F.A. in
dance performance from Southern Meth-
odist University in Dallas. Professionally,
he danced with Taylor 2 from 1996 to
1998, and has appeared with Cortez &
Co. Contemporary/Ballet, and Corbin-
Dances. Fall 1998 marked his debut with
the Paul Taylor Dance Company. Mr.
Trusnovec received a 2006 New York
Dance and Performance Award (The
Bessie) for his body of work during the
2005-06 Taylor season.
Photo: Also Playing by tom Cararaglia
41GRUPO / TAYLOR
Amy yOUnG
Washington State
Young spent her senior year of high
school studying at the Interlochen Arts
Academy in Michigan prior to entering
The Juilliard School in New York, where
she earned a B.F.A. in 1996. She joined
Taylor 2 in August of that year. Ms.
Young enjoys teaching and has been on
the faculty of Alaska Dance Theatre in
Anchorage, Perry-Mansfield Perform-
ing Arts Camp, Metropolitan Ballet of
Tacoma, and The Taylor School. She also
dances with TAKE Dance Company. Ms.
Young made her debut with the Paul
Taylor Dance Company at the Paris Opera
House in January 2000.
JAmIE RAE WAlKER
Walker began her ballet and modern
dance training at age eight in Levittown,
Pennsylvania and later she performed
with the Princeton Ballet, now American
Repertory Ballet. In 1991 she began train-
ing at the Central Pennsylvania Youth
Ballet where she performed principal and
soloist roles in many Balanchine ballets.
In 1992 she was awarded a scholar-
ship by Violette Verdy at the Northeast
Regional Dance Festival in Illinois. Ms.
Walker joined Miami City Ballet in 1994
and performed principal and soloist roles
in Balanchine and Taylor dances until
2000. In 2001 she received a scholarship
to attend The Taylor School and was part
of the original cast of Twyla Tharp’s
Broadway show, Movin’ Out. Ms. Walker
joined Taylor 2 in Fall 2003, and became
a member of the Paul Taylor Dance Com-
pany in Summer 2008.
Photo: Also Playing by tom Cararaglia
42 UMS 10-11
A R T I S T I C S TA F FHere are some of the behind-the-scenes members of the Paul Taylor Dance Company.
PEOPLE
Bettie De Jong
Rehearsal Director
Bettie de Jong joined the Paul Taylor
Dance Company in 1962 and danced
until 1985—the longest tenure of any of
the 124 people who have been members
of the Company. De Jong was born in
Sumatra, Indonesia, and in 1946 moved
to Holland, where she continued her ear-
ly training in dance and mime. Her first
professional engagement was with the
Netherlands Pantomime Company. After
coming to New York City to study at the
Martha Graham School, she performed
with the Graham Company, the Pearl
Lang Company, John Butler, and Lucas
Hoving, and was seen on CBS-TV with
Rudolf Nureyev in a duet choreographed
by Paul Taylor. Ms. de Jong joined the
Taylor Company in 1962. Noted for her
strong stage presence and long line, she
was Mr. Taylor’s favorite dancing partner
and, as Rehearsal Director, has been
his right arm for the past 35 years. In
November 2007 she received the Dance
Magazine Award.
John Tomlinson
Managing Director
Edson Womble
Director of Finance and Administration
Alan Olshan
Director of Marketing
Kim Chan
Director of Development
Lisa Labrado
Director of Public Relations
Holden Kellerhals
Director of Operations
Andy LeBeau
Company and Rehearsal Manager
Tom Patrick
Administrator and Archival Supervisor
Ann Wagar
Touring Supervisor
Toni Hsu
Associate Director of Development
Steve Carlino
Production and Assistant Company
Manager
Brian Jones
Lighting Supervisor
JOBS In A DAnCE COmPAny
Sound Engineer: This person is re-
sponsible for music and/or its am-
plification during the performance.
lighting Designer: The person
who decides which lights will help
create the desired mood of the
dance. Mood is created through
the use of light, shadow, and
color.
Stagehands: The crew who sets
the scenery on stage or “flies it in”
using a pulley system. The crew
also helps dress, launder and iron
costumes, and run the light board
(a computer with all of the differ-
ent lighting “looks” or cues in it).
43GRUPO / TAYLOR
REPERTOIRE
L E S A C R E D U P R I N T E M P S ( T H E R E H E A R S A L )
Choreographer: Paul Taylor
music: Igor Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring, arrangement for piano
Premiere: January 15, 1980
Casting: Dance students from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance have had an opportunity to learn this
piece, they have worked on it in rehearsal with experts in Taylor repertoire and technique, they have visited the company’s New
York studio, and use all of these exclusive experiences to perform Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rehearsal), an honor and privilege
that has not been granted to any other student dancers outside of the company.
One of Taylor’s biggest hits, Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rehearsal) is one of the best-known American reinterpretations of Stra-
vinksy’s The Rite of Spring. The Stravinsky score was originally composed for the 1913 ballet of the same name and it tells the
story of a pagan sacrifice, the plot of which calls for an adolescent girl—the chosen sacrifice—to dance herself to death.22
In Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rehearsal), Stravinksky’s score accompanies the telling of two parallel stories, neither of which relates
to pagan sacrifice. The piece begins, as the title would dictate, with a ballet rehearsal. Mayhem however, ensues, beginning with
the kidnapping of a baby, who is thrown around like a football. As Jennie Schulman, of Back Stage magazine explains, “The rest
of the cast are seen in madcap chases with crooks, henchmen, and police sufficient to fill out a dozen silent films. Ultimately, ev-
eryone gets stabbed to death in staccato moves typical of the jerky cuts in old films. Villains, heroes, and heroines all expire at the
conclusion. It’s a grand spoof.23”
Using a “comic-strip pictorial style,” most of the choreography keeps the dancers in tension-filled profiles.24
According to Alan M. Kriegsman of The Washington Post, “It takes a genius to upstage another genius, and that’s just about what
Paul Taylor accomplished in his deliciously berserk dance version of Igor Stravinsky’s hallowed, epoch-making score… Taylor uses
this musical masterpiece as if it were simply a fiendishly interesting piece of music... in devising a dance charade of ever so brittle,
arch and waspish humor.”
22 Grout, Donald Jay. A History of Western Music. New York, W.W Norton & Company, 2001, 704.23 Schulman, Jennie. “Paul Taylor Dance Company in three gems. (Dance Diary)” Back Stage Magazine, v46 i12, p. 11, March 24, 2005.24 Kisselgoff, Anna. “Bach as a fount for Taylor’s choreographic games.” New York Times, March 4, 2000
44 UMS 10-11
A L S O P L AY I N G
V
Choreographer: Paul Taylor
music: Gaetano Donizetti
Premiere: April 8, 2009
Casting: Members of the Paul Taylor Dance Company
“Ballet music by Donizetti propels a Vaudeville revue with acts ranging from an Apache dance and a tap-dancing horse (a true
hoofer) to a striptease and flag-waving march. Among the performers are a toreador whose sissy bulls are frightened of her, a
dying swan in her lengthy final throes, and a star-struck stagehand who takes a turn with his broom. The dance is ‘dedicated to all
Vaudevillians, especially those who went on no matter what.’
‘A madcap tribute to vaudeville [that] celebrates the sublime and the ridiculous aspects of the traveling theater families who
brought entertainment to small-town America between the Civil War and the advent of radio…. It reminds us that vaudeville was
a rare breath of the world of art and music for young people in dusty farming towns. The vaudeville performers of old, if perhaps
technically flawed, were plucky and gave their all.’ – Kristen Fountain, Valley News, April 9, 200925”
25 http://www.ptdc.org/repertoire/also-playing
REPERTOIRE
Photo: Also Playing by tom Cararaglia
45GRUPO / TAYLOR
W H AT M A K E S P T D C U N I Q U E ?
ABOUT
BOTH ARTISTICAlly and historically
there is a great deal about the work of
Paul Taylor that makes him historically
distinctive.
The key to much of Taylor’s choreog-
raphy can be found in its vigor and
simplicity as well as its innate musical-
ity. His works relish movement rather
than fussing with steps. On rural
Long Island, where Taylor lives almost
reclusively, he takes inspiration from
anything and everything.26
On stage, Paul Taylor continually pushes
the boundaries of his art form. To begin
with, as dance critic Debra Jowitt notes
in the documentary Paul Taylor: Dance
Maker, Paul Taylor’s choreography
challenged prevailing artistic conven-
tions in modern dance. For example,
initially modern dance choreography
was organized around a central figure,
as it was with the choreography used by
Martha Graham’s dance company. “With
Taylor,” Jowitt says, “it’s the idea of the
dance.” When watching a Paul Taylor
piece Jowitt explains she is struck by the
question, “Where did he get the idea to
do a dance on that subject?” Taylor’s
attention and use of ordinary movements
from everyday life gives his choreography
a distinct signature.
Off the stage, the Paul Taylor Dance
Company helped change the nature of
the modern dance profession. As one of
the first touring modern dance compa-
nies, the Paul Taylor Dance Company
toured more than 500 cities in 62 coun-
tries in its first 50 years. The performers
in Taylor’s company were also among
the first to be paid regularly for their
work. Even now, especially early in a
dancer’s career, it is not necessarily as-
sumed that every performance opportu-
nity will be paid.
26 http://catnyp.nypl.org/search~blolclilplrlal
Photo: Also Playing by tom Cararaglia
46 UMS 10-11
GRUPO CORPOPAULO PEDERNEIRAS artistic director
Friday, January 21, 11 AM – 12 NOON • POWER CENTER
U M S Y o U t h P E R F o R M A N C E
Photo: Grupo Corpo Ima by Jose Luiz Pederneiras
47GRUPO / TAYLOR
ABOUT
T H E C O M PA N Y
GRUPO CORPO is a contemporary dance company that operates out of the city of Belo Horizonte—the “Secret Cultural Capital”
of Brazil. As capital of Minas Gerias, which is the second most populous state in Brazil, Bella Horizonte is the third largest city and
industrial center in Brazil. A repository of contemporary architecture, this rapidly growing city is also home to Brazil’s flourishing
avant garde art scene.
Founded by members of the Pederneiras family in 1975, Grupo Corpo, or “Body Group,” in many ways works as one large family.
Aside from the members of the Pederneiras family that actually work for the company, Grupo Corpo’s twenty members are famous
for the harmony and unity of their performance style. “We are like a single body,” says choreographer Rodrigo Pederneiras, “there
is no hierarchy of dancers or prima ballerina.” Pederneiras continues, explaining that his is a company in which “everyone is equal;
while it is important that each member maintain their own personality, in this company it is important that it be done in light of
what’s best for the group.” As a result, Grupo Corpo performances tend to emphasize the interplay of the larger performance ele-
ments like sets, costumes, choreography, and music, rather than emphasize the performance of any individual dancer.
In developing work, Grupo Corpo draws on a wide variety of elements and influences, producing shows of diverse characters—
cerebral, cosmopolitan, primitive, existential, and tough—while always keeping in sight the company’s distinctive traits of physical-
ity and unity.
Photo: Grupo Corpo Ima by Jose Luiz Pederneiras
48 UMS 10-11
1 9 7 5
The company debuted its first work,
Maria Maria. Featuring original music by
Milton Nascimento, a script by Fernando
Brant, and choreography by the Argen-
tine Oscar Aralz, the ballet would go
on to spend six years on stage and tour
fourteen countries. The piece was an im-
mediate critical, popular, and commercial
success.
1 9 7 6 – 1 9 8 2
While the success of Maria Maria was
still reverberating throughout Brazil and
in various European and Latin American
countries, Grupo Corpo staged no less
than six productions between 1976 and
1982.
1 9 8 5
The company launched Preludios, its
second great success and a theatrical
piece incorporating 24 Chopin preludes
interpreted by pianist Nelson Freire. The
show debuted to public and critical
acclaim at the First International Dance
Festival of Rio de Janeiro and would ce-
ment the group’s reputation in the world
of contemporary Brazilian dance. Grupo
Corpo then entered a new phase, estab-
lishing its own unique theatrical language
and choreography, with repertoire featur-
ing the works of Richard Strauss, Heitor
Villa-Lobos, Edward Elgar, among others,
the company began combining classical
technique with contemporary Brazilian
dance.
1 9 8 9
The group debuted Missa do Orfanato,
a complex theatrical reading of Mozart’s
Missa Solemnis K. 139.
1 9 9 2
The group underwent a radical trans-
formation with the production of 21, a
ballet which confirmed the uniqueness of
Rodigro Pederneiras’s choreography and
the unmistakable persona of the dance
troupe. Utilizing the singular sounds of
Brazilian instrumental group Uakti, as
well as ten themes composed by Marco
Antonio Guimaraes, 21 leaves behind
the group’s preoccupation with technical
form and sees it taking apart melodies
and rhythms in order to explore their
underlying ideas. The decision to once
again use specifically composed scores –
a mark of the group’s first three shows in
the 1970’s – allowed it to further explore
the language of popular Brazilian dance.
As the critic Rul Fontana Lopes put it,
the group had finally found “the most
precise translation of the word ballet into
the mother tongue.”
1 9 9 3
Nazareth is produced, expressing Rodrigo
Pederneiras’s fascination with traversing
the worlds of both popular and tradition-
al music. Though built on a solid, classi-
cal foundation, the production brought
together in good-humored fashion the
light-hearted and sensual elements inher-
ent Brazillian popular dances.
1 9 9 6 – 1 9 9 9
Grupo Corpo is the resident dance com-
pany of the Maison de la Danse in Lyon,
France. Several of the group’s creations
(Bach, Parabelo and Benguele) were first
staged in Europe over this period. Today,
having created 34 choreographed works,
this Brazilian dance company maintains
ten ballets in its repertoire at any one
time and gives 80 performances a year in
places as distinctive as Iceland, South Ko-
rea, the United States, Lebanon, Canada,
Italy, Singapore, the Netherlands, Israel,
France, Japan, and Mexico.
2 0 0 4
Lecuona is produced, a work that draws
on thirteen love songs by the Cuban
composer Ernesto Lecuona (1895-1963)
and in which Rodrigo Pederneiras dem-
onstrated his gift for the creation of pas-
de-deux (a dance for two).
C O M PA N Y H I S T O RY: T I M E L I N E
ABOUT
49GRUPO / TAYLOR
Photo: Grupo Corpo Ima by Jose Luiz Pederneiras
50 UMS 10-11
Photo: Grupo Corpo Ima by Jose Luiz Pederneiras
51GRUPO / TAYLOR
T H E P E D E R N E I R A S FA M I LY
PAUlO PEDERnEIRAS
“O Corpo [Grupo Corpo] is under
nobody’s name: we were able to get an
identity as a group.” It’s a fact: dance,
music, lighting, costumes, stage setting—
everything is integrated as one in Grupo
Corpo’s creations. But someone must
direct the group, and as general and
artistic director of the company, this has
been Paulo Pederneiras's job since he
founded the company in 1975.
According to Paulo, “A Brazilian com-
pany has great physical diversity. Each
dancer’s movement is different, and yet
the idea of being a group is not lost.
That’s where the dance draws its strength
from.” The words describe what hap-
pens with the bodies, but equally serve to
describe Grupo Corpo. Under the direc-
tion of Paulo, the company made a virtue
out of its diversities and it continues mak-
ing this virtue the principle of creation.
Paulo is also responsible for the lighting
of the dances, and since Bach (1996),
he has also been involved in the creation
of stage setting. For Paulo, the light is a
strong presence, which both illuminates
and serves as a space for dancing: “I
think of the space the same way I think
of the lighting. Sometimes the light is
the space.” As a signature characteristic
of the company’s work, examples of this
connection between light and space ap-
pear throughout the repertoire:
In • O Corpo (2000), the distinction
between stage setting and lighting
virtually disappears and the dancers
simply dance in red.
In • 21 (1992), a spot light serves as a
mobile tunnel for a block of bodies.
In • Sete ou Oito (1994), each dancer
at the end of the piece individualizes
themselves in a vertical column of
color.
Besides his work with Grupo Corpo, Pau-
lo has done lighting projects for several
operas, including Don Giovanni, Lucia de
Lammermoor, Salome, and Orfeo. He
has also done the set designing for exhib-
its such as the section for “Indigenous
and Anthropologic Art” at the Brazil 500
Years Exhibit, at the Oca (Hut), and at
Ibirapuera Park in Sao Paulo.
RODRIGO PEDERnEIRAS
“It was only in 1988, when working
in Uakti, that I started thinking about
what it would be like to make a dance
which would be more inside our body.”
Rodrigo’s words define a crucial moment
not only for his career, but also for Grupo
Corpo as well. From this moment, his
work with Grupo Corpo can be seen
as a variety of explorations of the idea,
“dance inside our body.”
Rodrigo has been Grupo Corpo’s cho-
reographer since 1978 and his work is
known and recognized nationally and
internationally. In Brazil he has cho-
reographed for the Ballet do Theatro
Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, the Ballet do
Teatro Guaira, and the Ballet da Cidade
de Sao Paulo. Outside of Brazil he has
choreographed for Deutsche Oper Berlin
Company (Germany), Les Ballets Jazz
Montreal (Canada), Stradttheater Saint
Gallen (Switzerland), and Opera du Rhin
(France). Creating for Grupo Corpo, how-
ever, remains his main interest.
Rodrigo learned how to dance on the
streets, and his fundamentally modern
movement vocabulary is informed by
the samba, ballroom dances, Brazilian
celebrations, capoeira as well as the joy,
humor, violence, and ambiguity of the
world around him. While Rodrigo modi-
fies and manipulates classical movements
in an intensely Brazilian way, his work is
entirely free from the exotic, boastful,
and easy identities. Music is also at the
core of his work and guides all of his
creative process.
If Gupo Corpo has a language all its
own today, it is Rodrigo’s language:
it has his unmistakable accent and is
understood by each of the company’s
dancers as a physical and unified explo-
ration of the body.
PEOPLE
52 UMS 10-11
D A N C E R S + A R T I S T I C S TA F F
DAnCERS
Alberto Venceslau
Ana Paula Cançado
Ana Paula Oliveira
Andressa Corso
Carolina Amares
Cassilene Abranches
Danielle Pavam
Danielle Ramalho
Edson Hayzer
Elias Bouza
Everson Botelho
Filipe Bruschi
Flávia Couret
Gabriela Junqueira
Grey Araújo
Helbert Pimenta
Janaina Castro
Mariana do Rosário
Silvia Gaspar
Uátila Coutinho
Victor Vargas
ARTISTIC STAFF
Carmen Purri
Rehearsals Director
Pedro Pederneiras
Technical Director
Choreography Assistants
Ana Paula Cançado
Carmen Purri
Miriam Pederneiras
Bettina Bellomo
Maitre de Ballet
Anna Maria Ferreira
Pianist
Gabriel Pederneiras
Technical Coordinator
Virgilio Dangelo
Stage Manager
Technicians
Eustáquio Bento
Lucas Araújo
Stefan Böttcher
Alexandre Vasconcelos
Wardrobe Assistant
Marcello Cláudio Teixeira
Administrator
Kênia Marques
Secretary
Cândida Braz
Documentation
Cristina Castilho
Communication
Cláudia Ribeiro
Manager
Patricia Galvã
Production
JOBS In A DAnCE COmPAny
Ballet mistress: A woman who
directs, trains, and sometimes acts
as a choreographer for a ballet or
dance company.
Stage manager: The person
who conducts the flow of each
performance: she supervises the
lighting and sound and calls the
dancers to their places before the
curtain rises.
Wardrobe Assistant: The person
who maintains the costumes
and shoes, making sure they are
always in good condition and that
the dancers can move comfort-
ably while wearing them. He also
oversees the construction of new
costumes for the dancers.
Production manager: This per-
son has a variety of responsibili-
ties including overseeing set and
costume construction and lighting
and sound set-up and operation
before each performance. The
production manager coordinates
and supervises all aspects of
touring, including transporting
the equipment and planning with
each theater manager the lighting
and special needs required for
each dance.
PEOPLE
53GRUPO / TAYLOR
PA R A B E L O
Choreographer: Rodrigo Pederneiras
music: Tom Zé and José Miguel Wisnik
length: 60 minutes
Premiere: 1997
Casting: Alberto Venceslau, Ana Paula Oliveira, Andressa Corso, Carolina Amares, Cassilene Abranches, Danielle Pavam, Dan-
ielle Ramalho, Edson Hayzer, Elias Bouza, Everson Botelho, Filipe Bruschi, Flavia Couret, Gabriela Junqueira, Grey Araújo, Helbert
Pimenta, Janaina Castro, Mariana do Rosário, Silvia Gaspar, Uátila Coutinho, Victor Vargas
Countryside inspiration and a contemporary soundtrack written by Tom Zé and José Miguel Wisnik, prompted choreographer
Rodrigo Pederneiras to bring Parabelo to life in 1997; he refers to it as his “most Brazilian and regional” creation. The choreog-
raphy is full of hip swaying and feet stamping and is a ravishing statement of maturity and expressive teachings. The work’s visual
aesthetic evokes images of votive candle offerings present in countryside churches and the intensity of costume’s colors are veiled
by black tulle at the beginning, but are set free at the end to show off joyous and hot colors. As is characteristic of Grupo Corpo,
Parbelo plays with lighting, shadows, and colors in a way that blends dancer, set, and stage into one. 27
The underlying narrative is based on the hard working lives and traditional culture of poor rural communities in Brazil. The en-
semble of twenty dancers begins crouch huddled on the floor, bent over backwards, shoulders rounded in a kind of Yogic position,
as they shuffle crab-like in tight unison. Scene by scene the pace quickens and the fluidity and energy of their bodies gets released
through gravity defying moves, precisely synchronized footwork, circles of gyrating hips, romantic duets, and breathtaking physical
movements full of spirit.28
27 http://www.grupocorpo.com.br/site/index.php?mudaLingua=2#28 http://www.edinburghguide.com/festival/2010/edinburghinternationalfestival/grupocorporeview-6323
REPERTOIRE
Photo: Grupo Corpo Parablo
54 UMS 10-11
R E S O U R C E S
Photo: Dancer with a Bouquet
55GRUPO / TAYLOR
N AT I O N A L S TA N D A R D SThe following are national standards addressed through these Youth Performances
and through the ideas in these Curriculum Connections.
ENGAGE
SOCIAl SCIEnCES
U.S. History K-4
NSS-USH.K-4.1 Living and Working To-
gether in Families and Communities Now
and Long Ago
U.S History 5-12
NSS-USH.5-12.1 Three Worlds Meet
Geography
NSS-G.K-12.4 Human Systems
SCIEnCE
Science K-4
NS.K-4.2 Physical Science
NS.K-4.4 Earth and Space Science
Science 5-8
NS.5-8.2 Physical Science
NS.5-8.4 Earth and Space Science
EnGlISH lAnGUAGE ARTS
language Arts K-12
NL-ENG.K-12.1 Reading For Perspective
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language
Skills
mATHEmATICS
mathematics Pre K-2
NM-ALG.PK-2.1 Understand Patterns,
Relations and Functions
NM-GEO.Pk-2.3 Apply Transformations
and Use Symmetry to Analyze Mathemat-
ical Situations
mathematics 3-5
NM-ALG.3-5.1 Understand Patterns,
Relations and Functions
NM-GEO.3-5.3 Appy Transformations
and Use Symmetry to Analyze Mathemat-
ical Situations
PERFORmInG ARTS
music K-4
NA-M.K-4.1 Singing, Alone and with
Others, a Varied Repertoire of Music
NA-M.K-4.3 Improvising Melodies, Varia-
tions, and Accompaniments
NA-M.K-4.6 Listening To, Analyzing and
Describing Music
NA-M.K-4.8 Understanding Relationships
Between Music, The Other Arts, and
Disciplines Outside the Arts.
NA-M.K-4.9 Understanding Music in
Relation to History and Culture
music 5-8
NA.M.5-8.1 Singing, Alone and with
Others, a Varied Repertoire of Music
NA.M.5-8.3 Improvising Melodies, Varia-
tions, and Accompaniments
NA.M.5-8.4 Composing and Arranging
Music Within Specified Guidelines
NA.M.5-8.6 Listening To, Analyzing and
Describing Music
NA.M.5-8.8 Understanding Relationships
Between Music, The Other Arts, and
Disciplines Outside The Arts
NA.M.5-8.9 Understanding Music in
Relation to History and Culture
Visual Arts K-4
NA-VA.K-4.6 Making Connections
Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines
Visual Arts 5-8
NA-VA.5-8.6 Making Connections Be-
tween Visual Arts and Other Disciplines
Dance K-4
NA-D.K-4.3 Understanding Dance as a
Way to Create and Communicate Mean-
ing
NA-D.K-4.5 Demonstrating and Under-
standing Dance in Various Cultures and
Historical Periods
NA-D.K-4.7 Making Connections Be-
tween Dance and Other Disciplines
Dance 5-8
NA-D.5-8.3 Understanding Dance as a
Way to Create and Communicate Mean-
ing
NA-D.5-8.5 Demonstrating and Under-
standing Dance in Various Cultures and
Historical Periods
NA-D.%-8.7 Making Connections Be-
tween Dance and Other Disciplines
APPlIED ARTS
Technology K-12
NT.K-12.3 Technology Productivity Tools
NT.K-12.4 Technology Communication
Tools
56 UMS 10-11
C U R R I C U L U M C O N N E C T I O N S
ENGAGE
The Youth Performances by the Paul Taylor Dance Company and Grupo Corpo give students a chance to explore the concept of
movement. To help connect these performances to classroom curriculum, pick one of these concepts and activities or create an
entire interdisciplinary curriculum with these as a base.
COnnECTIOnS By GRADE
KInDERGARTEn, FIRST GRADE,
SECOnD GRADE
Students in kindergarten, first grade and
second grade can look at body language
along with their study of Myself and Oth-
ers, Family, and Community.
Talk about how you can tell by the way
a person looks and moves if he or she is
feeling happy, sad or angry. The songs
“If You’re Happy and You Know It” and
“It’s All Right To Cry” would be good
additions here. Let students act out the
way people stand and walk when they
are feeling good and bad. Extend this by
discussing what you would do and how
you would act toward someone feeling
sad or angry, happy, excited, embar-
rassed, etc.
THIRD GRADE
Third graders study Michigan.
Michigan was settled by many ethnic
groups, all bringing with them their lan-
guage, traditions, and culture. What is a
folk dance? What kind of dances did the
early Michigan residents do? Were they
folk dances? When did they dance? Did
some residents not dance? Why?
Some special dances were popular in
Michigan as young people moved to the
beat of the Motown sound. How did
kids dance in the 50s, and 60s? Did they
dance differently than students do today?
Do dances and music reflect the times?
How? Were different dances done in
different eras?
Students might do a creative timeline of
dance through the ages to learn about
history, connect the arts to different
historical periods and understand the
purpose of, and how to make a timeline.
Have some fun. Play some music and
dance.
FOURTH GRADE, FIFTH GRADE
Some dances tell a story.
Dance Me a Story, Twelve Tales from the
Classic Ballets by Jane Rosenberg would
be fun to use with fourth and fifth grad-
ers. Combine telling the story with the
ballet music. Ask students if they think
the music describes the action. If there
isn’t music, and someone is telling a
story, what does he/she use to describe
the action? Review the definitions of
metaphors, similes and other descriptive
language. Give students a short summa-
ry of a story plot and have them embel-
lish it, taking the plot anywhere they like,
but using descriptive language to tell the
expanded story. Older students can have
fun choosing a simple story and pickig
music to go with it. They can use the
computer to do a podcast in which they
read a story and use music to embellish it
and express the concepts and ideas in the
story musically.
FIFTH GRADE
Fifth graders study America’s Past.
native Americans
Talk about the part dance played, and still
plays, in the lives of Native Americans.
What kinds of dances did they do? What
was the purpose of some of the dances?
Compare dance to prayer. For example,
a rain dance was asking the gods for
rain.
Listen to some Native American music.
You can find it on the internet. De-
scribe it. What kinds of instruments
were used? Discuss the part drumming
played in Native American life. Listen
to the drums in Native American music.
At this point it would be interesting to
talk about where the people got their
instruments. They didn’t go downtown
and buy them. They used the materi-
als around them to make instruments.
Divide the class into groups. Make each
57GRUPO / TAYLOR
group a specific Native American tribe
that lives in an environment specific to
their tribe, like the groups that lived on
the plains. Pass out pictures of the en-
vironment in which they lived. Tell them
to look carefully at the picture and figure
out what natural resources, that is things
they could find around them, they would
use to make an instrument. What would
the instrument sound like? Look like?
Make some instruments.
Look at some of the lyrics to Native
American songs and read some Native
American poetry. Much of it is about
life at the time and the kinds of things
the people needed to survive. Divide
students in groups. Tell each group to
write down the problems faced by the
Native Americans (getting food, shelter,
staying safe, etc.). Tell students to write
a group poem or song or prayer about
a problem or need, and then make up a
dance about it.
Colonial Americans
Colonial Americans had dances they
performed. What were they like? What
kind of music did they listen to and dance
to in the early days of our country? When
did they dance? Was dance an important
part of colonial life? How? Why?
What is a circle dance? Did they do them
a long time ago? Do we do them now?
What about a minuet, a square dance,
etc? With music, teach students how to
do some of these dance.
COnnECTIOnS By SUBJECT AREA AnD IDEA
mOVEmEnT
movement: Verbs
Dance is movement. How do we move?
Ask students to move across the room
one at a time, each student moving a dif-
ferent way, trying not to repeat a move-
ment (skipping, hopping, etc.).
Name each type of movement. Introduce
the concept of verbs. Have students list
as many verbs as they can. Make a class
list. After viewing the Paul Taylor Dance
Company performance have students
write a descriptive paragraph using as
many different verbs as they can to de-
scribe the dance and the dancers.
movement: muscles
How do we move? Students study the
body. What a perfect time to talk about
muscles, what they are and what they
do. Depending on your curriculum,
explain inertia and momentum.
Some people can’t move parts of their
bodies or move their bodies well. Read
Dancing With Katya by Dori Charonas.
movement: nature
What moves beside people? Ask
students to describe the way different
animals move. Tie this in with your study
of mammals, bees, or birds. Act out the
the way different animals move. Tell
students to use words to compare the
movements of different animals.
What else in nature moves? Wind,
hurricanes and tornedos move. Waves
move. These are good to talk about in
relation to a unit on Weather. Define the
terms. What do they look like as they
move? Go to the internet and look up a
weather map. Show how weather can
be tracked. What are weather patterns?
Have students look at the weather map
every day for a few weeks and keep a
chart of the weather. They can also do
weather graphs.
Talk about movement in relation to
planets. Describe the movement of
the planets around the sun. Act it out.
Draw it. It forms a pattern. Look at the
constellations. They form a pattern
and that pattern tells a story. Dance
is movement, but it is also movement
with a pattern. Define pattern. Show
students examples of patterns. Divide
students in groups and have them act
out a movement pattern. Give students
patterns to complete. These can be
number patterns, letter patterns or pat-
terns of shapes. They can be done on
paper or using the computer. This can
be done in conjunction with a unit on
geometry.
movement: Patterns
The person who decides the pattern
of a dance is called the choreographer.
The pattern of the dance is called the
choreography. Look at the movements in
nature and see if you can see a pattern.
Look at some pictures of different types
of patterns. There are some great books
of quilt patterns. Different patterns
mean different things. (If it fits into your
curriculum here, you could discuss the
quilts that were used as maps during the
time of the Underground Railroad. If not,
bring this up during Black History Month)
Discuss pattern as a piece of art. Have
students create their own pattern. Let
young students use their bodies to create
the letters of the alphabet.
movement: Animation
If you have a computer lab, teach anima-
tion to the older students. How do we
use the computer to show movement?
The art teacher may want to step in here
and discuss the figure in motion as it is
painted, drawn or sculpted.
58 UMS 10-11
L E S S O N P L A N SArtsedge.org and PBS.org offer a wide range of arts-infused lesson plans and materials for educators to use.
Below are a few that relate to this Youth Performance.
ENGAGE
ExPlORInG THE ROOTS OF mODERn DAnCE In AmERICA
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/freetodance/lessonplans.html
Dance is an expression of culture, yet at the same time it is constrained by culture. The purpose of this lesson is to explore the role
of African culture in modern dance in America. The lesson will focus on three key areas. The first area will examine the Afro-Ca-
ribbean slave roots that were a part of modern dance and the ways that modern dance movements and themes reflected daily life
activities. The second area will focus on how modern dance reflected issues of Black pride, self-expression, and identity. The third
area will explore how modern dance themes of social justice and activism evolved in response to a racist American society.
mODERn DAnCE AnD THE HARlEm REnAISSAnCE
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/freetodance/lessonplans_2.html
The Harlem Renaissance was a time when Black culture flourished. This lesson explores how modern dance developed during this
era by focusing on the lives of important choreographers and dancers whose work was impacted by the constraints and possibili-
ties of the time.
STEPS OF A GIAnT: mARTHA GRAHAm (UnIT PlAn)
This unit is dedicated to exploring the work of Martha Graham, one of the most innovative and celebrated dance artists of the
20th century.
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/3782/
mERCE CUnnInGHAm: A lIFETImE OF DAnCE
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/connect/resources/1257/preview/
As Merce Cunningham describes it, he doesn’t choreograph dance pieces based upon an idea or story, but begins simply with an
exploration of movements observed or experienced in life. In this lesson plan, students get a chance to observe movement by creat-
ing a “movement journal”, and then they experiment with what they have observed to create a unique “movement vocabulary.”
SySTEmS OF THE BODy: CHOREOGRAPHy AnD mOVEmEnT
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/2012/
In this lesson, students create movement patterns that express information about the basic systems, organs, and processes of the
human body. They work in pairs and in groups to make movement choices that communicate scientific concepts in creative move-
ment, and make inquiries, through research and movement experimentation, into the ways in which the body’s systems work and
how those systems interact.
59GRUPO / TAYLOR
DAnCInG THROUGH POETRy
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/3534/
In this lesson, students look at poetry as a way to express the art of dance metaphorically. Students read two different poems about
break dancing in which one will show dance visually in the way the words are placed on paper and the other using its content to
represent dance.
ElEmEnTS OF DAnCE
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/2338/
How many ways can a person move? Students explore and discover the elements of dance by demonstrating various simple move-
ments. This exercise helps the teacher assess the students’ level of experience and ability with respect to dance. Students create
simple dances in small groups and perform them for the class. Students manipulate task cards to comprehend the elements of
dance and then they will be tested on their knowledge.
TEllInG A STORy THROUGH DAnCE
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/2347/
This lesson introduces students to the concept of emotionally and physically telling a story through dance and pantomime.
Students learn that in ballet the dancer is trained to act out the story/character with movement instead of words. The Nutcrack-
er serves as the foundation for the lesson and activities.
60 UMS 10-11
S U G G E S T E D R E A D I N G S
EXPLORE
Below is a list of books related to these performances that the Ann Arbor District Library helped create.
ElEmEnTARy + mIDDlE SCHOOl: nOn-FICTIOn
Dance!: No Matter What Kind of Dance You like to do, this Book is for You • by Apryl Lundsten
José!: Born to Dance: The Story of José Limón• by Susanna Reich
Imagine That! It’s Modern Dance, • Sorine by Stephanie Riva
How Can You Dance?• by Rick Walton
Legends of American Dance and Choreography• by Carin T. Ford
Edgar Degas: Paintings that Dance• by Maryann Cocca-Leffler
Martha Graham, a Dancer’s Life• by Russell Freedman
ElEmEnTARy + mIDDlE SCHOOl: FICTIOn
Can you Dance, Dalila?• by Virginia L Kroll
Dancing Shoes• by Noel Streatfeild
Tanya and the Red Shoes• by Patricia Lee Gauch
Ballet Magic• by Nancy Robison
Rosie’s Ballet Slippers• by Susan Hampshire
Presenting Tanya, the Ugly Duckling• by Patricia Lee Gauch
Belinda, the Ballerina• by Amy Young
ADUlT BOOKS (WITH TEEn APPEAl): nOn-FICTIOn
The Erick Hawkins Modern Dance Technique• by Renata Celichowska
Ailey Spirit: the Journey of an American Dance Company• by Robert Tracy
African-American Concert Dance: The Harlem Renaissance and Beyond• by John O. Perpener
Appreciating Dance: A Guide to the World’s Liveliest Art• by Harriet R. Lihs
Deep Song: The Dance Story of Martha Graham• by Ernestine Stodelle
Prime Movers: The Makers of Modern Dance in America• by Joseph H. Mazo
Conditioning for Dance• by Eric N. Franklin
61GRUPO / TAYLOR
O T H E R R E S O U R C E S
EXPLORE
Behind the Scenes Volume 3: Music and Dance. First Run Features, 2002.
David Parsons episode covers some basic vocabulary (choreographer, movement,
shape, movement patterns, movement sequence) and highlights the different ways
to view dance (dancers are viewed from above, below, dancing to convey a story and
dancing “to look pretty.”) Adds cartoons, and various other images that echo move-
ment providing a sense of broader context. Stage fight choreography is also included.
“Behind the Scenes,” a film by Juergen Wilcke.
Documentary: Dance Theater from Brazil, Grupo Corpo Companhia de Dança. West
Long Branch, NJ : Kultur, [2004], c1996.
A Dancer’s Journal: Martha Graham
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/3674
This interactive site introduces students to the life and work of Martha Graham,
known as “the mother of modern dance.” Students learn about specific Graham
dances through the journals of Jordy Kandinsky, a (fictional) new member of the Mar-
tha Graham Dance Company. In Jordy’s journals, students will find letters, newspaper
articles, checklists, photographs, video clips, and music that illuminate various aspects
of the dance Jordy is learning. Jordy’s journals for four Graham dances—Lamentation,
Appalachian Spring, Errand into the Maze and Diversion of Angels.
Dance magazine
http://www.dancemagazine.com
Online version of Dance Magazine that includes a Young Dancer section, re-
views, dance news, and features on dancers, choreographers, dance companies and
more.
62 UMS 10-11
The Guardian’s Step-By-Step Guides to Dance
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/dance+series/stepbystepguidetodance
These guides break down the works of current choreographers in a humorous and acces-
sible format. They cover biographies, elements of style, and quotes. Many well-known
choreographers are included, such as George Balanchine and Merce Cunningham.
The New Deal Stage: Selections From the Federal Theater Project 1935 – 1939.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/fedtp/fthome.html
This online presentation includes over 13,000 images of items selected from the Fed-
eral Theatre Project Collection at the Library of Congress. Featured here are stage
and costume designs, still photographs, posters, and scripts for productions of Mac-
beth and The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus as staged by Orson Welles, and for Power,
a topical drama of the period (over 3,000 images). Also included are 68 other play-
scripts (6,500 images) and 168 documents selected from the Federal Theatre Proj-
ect Administrative Records (3,700 images). The Federal Theatre Project was one of
five arts-related projects established during the first term of President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt under the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
Paul Taylor: Dancemaker. Docurama, 1998.
63GRUPO / TAYLOR
R E L AT E D O R G A N I Z AT I O N S
EXPLORE
lOCAl
University musical Society
881 N University Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1011
(734) 615-0122
www.ums.org
Swing City Dance Studio
1960 S Industrial E & F
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
(734) 668-7782
www.swingcitydance.com
University of michigan
Department of Dance
3501 Dance Building
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2217
(734) 763-5460
www.music.umich.edu/departments/
dance
michigan Dance Council
P.O. Box 381103
Clinton Twp., MI 48038
www.michigandance.org
Wayne State University
Dance Department
4841 Cass Avenue
Detroit, MI 48202
(313) 577-4273
www.dance.wayne.edu
nOn-lOCAl
American Dance Festival
715 Broad Street
Durham, NC 27705
(919) 684-6402
www.americandancefestival.org
Jacob’s Pillow
P.O. Box 287
Lee, MA 01238
(413) 243-0745
www.jacobspillow.org
The Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
(212) 242-0800
www.joyce.org
new york City Center
130 West 56th Street
New York, NY 10019
(212) 247-0430
www.nycitycenter.org
Danspace Project
131 East 10th Street
New York, NY 10003
(212) 674-8112
www.danspaceproject.org
Dance/USA
1111 16th Street NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 833-1717
www.danceusa.org
UmS 10/11 DAnCE SEASOn
Paul Taylor Dance Company
551 Grand Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 431-5562
www.ptdc.org
Sankai Juku
c/o Pomegranate Arts
1140 Broadway, Suite 305
New York, NY 10001
(212) 228-2221
www.sankaijuku.com
Grupo Corpo
Av. Bandeirantes, 866 – Mangabeiras
30315 000 Belo Horizonte
Minas Gerais, Brazil
(+55 31) 3221 7701
www.grupocorpo.com.br
merce Cunningham Dance Company
55 Bethune Street
New York, NY 10014
(212) 255-8240
www.merce.org
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
The Joan Weill Center for Dance
405 W. 55th Street (at 9th Avenue)
New York, NY 10019
(212) 405-9000
www.alvinailey.org
64 UMS 10-11
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, Jack. Ballet & Modern Dance: A Concise History. New Jersey: Princeton Book Company, 1986.
Cheney, Gay. Basic Concepts in Modern Dance: A Creative Approach. New Jersey: Princeton Book Company, 1989.
Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture ed. Barbara A. Tenenbaum. New York: Scribner’s Sons, 1996.
Foster, Susan Leigh. Reading Dancing: Bodies and Subjects in Contemporary American Dance. Berkley: University of California
Press, 1986.
www.grupocorpo.com.br
Kassing, Gayle. History of Dance: An Interactive Arts Approach. Illinois, Human Kinetics, 2007.
McDonagh, Don. The Complete Guide to Modern Dance. New York: Doubleday & Company, 1976.
www.ptdc.org
Taylor, Paul. Private Domain. New York: Knopf, 1987.
65GRUPO / TAYLOR
A B O U T U m S
Photo: In Vaudeville Dancer with Chorus
66 UMS 10-11
W H AT I S U M S ?
UMS
THE UnIVERSITy mUSICAl SOCIETy (UmS) is committed to connecting audiences with performing artists from around the world
in uncommon and engaging experiences.
One of the oldest performing arts presenters in the country, the University Musical Society is now in its 132nd season. With a
program steeped in music, dance, and theater performed at the highest international standards of quality, UMS contributes to a
vibrant cultural community by presenting approximately 60-75 performances and over 100 free educational and community
activities each season.
UMS also commissions new work, sponsors artist residencies, and organizes collaborative projects with local, national, and
international partners.
UmS EDUCATIOn AnD COmmUnITy
EnGAGEmEnT DEPARTmEnT
mAIlInG ADDRESS
100 Burton Memorial Tower
881 North University Ave
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1011
STAFF
Kenneth C. Fischer,UMS President
Claire C. RiceInterim Director
Mary Roeder Residency Coordinator
Omari RushEducation Manager
InTERnS
Emily Barkakati
Neal Kelley
Emily Michels
Sarah Suhadolnik
67GRUPO / TAYLOR
K-12 SCHOOl PARTnERSHIPS
Working directly with schools to
align our programs with classroom
goals and objectives
• 14-year official partnerships with the
Ann Arbor Public Schools and the Washt-
enaw Intermediate School District.
• Superintendent of Ann Arbor Public
Schools is an ex officio member of the
UMS Board of Directors.
• UMS has significant relationships with
Detroit Public Schools’ dance and world
language programs and is developing
relationships with other regional districts.
• UMS is building partnerships with or of-
fering specialized services to the region’s
independent and home schools.
UnIVERSITy EDUCATIOn PARTnERSHIPS
Affecting educators’ teaching prac-
tices at the developmental stage
• UMS Youth Education is developing
a partnership with the U-M School of
Education, which keeps UMS informed
of current research in educational theory
and practice.
• University professors and staff are
active program advisors and workshop
presenters.
ACCESSIBIlITy
Eliminating participation barriers
• UMS subsidizes Youth Performance
tickets to $6/student (average subsidy:
$25/ticket)
• When possible, UMS reimburses bus-
sing costs.
• UMS Youth Education offers person-
alized customer service to teachers in
order to respond to each school’s unique
needs.
• UMS actively seeks out schools with
economic and geographic challenges to
ensure and facilitate participation.
ARTS EDUCATIOn lEADER
One of the premier arts education
programs in the country
• UMS’s peer arts education programs: Car-
negie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center.
• UMS has the largest youth education
program of its type in the four-state region
and has consistent school/teacher participa-
tion throughout southeastern Michigan.
• 20,000 students are engaged each sea-
son by daytime performances, workshops
and in-school visits.
• UMS Youth Education was awarded
“Best Practices” by ArtServe Michigan
and The Dana Foundation (2003).
U M S Y O U T H E D U C AT I O N P R O G R A M1 0 T H I N G S T O K N O W
UMS
QUAlITy
Every student deserves access to
“the best” experiences of world arts
and culture
• UMS presents the finest international
performing and cultural artists.
• Performances are often exclusive to
Ann Arbor or touring to a small number
of cities.
• UMS Youth Performances aim to
present to students the same perfor-
mance that the public audiences see (no
watered-down content).
DIVERSITy
Highlighting the cultural, artistic,
and geographic diversity of the world
• Programs represent world cultures and
mirror school/community demographics.
• Students see a variety of art forms:
classical music, dance, theater, jazz,
choral, global arts.
• UMS’s Global Arts program focuses
on 4 distinct regions of the world—
Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Arab
World—with a annual festival featuring
the arts of one region.
68 UMS 10-11
KEnnEDy CEnTER PARTnERSHIP
• UMS Youth Education has been a
member of the prestigious Kennedy
Center Partners in Education Program
since 1997.
• Partners in Education is a national con-
sortium of arts organization and public
school partnerships.
• The program networks over 100 na-
tional partner teams and helps UMS stay
on top of best practices in education and
arts nationwide.
PROFESSIOnAl DEVElOPmEnT
“I find your arts and culture work-
shops to be one of the ‘Seven Won-
ders of Ann Arbor’!”
–AAPS Teacher
• UMS Youth Education provides some
of the region’s most vital and responsive
professional development training.
• Over 300 teachers participate in our
educator workshops each season.
• In most workshops, UMS utilizes and
engages resources of the regional com-
munity: cultural experts and institutions,
performing and teaching artists.
TEACHER ADVISORy COmmITTEE
Meeting the actual needs of today’s
educators in real time
• UMS Youth Education works with a
50-teacher committee that guides pro-
gram decision-making.
• The Committee meets throughout
the season in large and small groups
regarding issues that affect teachers and
their participation: ticket/bussing costs,
programming, future goals, etc.
In-SCHOOl VISITS & CURRICUlUm
DEVElOPmEnT
Supporting teachers in the classroom
• UMS Youth Education places interna-
tional artists and local arts educators/
teaching artists in classes to help educa-
tors teach a particular art form or model
new/innovative teaching practices.
• UMS develops nationally-recognized
teacher curriculum materials to help
teachers incorporate upcoming youth
performances immediately in their daily
classroom instruction.
UMS Youth Education [email protected] | 734-615-0122
www.ums.org/education
69GRUPO / TAYLOR
S E N D U S Y O U R F E E D B A C K !UMS wants to know what teachers and students think about this Youth Performance.
We hope you’ll send us your thoughts, drawings, letters, or reviews.
UmS yOUTH EDUCATIOn PROGRAm
Burton Memorial Tower • 881 N. University Ave. • Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1011
(734) 615-0122 phone • (734) 998-7526 fax • [email protected]
www.ums.org/education
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