Paul Taylor's Core Contribution

          Paul Taylor is what writer and dance critic Jack Anderson labels, a “fox.”  This strange animal association is in relation to Taylor’s ability to flow in and out of new ideas and his longing to always keep exploring new possibilities for his work.  He is constantly inspired by his personal experiences, daily life, and controversy in society.  He is said to be one of the last known “members of the pantheon that created modern dance.”  The best way to describe how Taylor distinguishes his thinking of the art of dance is through his own words taken from his company’s website.   

           

           “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 immediacy, 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.

            Whenever a dance of mine is controversial 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.”