Paul Taylor Dance Company @ Rose Lehrman Arts Center - Review

I attended two performances by Paul Taylor Dance Company (Friday April 11th and Saturday April 12th) at the Rose Lehrman Arts Center (RLAC) located on the campus of Harrisburg Area Community College, in Harrisburg, PA. Each performance consisted of 3 distinct pieces, giving each night its own unique appeal. The Friday evening performance included Equinox, De Suenos Que Se Repiten (of recurring dreams) and Arden Court; Saturday evening contained Le Grand Puppetier, Banquet of Vultures, and Esplanade. I thought both performances were outstanding and everyone else I’ve spoken to that witnessed them agrees. With that said, I’ll relate to you the details of my experience.


Friday evening began with Equinox, sadly my memory of this has faded quite a bit and very few specifics remain. One segment of it, however, is etched vividly into my mind, the solo of Lisa Viola. I have never been so moved by the intensity and energy of a dancer as I was that night. I was actually given the opportunity to meet Lisa after the performance at the post performance meet and greet provided by RLAC. I told her how impressed I was and she even let me give her a hug! De Suenos Que Se Repiten (of recurring dreams) was the second and darkest piece of the evening. The entire piece was choreographed to the music of The Kronos Quartet from the album Nuevo. The central theme of this piece seemed to center on the dichotomy of life and death. It used imagery common in the Mexican culture Guadalupe (life giver), the Skull (death), and the Stag. The evening concluded with a performance of Arden Court. I had just seen the Taylor 2 version of this classic piece at the Miller Center at Reading Area Community College (click here to read my review), so I had a frame of reference for this work. To be completely honest, I liked the Taylor 2 version better than the production by the main company. The Taylor 2 performance was choreographed for a smaller number of dancers and thus had a much higher level of intensity. I still thoroughly enjoyed this larger scale production, but not quite as much as my first experience with Arden Court.

Saturday’s performance opened with Le Grand Puppetier, a piece that seems as though it may have been choreographed for child audiences. I make this claim based on two aspects of the production; plot line and costuming. The plot of this piece is extremely elementary and reminiscent of a fairy tale, complete with evil emperor and oppressed protagonist. On a positive note, this simplicity makes Puppetier easy to follow, enabling the audience to sit back and enjoy the dancers’ movements. The second work of the evening was Banquet of Vultures, which actually had a very similar theme to Puppetier, however significantly darker and more abstract. It, too, illustrates the corruption and irresponsibility of those in power, as well as its cyclical nature. The mood of this piece is enhanced through the amazing lighting design, which leaves the majority of the stage obscured in darkness with only a few hard edged spots of light. The performance closed with Esplanade. It showcased the athleticism of the dancers as they ran and leaped gracefully about the stage. It was an amazing ending to an amazing weekend of dance.

For more information click on the following links:
Paul Taylor Dance Company: http://www.ptdc.org/
Rose Lehrman Arts Center: http://www.hacc.edu/rose/

A review of my Ice Cream Social

I realize that I didn't mention that I was having a party, but that is just because I didn't anyone to feel bad for not being invited. I suppose this blog may do that as well, but I don't think anyone will be too hurt. On Sunday, I had an Ice Cream Social which was attended by several of my closest friends. My friend Caitlin posted a fantastic review on her blog (Shut up Downsey), so I've placed her review below for your enjoyment:

First of all, snaps to Randal for actually having people at his party. You know how you can invite twenty people, and maybe three end up coming, well, Randal, defying the previous standard upheld at his Haloween party, had a mighty turn out at his ice cream social. Short of the fact that chairs were limited, there was plenty of silly conversations and good company, a sometimes odd playlist, hulahooping, and oh yeah, there was punch. It was interesting to be in a room full of college kids enjoying themselves soberly. Sometime after learning that a medium pizza is medium sized and consuming weird mixtures of ice cream, people began trailing off, as is typical with all parties, and soon only seven party-goers remained.

I thank Caitlin for her review but she didn't mention how the party ended. One of my guests began looking through a book called Weird Pennsylvania, and we decided to take a road trip a place called the 7 Gates of Hell. We went on google maps and got directions, piled into two vehicles and made our way to the gates of Hell. The location turned out to be nothing more than woods. It was a bit of a disappointment, but how many people can say their Ice Cream Social ended in a trip to the gates of Hell.

Stay Tuned...

Two Announcements

First announcement… I’ve accepted the admissions offer of Carnegie Mellon. For those of you are curious, I did not get accepted to Columbia. I’m still waiting to hear back from NYU, but their decision won’t affect mine. Pittsburgh here I come. I’ll be moving out there in the beginning of August.

Second announcement… I’ll be teaching dance during June and July. I’ll be teaching a summer workshop in a studio in East Greenville, PA. It has been about two years since the last time I taught a dance class. I offered to volunteer, because it is only 8 weeks and I really just want to teach for the fun of it. The studio insisted that I receive some type of compensation. I think I might propose a trade. I’ve always wanted to learn how to tap dance, so I’m hoping that they will give me free lessons.

I’ll keep you posted on any developments…

Stay tuned…