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/