Ebullient, entertaining and enticing – Paul Taylor Dance Company marks its first UK appearance in over two decades with an exquisitely engaging triple bill.
Paul Taylor Dance Company honours masterful modern dance maker Paul Taylor (1930–2018) by performing his heritage works (there are 147 to choose from!) and commissioning works from new choreographers that embody and continue his legacy. As a contemporary of Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham, Taylor danced in both their companies while also choreographing on his own troupe, which he founded in New York City in 1954. His eclectic movement vocabulary was experimental for its time, bridging the gap between modern dance’s early pioneers and choreographers of the twenty-first century.
Now led by former company dancer Michael Novak, Paul Taylor Dance Company asks audience members – those who are seeking nostalgia for sensational performances past and those who are total newcomers to Taylor’s transporting technique in the flesh – to believe in the power of modern dance. Taking to the stage for the company’s inaugural visit to London’s Linbury Theatre, the dancers’ vibrant opening-night efforts were rewarded with effusive applause and an appreciative, affirming atmosphere. The power is validated. We believe.
The Linbury Theatre, Royal Ballet and Opera’s intimate and inclusive horseshoe-shaped space that accommodates 400 patrons seated on plush purple upholstery, is a portal to the world of Taylor for five days this week (from 27 until 31 January). Audiences are being treated to a glimpse into the ensemble’s extensive repertoire courtesy of two triple bills.
As befits the company’s mission, the Brandenburgs + Under the Rhythm + Piazzolla Caldera programme joyfully looks back while confidently moving forward. It consists of two signature works from the Taylor canon and the UK premiere of Robert Battle’s first work as a resident choreographer of the Taylor company. (The Concertiana + Echo + Esplanade programme, the second triple bill on offer, follows the same format and features a work by resident choreographer Lauren Lovette.)
Ebullient Brandenburgs, created in 1988, is a radiant piece danced to selections from Bach’s brilliant Brandenburg Concertos. Devised as pure dance, it poetically interprets the full-toned and exhilarating Baroque music by having different groups of dancers perform distinct, simultaneous phrases that blend and build beautifully. Barefoot and wearing emerald-green costumes (velvet dresses for the three women, unitards for five of the men, tights for the bare-chested leading man), the dancers gleefully express and evoke a dazzling delight in dancing.
The women (Madelyn Ho, Jessica Ferretti and Gabrielle Barnes) are a trio of playful muses, sparking irrepressible movement that skims, skips and swirls across ever-evolving groupings and patterns. The men (Lee Duveneck, Alex Clayton, Devon Louis, Austin Kelly and Kenny Corrigan) are gallant towards these goddesses, but the glint in their eyes as they exuberantly stag leap in criss-crossing configurations confirms that their devotion is to the heavenly combination of movement and music. A spotlit solo for the leading man (John Harnage) boasts a grace and control that is reminiscent of the refined yet relaxed stance of the Apollo Belvedere statue. The three women take it in turns to partner him and provide inspiration in their own dynamic solos.
The music is recorded (as it is throughout the programme), but this somehow does not matter a jolt as the dancing is so incredibly musical. The frenzied speed and marathon length of many of the sections of choreography demand real athleticism from the dancers, yet artistry prevails. The wild abandon of all the whirling activity could feel like organised chaos, were it not for the precision and personality with which every seemingly natural step is performed.
Entertaining Under the Rhythm, created by Robert Battle in 2025, is positively brimming with personality. Set to a jazz-infused score (featuring music by Damian Bassman, Ella Fitzgerald, Wycliffe Gordon, Mahalia Jackson and Steve Reich), this offering is intended as a tribute to Battle’s mother and the profound power of dance to carry us through life’s ups and downs.
The thirteen dancers find their groove immediately. The curtain rises on them spread out upstage in a chorus line. Men and women alike are identically dressed in white shirts with black ties, black trousers with suspenders, chunky white boots and black bowler hats. Cue sharp arm gestures, shoulder shimmies, shuffling jumps and speedy turns – all executed in tight, syncopated unison.
This line explosively disperses to pave way for various duets and solos. Two red-suited men (Lee Duveneck and Alex Clayton) ham it up and fall to the floor – with forward rolls and bouncing splits – in suitably scatty style while reacting to every syllable of the scat singing accompanying their comical duet. The solos, one of which is performed to a recording of a poem read aloud by Battle and his mother, and a mixed-gender duet (Jessica Ferretti and Devon Louis), are more emotive, but still concocted to function as celebratory entertainment.
A shorter version of the introductory line-up does reappear sometimes during these variety acts, to add foot-tapping, finger-clicking flair. Nonetheless, it isn’t until the very end, when all thirteen dancers are back in their black-and-white garbs, that it is restored to the singular sensation of its super-synchronised full glory. Standing shoulder to shoulder, the dancers move downstage. Their enthusiastic whooping, air-saxophone playing, swaying, clapping and hollering about dancing “one more time!” are guaranteed to leave even the most cynical of theatregoers on a jazzy high.
Enticing Piazzolla Caldera, created in 1997, closes the enjoyable, well-balanced and polished programme. Smiles give way to all things saucy, smouldering and sizzling for this tango-inspired suite of dances, arranged to the infectious music of Astor Piazzolla and Jerzy Peterburshsky.
Taylor’s choreography captures the essence of tango culture, exploring predatory, promiscuous, passionate and playful partnerships in a dimly lit club. Everyone seduces one another and gets swept up in confrontation and conquests. Women (in flirty floral dresses cut on the bias, thigh-rolled stockings and heels) dance with men. Men dance with men. Women dance with women. Even the set design dances: ceiling lights waft and quiver as the night progresses.
It’s a tantalising, tangle-legged, orgy of very watchable and accessible dance.
Brandenburgs + Under the Rhythm + Piazzolla Caldera ensured a rainy Tuesday, in bleak January, was brightened by dance. London is lucky to have been welcomed to the world of Taylor. Here’s hoping it isn’t another two decades before Paul Taylor Dance Company returns.
Running time: Approximately 1 hour 55 minutes, including two intervals. Each dance work is approximately 25 minutes long.
Age guidance: 5+
*Production photography by Ben McKeown and Ron Thiele.
Performances by Paul Taylor Dance Company continue at Royal Ballet and Opera’s Linbury Theatre until Saturday 31 January.
This review is also featured on London Unattached.
Georgina Butler is an editor, a dance writer and a ballet teacher.
