Paul Taylor Dance Company

By Alix Cohen

Sixty five years in, the Paul Taylor Company continues to reflect and innovate.

Speaking in Tongues 1988
Choreography- Paul Taylor
Music- Matthew Patton
“The title refers to certain impulsive projection of private religious emotion into the public setting of communal prayer service…associated with Pentecostal churches.”

An impression of religious fervor and moral hypocrisy, Speaking in Tongues is accompanied by a dissonant, electronic score interwoven with fragments of evangelical broadcasts. The clever choice is one I would not have known had I not read up further. Words are unintelligible, half buried in static.

As the Preacher, Lee Duveneck is charismatic, but corrupt. He lays shame on couples, yet clandestinely doesn’t follow his own pronouncements. Isolated pas de deux are appealing if short lived.

Jessica Ferretti, called “His Better Half” integrates herself into the congregation, but doesn’t seem to get far in breaking his hold. The character seems underused.“The Odd Man Out” (John Harnage) and “an “Unwanted Daughter” (Jada Pearman) exemplify repression and rejection with movement conveying torment at communal judgment.

Other signature choreography tailors itself to theme. What is familiarly athletic becomes angular and emotionally charged. Suggestive narrative is replaced with archetypes. Tone, usually playful to tragic, is dark and didactic. Use of space appears constricted.

Apparent “puppeting”- emotional and bodily control by unidentified force/spirit is vivid. Arms are always extended and in motion. Simple jumps arrive as often as do recognizable leaps. Folding chairs are imaginatively employed, especially at the end.
A door in the set is supposed to represent entrance to Hell. One cannot tell from its manifestation. Neutral-colored leotards, leggings and skirts work well to depict uniformity and conservatism. (Santo Loquasto)

Dancers are excellent. I found the score jagged and difficult. Overall Fundamentalist doctrine is prevalent, but one often wonders what’s going on.

How Love Sounds– New York Premiere
Choreography- Hope Boykin
Music- Antonin Dvořák, Patsy Cline, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Donna Summer
Original Text written and spoken by Hope Boykin

Fluid partnering and expressive gesture combine with Taylor’s rigor. Perhaps Boykin is drawing on her Alvin Ailey roots. Dvořák’s Nocturne adds lush undercurrent showcasing vulnerability before music moves on to contemporary sound.

Group dynamics shift in accordance with mood. Each episode (unfortunately abruptly ended and begun, rather than bridged) creates its own statement about intimate choices. Weight sharing is particularly present. Contact is as varied as one is capable of imagining.

Non-narrative structure goes back to Taylor’s impressionistic approach. We see tenderness, joy, hesitation, loneliness, solitude. Colorful costumes (Marc Eric) offer buoyancy. Bare feet seem to signify openness. Floor work feels organic rather than sexual despite positioning.

Text is well read if self-concerned as voice-over to the many kinds of attachment. “I want to honor this who I’ve become for you to see…” Smiles come and go without apparent coordination.

A mixed bag.

Paul Taylor Dance Company
Founding Artistic Director Paul Taylor
Artistic Director- Michael Novak
Resident Choreographers- Lauren Lovette, Robert Battle

Through November 23, 2025
David H. Koch Theater, 20 Lincoln Center Plaza
https://paultaylordance.org/performances/newyorkseason/