The Paul Taylor Dance Company’s annual New York seasons have been one of the highlights of the City’s cultural scene since 1977. This year however the Covid Lockdown has changed all that but instead they are holding a virtual benefit which looks like it’s going to be a fabulous one-off Event
Modern Is Now: Stories of our Future
on Thursday, November 19, at 8:00 p.m. EST, hosted by Michael Novak, Artistic Director and Alicia Graf Mack, Dean and Director of the Dance Division at The Juilliard School. The hour-long live broadcast will feature excerpts from some of Paul Taylor’s most beloved and iconic dances, along with appearances by celebrities and dance world luminaries.
The event highlight will be a special tribute to longtime Rehearsal Director Bettie de Jong, honoring her six-decade commitment to Paul Taylor, his work and to mentoring generations of his dancers.
Novak was a dancer with the Company for eight years before being named Artistic Director in 2018 following Paul Taylor’s death. He is a proud and out gay man, and a strong supporter of his LGBTQ community. Dance is one of the things in his life that gave him solace from bullying, kept him grounded and on track to pursue his dreams.
“As a young male dancer, I remember a lot of bullying and criticism from other boys and girls in my public school for taking dance classes. The fact that I had a stutter and was quiet, creative, and interested in the arts (and this was before I even knew I was gay) led to a host of derogatory remarks and ostracization from my peers. In fact, I quit ballet when I was very young because of the threat of bullying. Eventually, my passion for dance and theater mattered more to me than trying to avoid bullying. But being a male dancer meant constantly dealing with judgements and homophobic prejudices, coupled with a social/cultural expectation that I had to “defend my masculinity” for wanting to be a dancer.
Looking back, the world of dance and theater was my safe space to grow, collaborate, find a community, and be inspired. It was an escape from the outside world – and public school specifically – where the attacks were coming from. And it was largely because of the support of my parents and my dance teachers that I gained confidence in my potential, in my uniqueness, and in my passion to pursue a dream to dance professionally.” — Michael Novak
Filmed excerpts from some of Mr. Taylor’s most beloved and iconic dances will be featured including a site- specific performance of “I Guess the Lord Must Be In New York City” from A Field of Grass shot in East River Park on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Also featured will be a selection from Runes, the men’s quartet from Cloven Kingdom, and the euphoric final section of Esplanade. All danced by the current Taylor Company.
The benefit performance is free to all who sign up and includes a 30-minute pre-show and a ‘chat roulette’ room for Taylor fans from all over the world to randomly connect for 30-second conversations, as well as a gallery of videos that were submitted through the company’s Instagram of students and Taylor fans from around the world performing sections of Esplanade.
Celebrity guests will include Company friends Bernadette Peters, Alec Baldwin, Michael Kelly, Padma Lakshmi and dance world luminaries Kyle Abraham, Carolyn Adams, Misty Copeland, Peter Chu, Margie Gillis, Larry Keigwin, Lauren Lovette, Michelle Manzanales, Pam Tanowitz and Lila York.
