Triple whammy with Paul Taylor
The Paul Taylor Dance Company and its educational branch, Taylor 2, swept through St. Louis spring of 2001 with a one-two-three punch of outstanding dance events:
One: Dance St. Louis' first major co-commissioned new dance work. Taylor's own company danced his latest work, Black Tuesday, for the first time on May 11-12, 2001. Taylor himself was on hand for the premiere.
Two: The Paul Taylor Dance Company was the focus of Dance St. Louis' annual Education Impact program in area schools, with in-school workshops culminating in a Young People's Performance at the Fox Theatre on May 11, 2001.
Three: One of Dance St. Louis' ongoing programs under our Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds grant ascended to its next level, as dancers from Lindenwood, Webster and Washington Universities worked with Taylor 2 from April 16 to May 6, 2001 to learn sections of Taylor's masterpiece Esplanade and then performed with the Taylor dancers in public concerts.
"It was so intense, with two different kinds of residencies going at the same time," recalls Sally Brayley Bliss, who was executive director in 2001. "The elementary schools doing workshops-and this other grand project with the three universities. It was an extraordinary opportunity for everyone involved."