Mike Gunther Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 Our latest bragging rights here in DC include last weekend's sold-out performances by Taylor II, the six-dancer (3m, 3f) touring company of Paul Taylor. These are seriously talented dancers! They bring Taylor's choreography to national and international venues that can't be covered by the full company, due to economic constraints, and they also provide a great talent pool on which Taylor can set new dances. It's the first time I've seen them, but it sure won't be the last. Their program in Black Rock (a new performing arts venue, in Germantown, MD, upcounty from DC) included a wide and varied selection: Aureole, 3 Epitaphs, Profiles, Company B, Roses (duet), Images, and Piazzola Caldera. I was most impressed, not only by the technical and artistic skill of the dancers, but also by their facial expressiveness (this is a controversial topic, I grant you, but when it works so well, as it did last weekend, it adds a whole new and very welcome dimension to the dance.) I'm geographically situated halfway between Black Rock and Strathmore, new venues which, in conjunction with U of Maryland, Kennedy Center and GWU in DC, and GMU in near-by Virginia, are spearheading a really amazing arts explosion in the greater Washington, DC area. All right, I admit -- I just couldn't resist bragging! Link to comment
carbro Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 Winner, winner, winner, winner. These ballets represent the very best of Taylor's oeuvre, IMO. Well, perhaps not Images, but . . . . still enough to spark my envy. I assume Roses was not the only one presented as excerpt/s -- it would be quite a long program otherwise. Thanks, too, for the general report on the health of the arts in metro DC. What an encouraging sign! Link to comment
zerbinetta Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 And to add to the DC riches, Placido Domingo has agreed to stay on at the Washington Opera. (Washington Post, yesterday I think it was) Link to comment
Mike Gunther Posted March 1, 2006 Author Share Posted March 1, 2006 And to add to the DC riches, Placido Domingo has agreed to stay on at the Washington Opera. (Washington Post, yesterday I think it was) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Here's a thought... just being silly... what if Washington Opera hired the out-of-work dancers from the Washington Ballet, then we'd have a Washington Opera Ballet Link to comment
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