Paul Taylor names successor

[rg]

f.y.i.

.nytimes.com/2018/05/18/arts/paul-taylor-chooses-a-successor-michael-novak.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront

[abatt]

  Nothing against Novak, but I thought Michael Trusnovec might end up as Taylor's successor.

[Helene]

This is wild news!

I wonder if it had been Balanchine instead of Kirstein who wanted Joseph Duell to succeed Balanchine, if that would have happened.  I understand that the institutions are very different, but I wonder if anyone would have fought Balanchine on this.

[ABT Fan]

Wow, this is surprising. I too assumed it would be Trusnovec when the time came.

[Kathleen O'Connell]

Congrats to Novak! 💐

Only knowing the company from its dancing, Trusnovec (or perhaps another veteran) would have been my guess too. But the dancing isn't everything, and certain mission-critical AD talents might shine brightest backstage and in the studio.

It's also possible that Trusnovec (or one of those other veterans) wasn't interested and made that clear in some way or another a while ago. I can think of lots of reasons to say "I'm honored, but no thanks." 

ETA: or Andy Lebeau! He's been Taylor's assistant since the early 2000's and runs both the school and PTD2.

Edited May 18, 2018 by Kathleen O'Connell

[sandik]

I'm so grateful that they're making these decisions now, in what seems like a methodical and thoughtful fashion.  It seems that many people have been learning lessons from the various poor choices in the past -- fingers crossed that this will have the desired outcome.

[vipa]

So interesting. How much will the company become a museum for Paul Taylor's works? They aren't done in a lot of companies so see them there or nowhere for the most part. New works are still a hard ticket sell. 

[sandik]

Something to think about.  In the past, companies have been focused almost entirely on new works, and when then founder dies or retires, the institution continues to pursue new works.  The Limon and Graham companies have been doing this, to greater or lesser success, as has the Joffrey.  More recently, it seems like some companies like Taylor and Stephen Petronio are taking on the task of restaging past seminal works by other choreographers -- I wonder if this will be a better model going forward.

[miliosr]

6 hours ago, sandik said:

More recently, it seems like some companies like Taylor and Stephen Petronio are taking on the task of restaging past seminal works by other choreographers -- I wonder if this will be a better model going forward.

Limon did this under Carla Maxwell and, I have to say, the old dances worked a whole lot better in the context of the repertory than the new commissions did. During Maxwell's directorship, I was able to see works from the modern dance canon by Jiri Kylian, Lar Lubovitch, Donald McKayle and Anna Sokolow. (Maxwell also programmed the solos of Daniel Nagrin.)

[sandik]

You are quite right -- my memory was faulty.  Kylian's work seems to be in several repertories, but Sokolow, Nagrin and McKayle are not as well represented -- I worry that we might lose them.

[miliosr]

19 hours ago, sandik said:

Kylian's work seems to be in several repertories, but Sokolow, Nagrin and McKayle are not as well represented -- I worry that we might lose them.

The Sokolow company is hanging on as best it can given its insufficient means. Nagrin, though, I fear is lost. 2017 was the 100th year of his birth. Were there any performances of his work to mark the occasion? Even the Limon company, which had performed various works of his while Carla Maxwell was director, performed nothing during its 2017 NYC season.

We'll see about McKayle. The Limon company dedicated its recent NYC season to him but that's entirely different from keeping his works in active repertory.