Paul Taylor Dance Company at Annenberg

That said, the best of modern dance discovers its own rules and forms and disciplines. Martha Graham epitomized this form of modern dance and remains an inspiration for many choreographers to this day, including Paul Taylor.

Taylor produced his work in 1954, and he’s still choreographing new work today at the age of 83. He’s best known for strong, challenging, impeccably artistic choreography that often deals with controversial themes and ideas. Last weekend’s retrospective program at Annenberg, while not at all controversial, did an excellent job of conveying an overview of Taylor’s evolution as a creative artist.

’60s trendiness

Fibers (1961), the earliest piece on display, was also the weakest of the program’s four pieces— very obviously the work of a younger artist still developing his style and finding his voice. Its seemingly random, jerky choreography virtually screams 1960s trendiness.

The dated atmosphere was exacerbated by a music score whose non-melodic melodrama was no doubt once considered quite modern but today feels positively quaint. The choreography was fussy and cluttered, more resembling a dry intellectual exercise than anything that might engage an audience.

Element of grace

The next piece was Profiles, from 1979— and what a difference 18 years can make. Like Fibers, Profiles was also somewhat abstract, but it shows how Taylor had focused his voice, enabling him to communicate with his audience on multiple intellectual and emotional levels.

The choreography itself was fluid, with an element of grace missing from the earlier piece. Clearly, by 1979 Taylor had learned to pare down unnecessary kinetics, developing a more spare yet also more expressive style. Profiles was relatively brief but satisfying nonetheless.

Insects at work

The evening’s final piece jumped to a whole new level. The delightful Gossamer Gallants (2011) showed what can happen when a master at the top of his form decides to have fun.

The story followed two flocks of insects, one male and one female (the female proving to be the dominant gender in this society, which is often the case in the insect world). The males and females, as groups and as individuals, flittered back and forth in a highly energetic and amusing mating game.

Gallants clearly was the program’s most accessible and commercially appealing piece, enhanced by a peppy musical score and beautifully effective costumes by Taylor’s frequent collaborator, Santo Loquasta. That doesn’t mean it’s either simplistic or pandering. On the contrary, Taylor proved that sophistication can be fun, if the artist is good enough.

Love and community

Which leads me to American Dreamer (2013), which opened the program but which I wanted to mention last because it shows Taylor at his most mature, most spare, yet most elegant and emotionally engaging.

Accompanied by a series of gentle bluegrassy songs by Stephen Foster, Dreamer tells stories of the emotional lives of rural Americans in a bucolic past. Even if he’s turning nostalgic in his old age, Taylor remains sufficiently disciplined to keep cheap sentimentality at bay, displaying various aspects of love and community with a supremely elegant simplicity.

How far he’s come since the kinetic clutter of Fibers! This was a masterful accomplishment that choked me up.

Beyond dance skills

There’s very little to say about the dancers themselves, except that they were all strong, impeccable, graceful and, of course, beautiful. They were not merely excellent dancers but also quite good performers in those segments where expressiveness and sincerity were as necessary as dance skills.

For 60 years, Paul Taylor has been a national artistic treasure whose work has only grown more effective and influential over the years. And he’s still going strong. I consider myself fortunate indeed to have seen his latest offering and look forward to his next.