The Paul Tyler Dance Company, Essay Example

The Paul Tyler Dance Company includes a repertoire of more than 140 works, and “Byzantinium, American Dreamer, and Esplanade” was an effort to show three of their key pieces together in one event. As such, each piece will be considered separately for this analysis due to the very different nature of each work.

Paul Taylor’s work “Byzantinium” has been on stage since 1984 and continues to be successful. The music that Taylor chose to accompany this piece is a string quartet by Brahm’s and in doing so, he wishes to capture a sense of evil and darkness. More deeply, this piece was inspired by Taylor’s reading of a National Geographic article on the Byzantine Empire (Dunning, 1984). This work was therefore created to capture the violence that resulted due to war in the Roman Empire as a consequence of religious dissent. The lighting and the costumes worn by the performers masterfully mimic this intent. While it is easy to see the performers, they are often shrouded in darkness and occasionally wear outfits that we’d imagine Roman’s would, such as religious robes.

Paul Taylor’s “Esplanade” was first performed in 1975 and has a much lighter tone than in “Byzantinium”. This is an example of one of Taylor’s dreamscape dramas in which movements are slow but precise and seem almost if they are imagined rather than executed in real life. All of the performers wore light colored costumes to emphasize this dream-like effect. In addition, the lighting is used to emphasize the slow movements to trick the mind and further convince it that what is being seen is not a reality. In some instances, the dream turns to nightmare-like movements that become much more sudden. However, Taylor leaves us in a shroud of mystery because we are never given more information than the fact that this is a dream sequence. We will never know whose dreams these are. Despite this, many stories are told in this piece, and it is up to the imagination of the viewer to determine what these stories truly mean.

“American Dreamer” is one of the least popular of Taylor’s works and it is interesting that it was included in a compilation along with “Byzantinium” and “Esplanade”. However, this piece is much more modern than the previous two and depicts a reality rather than a dream-like sequence. Possibly, he grouped the three together to show an evolution of man; our past, the dreams that have contributed to the present, and what we are currently. “American Dreamer” depicts a small town American society and is set to Thomas Hampson’s recordings of Stephen Foster songs. While it is easy to detect the point of the piece from the title and the accompanying music, the choreography does not seem complete. This said however, the lighting and the costumes were relevant to the plot of the work. The dancers seem to capture the essence of modern fashion in leggings and slightly torn and loose shirts, while the lighting emphasizes the movements that the audience was meant to focus on.

Interestingly, this is the first time that Taylor has paired “American Dreamer” with “Byzantinium” and “Esplanade”. While “Byzantinium” and “Esplanade” make sense to be shown together, “American Dreamer” is a standalone. It is possible that Taylor will not repeat this decision again in the future.

Works Cited

Dunning J. “Paul Taylor Creates a Dark New York”. 18 March 1984. Web. 19 April 2014.        <http://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/18/arts/paul-taylor-creates-a-dark-new-work.html>