Biography of Paul Taylor

Paul Taylor Biography

Paul Taylor was born July 29, 1930 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He lived a very lonely childhood during the depression-era in America and was often separated from his parents. After attending Syracuse University on scholarships in painting and swimming, he began to study dance. Two years later he joined the Martha Graham Dance Company, where he performed in a number of pieces, including Clytemnestra, Alcestis, and Phaedra.

Taylor established his own dance company in 1954 and even while he was a soloist with the Martha Graham Dance Company from 1955 to 1962 he continued to present his own works in concerts in both the United States and Europe. Throughout the late 50s, 60s, and 70s he performed some of the most exciting and inventive dances of the time including Duet, Three Epitaphs, Orbs, The Book of Beasts, Airs, and Aureole. His dances were very unique due to his often used combination of ballet with powerful isolations of everyday gestures.

Paul Taylor has choreographed more than 90 dances for his own company which has performed in more than 300 cities in the United States and has made 39 overseas tours to 54 different nations. Taylor's masterpieces are now also in the repertories of the Royal Danish Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, the Joffrey Ballet, the San Francisco Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet, The Houston Ballet, London Contemporary Dance Theatre, Ballet Rembert, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, and many other regional American dance companies.

Taylor's works have a universal and long-lasting appeal because, according to London's Sunday Telegraph, "they are about people, about the way they feel, the way they interact, and about their social institutions." His body language always carries an incredible range of motion, passion, and imagination. "For Taylor, a dance is the first step in returning the viewer to the street more aware of the beauty in the simple movements he or she sees every day."

Taylor was a recipient of more than 40 awards and six honorary Doctor of Fine arts degrees. He also wrote an autobiography (Private Domain) in 1987. He continues to be a dominant figure in modern dance and has spent the past two decades devoted completely to directing his company and teaching the younger generations the magnificence of dance. Among the dancers to move through his company on their way to starting their own were Laura