We sat down with Paul Taylor Dance Company (PTDC)’s freshman member Austin Kelly to speak concerning the firm’s return to the David H. Koch Theater for its upcoming Lincoln Center season. While different Taylor dancers will really feel proper at house, it is going to be Kelly’s first time stepping on the famend stage.
Kelly was employed in 2021, however had been across the firm since 2018. He was an intern with the reserving and touring coordinator on the time, and organized to take firm lessons. He additionally attended among the Taylor intensives. While he’s carried out with the corporate a number of occasions to date this 12 months, that is his first Lincoln Center season with PTDC.
Was Paul Taylor on the high of your organization checklist once you had been seeking to begin dancing professionally?
“Yes. After my very first class taking Taylor, I thought, ‘This is the company I want to dance with for the rest of my life.’”
What connects you to the motion? What feels at house about it?
“In faculty, I needed to take loads of ballet, Graham and Limón, and people simply didn’t really feel pure to me. But I’m proportionate to a Taylor dancer; I’ve a bigger again, my torso is lengthy. That really put me at an obstacle in Limón or Graham, however it gave me a bonus with Taylor. Everything felt so pure. All of his Taylor-isms made a lot sense to me – the wrapping, the scoops, the Vs… it simply clicked.
During the primary six months of my time right here, I had to purchase new pants as a result of my quads obtained greater. I had to purchase new shirts as a result of my again and shoulders obtained greater. In ballet, it’s all concerning the intrinsic muscle tissue, however that is all huge muscle teams. You’re sprinting, leaping. It’s exhausting athletics.”
What are a few of your favourite Taylor items?
“So far, I’ve carried out Aureole, which is what put Paul Taylor on the map. It kind of marked when he grew to become the dance maker we all know him to be somewhat than an avant-garde choreographer. I carried out that on the Joyce Theater in June; that was the dream function.
A month later, I did Cloven Kingdom. There’s this males’s quartet in it the place the gents come out in tuxedos. It’s most likely seven minutes, however it was probably the most athletic seven minutes of my life. The first time I carried out it, I got here off stage, collapsed and threw up. And the three guys I carried out it with had been like, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s regular. Welcome!’ For the Lincoln Center programming, Company B is one I’m actually excited to do. I’m stepping in to Michael Apuzzo’s outdated function, who retired in March. It’s actually humbling to step into such a giant function inside my first 12 months. I like Company B. I liked watching it, and now doing it’s the cherry on high.”
Do you see qualities or habits in older PTDC members that you just need to undertake for your self?
“Oh my gosh, sure. All the time. I can not emphasize this sufficient: the individuals on this firm are superb. When they contact the stage, and even in rehearsal or class, they’re performing. It is mesmerizing. Even of their stillness, I’m captivated by them, simply standing there with function. They can maintain focus. When they’re wanting throughout 1000’s of seats, you’ll be able to inform that they’re seeing one thing; their eyes aren’t simply glazed over.
Another factor I’m engaged on is to soak up the second. We assume characters, however they’re humanized variations. It looks like Paul was finally concerning the human situation and expertise. So somewhat than placing on a façade, how can I amplify what this character is feeling in a humanistic means? These dancers try this so naturally. They’ve most likely labored on it for years, however it feels pure. Paul was the grasp of sunshine and darkish dances, and these dancers can do probably the most lovely issues after which create most ugly characters. The dichotomy is fascinating.
Eran Bugge has been with Taylor since 2005, and we went to the identical faculty. She taught a masterclass whereas I used to be there. It was so cool to bop with a Taylor titan like her whereas I used to be nonetheless a school child. And now I get to bop together with her on stage Lincoln Center? Like, come on. Come on! That’s insane. Sorry, I might go on and on about my co-workers!”
It sounds such as you’ve absorbed a lot of the Taylor historical past. You’re one of many first generations of PTDC dancers to affix after Paul’s passing. How do you see the veteran firm members go on his imaginative and prescient and artistry to newer members like your self?
“I came in after he passed away, which was unfortunate. I’m thankful for the people who’ve been here before me who really keep his ideas alive. People who got to work with him, and the stories they tell. Those stories piece together the character he was. I never got to meet him; I’d only read about him in textbooks. Although that makes me sad, it also makes me grateful for people like Bettie de Jong, who was his muse and is now our rehearsal director. She just celebrated her 60th year with the company. I just came from a rehearsal where I heard her explain – Paul wanted this. Paul did not like this. Without her, we’d drift off into interpretations. But the alumni come back and say, ‘Well, when Paul was choreographing this on me…’ and ‘Here’s what he was thinking about when he was creating this phrase…’ and that’s just so cool. I want to embody what they felt when they were in that creation with Paul. It keeps me tied to his legacy.”
See Austin Kelly and the PTDC members on the Koch stage on the Lincoln Center from November 2-13. Tickets begin at $15 and are at the moment on sale. You can catch a seat on Opening Night on November 1 for simply $10, on sale Monday, October, 17, at 12pm. Programing consists of Art in Court, Company B, Gossamer-Gallants, Syzygy, Scudorama and others. For tickets and extra info, go to www.davidhkochtheater.com/tickets-and-events/paul-taylor
By Holly LaRoche of Dance Informa.
