Members of the Paul Taylor Dance Company perform “Somewhere in the Middle” Wednesday in the Amphitheater.
The Paul Taylor Dance Company will leap onto stage again at 8:15 p.m. Saturday in the Amphitheater, this time with the support of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra.
Wednesday welcomed the company to the stage for the first of two Amp performances this week. Paul Taylor Dance, led by artistic director Michael Novak, will perform a repertoire with a number of pieces that showcase the Taylor technique and style.
Members of Paul Taylor Dance will present “Mercuric Tidings,” “Syzygy” and “Promethean Fire” as the CSO performs Franz Schubert’s Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2, Donald York’s Op. 87, and Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, respectively.
Novak describes Schubert’s piece as classical and fast; as a counterpart to Schubert, “Syzygy,” set to York’s Op. 87, goes into “the world of athleticism in almost a chaotic thrashing of the human body” with a heavy percussion. Closing with Bach “grounds the program in the sheer craft and genius and profundity of Paul Taylor’s work,” he said.
For Lenelle Morse, CSO first violin, one of the joys of playing music like this is the response it elicits from the audience. Her grandchildren, ages 4 and 2, can’t help themselves when they hear this fast type of music; “they get up and start running and dancing — (the score) has a very innate, natural response to dance.”
Morse said “Mercuric Tidings” alone has 10 pages worth of music for just one movement, which means each musician has to be at the top of their game before the two rehearsals allotted for Saturday’s performance. While the piece is very challenging, she said, it’s also very worthwhile.
For Novak, the evening is a special one; he’s excited to be back in Chautauqua — Paul Taylor Dance first came to Chautauqua in 2019 — and he’ll take part in the Chautauqua Dance Circle’s Pre-Concert Lecture at 7 p.m. Saturday in Smith Wilkes Hall.
“Chautauqua holds a special place for me because it was one of the first tour stops after Paul Taylor had died,” Novak said, and he was simultaneously retiring from dancing and assuming the role of artistic director. “… The last place I ever performed ‘Promethean Fire’ as a dancer in the company was in Chautauqua.”
Now, it feels special to return to the Institution in a leadership capacity after having performed the piece in a featured role the last time he was here.
“Coming back after the pandemic as the leader and performing that work again with this new era of the company feels significant for me personally,” he said.
Novak hopes Chautauquans will go into Saturday’s performance with an open mind, and feel inspired to consider how modern dance makes them feel.
“Be critical thinkers; look at colors, shapes, feelings, moods, and create your own interpretation of what the dance might mean. Know that your thoughts and feelings might differ from the person next to you, and that’s OK — that’s the function of good art,” Novak said. “I encourage audiences to lean into what you think, and feel. Let that drive your artistic experience.”
