Paul Taylor Dance Company to Perform at Staller Center for the Arts at Stony Brook University on Saturday, May 7th

LongIsland.com

Some of Paul Taylor’s most extraordinary dance pieces to Main Stage at the Staller Center.

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Photo by: Staller Center

April 13, 2016 - Stony Brook, NY - The Paul Taylor Dance Company performs at Staller Center for the Arts at Stony Brook University on Saturday, May 7 at 8:00 pm, bringing some of Paul Taylor’s most extraordinary dance pieces to Main Stage.
 
Paul Taylor has shaped America’s indigenous art of modern dance since becoming a professional dancer and pioneering choreographer in 1954. Having performed with Martha Graham’s company for several years, Mr. Taylor uniquely bridges the legendary founders of modern dance – Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Doris Humphrey and Ms. Graham – and the dance makers of the 21st Century with whom he is now working. Through his new initiative at Lincoln Center – Paul Taylor’s American Modern Dance – he presents great modern works of the past and outstanding works by today’s leading choreographers alongside his own vast and growing repertoire. And he commissions the next generation of dance makers to work with his renowned Company, thereby helping to ensure the future of the art form.
 
The program at Staller Center will include Arden Court, depicting relationships both platonic and romantic, with music by William Boyce. The choreography is by Paul Taylor, as are all the dance pieces on the program. The dancers include Michael Trusnovec, James Samson, Parisa Khobdeh, Sean Mahoney, Eran Bugge, Laura Halzack, Michael Apuzzo, Michael Novak and George Smallwood.
 
Sullivaniana features music by Sir Arthur Sullivan danced to the Gilbert and Sullivan overtures of Iolanthe, Pirates of Penance, and Patience. Dancers include Robert Kleinendorst, Parisa Khobdeh, Sean Mahoney, Eran Bugge, Jamie Rae Walker, Michael Apuzzo, Michael Novak, George Smallwood, Christina Lynch Markham, and Madelyn Ho.
 
The final piece on the program has brought legions of audiences to its feet. Promethean Fire is danced to music by Johann Sebastian Bach, orchestrated by Leopold Stokowski. “It has grandeur, majesty and a spiritual dimension,” noted Anna Kisslegoff in The New York Times. It includes all the aforementioned dancers as well as Heather McGinley, Lee Duveneck and Rei Akazawa.
 
The evening’s production at Staller Center is sponsored by Times Beacon Record Newspapers, celebrating its 40th year. Tickets are $42 at StallerCenter.com or available through the Staller Center Box Office at (631) 632-ARTS [2787]. The Box Office is also open for over-the-counter sales Monday to Saturday, 12:00 noon to 6:00 pm and one hour before performances.