In the 1950s, Martha Graham dubbed Paul Taylor the “naughty boy” of dance and he has been shaking things up ever since. His company has toured worldwide, selling out large-scale houses like the Eisenhower Theatre at the Kennedy Center, the Koch Theatre at Lincoln Center, the Paris Opera House and many others. As the opening night of our 2012-2013 season, our audience will have the opportunity to see this groundbreaking modern dance company up close when his dancers give a one-night-only performance in the Center’s intimate Kay Theatre. The evening includes works that span Taylor’s impressive career: 3 Epitaphs (1956), performed to early New Orleans jazz and infused with humor; Aureole (1962), performed to Baroque music and known as Taylor’s first major success; Brandenburgs (1988), which celebrates the good things in life; and The Uncommitted (2011), which explores the human condition.

In almost 60 years of trailblazing choreography, Taylor has created cogent, wordless stories featuring unforgettable characters. Of his work, he says, “I make dances because I can’t help it. Working on dances has become a way of life, an addiction that at times resembles a fatal disease. Even so, I’ve no intention of kicking the habit. I make dances because I believe in the power of contemporary dance, its immediacy, its potency, its universality.”

The presentation of Paul Taylor Dance Company is made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and additional funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.