The dance world lost Paul Taylor in 2018 after more than a six-decade career setting the standard for art, craft, inspiration and innovation in contemporary dance. The vibrant and versatile Paul Taylor Dance Company has called SF Performances its second home with regular appearances here for three decades. The Company's two different programs include Taylor's final work, Concertiana, and signature dances that defined his artistry-and dance in America.
Dance maker Paul Taylor first presented his choreography with five other dancers in Manhattan on May 30, 1954. That modest performance marked the beginning of 64 years of unrivaled creativity, and in the decades that followed, Mr. Taylor became a cultural icon and one of American history's most celebrated artists, hailed as part of the pantheon that created American modern dance.
The Paul Taylor Dance Company has traveled the globe many times over, bringing Mr. Taylor's ever-burgeoning repertoire to theaters and venues of every size and description in cultural capitals, on college campuses and in rural communities-and often to places modern dance had never been seen before. The Taylor Company has performed in more than 500 cities in 64 countries, representing the United States at arts festivals in more than 40 countries and touring extensively under the aegis of the U.S. Department of State. Its 1999 engagement in Chile was named the Best International Dance Event of 1999 by the country's Art Critics' Circle. In the summer of 2001 the Company toured in the People's Republic of China and performed in six cities, four of which had never seen American modern dance before. In the spring of 2003 the Company mounted an award-winning four-week, seven-city tour of the United Kingdom. The Company's performances in China in 2016 marked its fifth tour there, with plans to return in November 2018. The company regularly tours throughout North America, South America, Asia and Europe.