Choreographer | Paul Taylor
Paul Taylor
Paul Taylor, one of the most accomplished artists this nation has ever produced, helped shape and define America’s homegrown art of modern dance from the earliest days of his career as a dancer and choreographer in 1954 until his death in 2018. As artistic director of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, he created 147 dances, many of which rank among the greatest dances ever made. A trailblazer throughout his 64-year career, in 2015 he helped ensure the future of modern dance by establishing Paul Taylor American Modern Dance, which brings to Lincoln Center great modern works of the past, outstanding works by today’s leading choreographers, and commissioned works made on the Paul Taylor Dance Company.
Paul Taylor was born on July 29, 1930, and grew up in and around Washington, DC. He attended Syracuse University on a swimming scholarship in the late 1940s until he discovered dance through books at the University library, and then transferred to The Juilliard School. In 1954, he began his company while still dancing for other great artists. He joined the Martha Graham Dance Company in 1955 for the first of seven seasons as soloist while continuing to choreograph on his own troupe. In 1959, he was a guest artist with New York City Ballet, where Balanchine created the Episodes solo for him.
Mr. Taylor received nearly every important honor given to artists in the United States. In 1992, he was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors and received an Emmy Award for Speaking in Tongues, produced by WNET/New York the previous year. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Clinton in 1993. He was the recipient of three Guggenheim Fellowships and eight honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degrees. Awards for lifetime achievement include a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship – often called the “genius award.” Mr. Taylor was awarded France’s highest honor, the Légion d’Honneur, in 2000 for exceptional contributions to French culture.
Mr. Taylor died in Manhattan on August 29, 2018, leaving an extraordinary legacy of creativity and vision not only to American modern dance but to the performing arts the world over.
