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December 19, 2007
Dancing Fiends: Modern Dance Legend Comes to Lubbock
Presidential Lecture & Performance Series opens spring season with Taylor Dancers.
Written by John Davis
Black Tuesday, celebrating the moxie of those who lived through the Great Depression, is set to popular songs of the era, including "The Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" and the period's anthem, "Brother Can You Spare A Dime." See more of Paul Taylor's world-famous choreography.
The Taylor Dance Company of New York, created by modern dance legend Paul Taylor, will open the spring season for the University’s Presidential Lecture & Performance Series.
The company will perform at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 11-12, 2008, at the Allen Theatre in the Student Union Building. A Mid-America Arts Alliance grant and a New England Foundation for the Arts grant will support the dance company’s visit as part of the National Endowment for the Arts’ American Masterpieces: Dance presentation.
Last year The Taylor Dance Company’s sister company, Taylor 2, spent a week teaching master classes to students at Lubbock Independent School District schools and Texas Tech before playing Sept. 29 to a sold-out house.
Wallace Chappell, executive director of Taylor 2 Dance Company, says the 16-member dance troupe will participate in educational and outreach activities for students at Lubbock Independent School District schools and Texas Tech.
“We’re coming back to try to build on last year’s success at the invitation of President Whitmore,” Chappell said. “These two nights of dancing will include a wide range of ideas, themes, images and music. It’s an excellent opportunity to see the work of Paul Taylor, who’s been choreographing for 53 years.”
Paul Taylor has become one of America’s most famous and accomplished choreographers. Some of his most famous works showcased in this tour include “Musical Offering,” “Black Tuesday” and “Fiends Angelical.”
Mary Jane Hurst, performance series organizer and faculty assistant to the president, said the Mid-America Arts Alliance and New England Foundation for the Arts grants made it possible to bring the larger Taylor Dance Company to Texas Tech. That, in turn, allows the lecture and performance series to reach its goal of enriching the lives of students and the Lubbock community.
“The Taylor Dance Company’s residence represents an enormous and invaluable boost to the cultural and academic atmosphere on campus and in the community,” Hurst said. “We are confident that our students, faculty, staff and community partners have been enriched by their engagement with this extraordinary dance group.”
Mid-America Arts Alliance enriches communities through cultural experiences throughout America’s heartland, developing programs and activities that allow more people to enjoy the arts and cultures of our region and the world, said Mary Kennedy McCabe, executive director of Mid-America.
“The Presidential Lecture & Performance Series at Texas Tech University is to be commended for its commitment to serving the community with this distinctive event,” McCabe said. “Audiences in West Texas will have the opportunity to see the exciting work of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, many for the first time. This is a great example of the focus we’ve had since 1972. Mid-America Arts Alliance is proud to help support this work and the Presidential Lecture & Performance Series at Texas Tech University.”
Reserved seat admission is $10. Students can get two free tickets with a valid student ID at the ticket booth in the Student Union Building. For tickets and more information, call Select-a-Seat at (806) 770-2000 or (800) 735-1288.
Story produced by the Office of Communications and Marketing, 806-742-2136. Web layout by Kristen DeLisle. Video and photo courtesy Paul Taylor Dance Company.