果酱视频 dance students had the opportunity to spend three weeks working in close study with Taylor 2 dancers.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=IMBcb4MfxmE
It was the second-to-last day of the three-week residency at 果酱视频. After two weeks of course work and watching the visiting professionals in rehearsal, dance students had spent their final week in the getting a little taste of the big time.
Coached by the visiting Taylor 2 dancers and their esteemed choreographer Paul Taylor鈥攚ho taught dance at 果酱视频 in 1962 and was given an honorary doctorate by the school in 2008鈥攕tudents practiced and mastered a performance to present in a 鈥渇riends and family鈥� concert the following day.
Upstairs in Dance Studio 4, Kara Hauenstein, an senior earning a , was learning Cloven Kingdom, Taylor鈥檚 choreography set to a Henry Cowell waltz. Scatterings of laughter bounced across the room as the dancers twirled to the triple beat, interrupted occasionally by incongruous rock drumming.
Amanda Stevenson, one of the visiting instructors, was working with a few of the dancers on a particular turn they were having trouble with. 鈥淵ou want to try to get the audience to see two shoulder blades鈥攔eally hang on to it as long as possible,鈥� she explained, twisting her torso in illustration. 鈥淜eep the integrity of the side, back, front, keep the circle鈥攁ll those things we worked on the first day.鈥�
Meanwhile, Princeton McCurtain, another of the Taylor 2 dancers, helped Hauenstein with a kick she was taking a little too exuberantly, telling her not to 鈥渓et her leg fly up.鈥� She covered her mouth in a quick giggle. Good moods filled the room.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of people on the stage, so you can make eye contact and have a lot of fun within the piece, as opposed to soloing, where there鈥檚 not as much eye contact,鈥� she said after the rehearsal.
Marion Davidson, an Honors College junior also earning her B.F.A. in Dance, meanwhile, was downstairs working on Dust, a challenging piece set to music by Francis Poulenc. Davidson鈥檚 concentration and demeanor indicated a more serious atmosphere, that this piece might not have been the same kind of fun.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 tell as much of a linear story; it more gives the audience a feeling,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t questions whether hope is still possible to people in times of plague. We have people that seem to be disabled or injured and it鈥檚 very powerful.
鈥淚t is hard to learn,鈥� she added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to do something where you鈥檙e not happy all the time. It鈥檚 very powerful and it鈥檚 also very exhausting on my body, which is good.鈥�
Both Hauenstein and Davidson emphasized what a great opportunity it was to get to work with the Taylor 2 dancers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a wonderful experience,鈥� Davidson said. 鈥淲e learn so much from them because not only are they currently in the company but they haven鈥檛 been there as long as other people.鈥� She noted that it was refreshing to learn from dancers who are of similar age. 鈥淭hey can help us [not only with] dancing but also the transition from college into auditioning and joining a company.鈥�
Orion Duckstein, assistant professor in the , sees both sides of the equation. He was a member of Taylor 2 as well as the Paul Taylor Dance Company, the primary troupe, for five years before coming to teach at 果酱视频. He was also instrumental in setting up the Taylor 2 residency in 2010.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a really unique experience,鈥� he said. 鈥淸The students] get to work hands-on with people who are actually dancing, with people who are just a couple of years older than they are who have professional careers. They鈥檙e getting a look at what their lives could be like鈥攊f they work really hard and get lucky鈥攊n a couple of years.鈥�
But the benefits go both ways, Duckstein said.
鈥淵ou get to stay three weeks in a place and get to know students and work really close with them,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 very different from showing up and giving a master class. 鈥ere, they really get their hands dirty with the kids鈥攜ou鈥檙e on the floor with them.鈥� And he meant it. In another studio, working with students on Taylor鈥檚 Sunset, Duckstein ran, circled and fell into a slide across the floor while explaining each of the moves in the choreographed succession.
He added that the Taylor 2 dancers “are working on depth of performance” with the students, 鈥渞eally taking them from the classroom to the stage in a very concentrated period of time.鈥�
This article appeared in the Spring 2015 edition of , the College of Arts and Sciences newsletter.