Paul Taylor Dance Company

Eran Bugge
Michael Apuzzo
Christina Lynch Markham
Madelyn Ho
Kristin Draucker
Lee Duveneck
Alex Clayton
Devon Louis
John Harnage

Maria Ambrose
Lisa Borres
Jada Pearman
Shawn Lesniak
Adam DIckerson
Jake Vincent
Jessica Ferretti
Austin Kelly
Raechelle Manalo

Founding Artistic Director
PAUL TAYLOR

Artistic Director
MICHAEL NOVAK

Rehearsal Directors
BETTIE DE JONG
ANDY LEBEAU
CATHY MCCANN

Principal Lighting Designers
JENNIFER TIPTON
JAMES F. INGALLS

Principal Set & Costume Designers
SANTO LOQUASTO
WILLIAM IVEY LONG

Executive Director
JOHN TOMLINSON

AIRS

Music by G. F. Handel
Excerpts from Concerti Grossi, opus 3, nos. 2, 3, 4a & 4b, 6;
Alcina, Ariodante, Berenice and Solomon
Choreography by Paul Taylor
Costumes by Gene Moore
Lighting by Jennifer Tipton
(First performed in 1978)

Alex Clayton      Madelyn Ho

John Harnage
Maria Ambrose
Jada Pearman
Jake Vincent
Jessica Ferretti

Overture: Concerto in F Major, Op. 3, No. 4a - Allegro

Concerto in B Major, Op.3, No. 2 - Largo  |  full cast

Concerto in D Major, Op. 3, No. 6 - Vivace   |  full cast

Concerto in G Major, Op. 3 No. 3 - Adagio  |  Ms. Ferretti

Overture to Ariodante - Alla Gavotta   |  Ms. Pearman and Mr. Harnage

Overture to Berenice - Movement III   |  full cast

Concerto in F Major, Op. 3, No. 4b – Allegro
Overture to Alcina – Musette  |  Ms. Ho and Mr. Clayton                

Arrival of the Queen of Sheba  |  full cast

Dream Music (Entrée des Songes Agréables)  |  Ms. Ferretti with full cast

Original production made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Preservation made possible by Elise Jaffe and Jeffrey Brown.

Additional preservation support from the Paul Taylor Repertory Preservation Project with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Hazel S. Kandall and Donald M. Kleban, Susan and Bob Wei, and the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency.

A CALL FOR SOFTER LANDINGS

Observing personal connections over the pandemic, I found the physical and rhythmical dynamics compelling. While building compassionate and vivid tableaux, the many partnerships constructed recreate the complex and colourful dynamics partnerships encounter. These partnerships acknowledge the past compassionately while risking to land softly. The creative process has given length to play with physicality's internal and external pressure while capturing human relationships' tranquil and destructive beauty. 
 
Rhythms unite us deeply and play an integral role in enhancing peaceful connections. They build a group's intelligence and produce common ground during unique periods. A Call for Softer Landings centers on a communal experience to recover as the movement grooves through the tumultuous and transforming pulses of life's offerings.

Music:
Optimo & Scraper by Liquid Liquid
Come Sunday by Anthony Brown’s Asian American Orchestra
Reeling by Julia Wolfe, performed by the Bang on a Can All-Stars from the album Field Recordings courtesy of Cantaloupe Music
Blessed by Joan Armatrading
Choreography by Peter Chu
Assistant to the Choreographer: Sloan Pearson
Costumes by Clarion Overmoyer
Lighting by Christopher Chambers
Sound Design by Daniel Moses Schreier
(World Premiere)

Christina Lynch Markham

Madelyn Ho
Kristin Draucker
Lee Duveneck
Alex Clayton
Devon Louis
John Harnage
Maria Ambrose
Lisa Borres
Jada Pearman
Shawn Lesniak
Adam DIckerson
Jake Vincent
Jessica Ferretti
Raechelle Manalo

Commissioned in part by the Northrop Centennial Commissions Fund and the Harkness Foundation for Dance.

PROMETHEAN FIRE

Fire “that can thy light relume” 
— William Shakespeare

Music by Johann Sebastian Bach
Orchestrated by Leopold Stokowski
Toccata & Fugue in D minor, Prelude in E-flat minor, 
and Chorale Prelude BWV 680
Choreography by Paul Taylor
Costumes by Santo Loquasto
Lighting by Jennifer Tipton
(First performed in 2002)

Devon Louis    Madelyn Ho

Michael Apuzzo
Christina Lynch Markham
Kristin Draucker
Lee Duveneck
Alex Clayton
Devon Louis
John Harnage
Maria Ambrose
Lisa Borres
Jada Pearman
Adam DIckerson
Jake Vincent
Jessica Ferretti
Austin Kelly
Raechelle Manalo

Commissioned by the American Dance Festival through the Doris Duke Awards for New Work and Samuel H. Scripps. Original production also made possible with support from Elise Jaffe and Jeffrey Brown.

Creation made possible by contributions to the Paul Taylor New Works Fund.

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 choreographer in 1954 until his death in 2018.  Having performed with Martha Graham’s company for several years, Mr. Taylor uniquely bridged the legendary founders of modern dance – Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Doris Humphrey and Ms. Graham – and the dance makers of the 21^st Century with whom he later worked. Through his initiative at Lincoln Center begun in 2015 – Paul Taylor American Modern Dance – he presented great modern works of the past and outstanding works by today’s leading choreographers alongside his own vast repertoire. He also commissioned the next generation of dance makers to work with his renowned Company, thereby helping to ensure the future of the art form.

Mr. Taylor continued to win public and critical acclaim for the vibrancy, relevance and power of his dances into his eighties, offering cogent observations on life’s complexities while tackling some of society’s thorniest issues. While he often propelled his dancers through space for the sheer beauty of it, he more frequently used them to comment on such profound issues as war, piety, spirituality, sexuality, morality and mortality. If, as George Balanchine said, there are no mothers-in-law in ballet, there certainly are dysfunctional families, disillusioned idealists, imperfect religious leaders, angels and insects in Mr. Taylor’s dances.  His repertoire of 147 works covers a breathtaking range of topics, but recurring themes include the natural world and man’s place within it; love and sexuality in all gender combinations; and iconic moments in American history. His poignant looks at soldiers, those who send them into battle and those they leave behind prompted the New York Times to hail him as “among the great war poets” – high praise indeed for an artist in a wordless medium.  While some of his dances have been termed “dark” and others “light,” the majority of his works are dualistic, mixing elements of both extremes.  And while his work was largely iconoclastic, he also made some of the most purely romantic, most astonishingly athletic, and downright funniest dances ever put on stage.

Paul Taylor was born on July 29, 1930 – exactly nine months after the stock market crash that led into the Great Depression – 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 assembled a small company of dancers and began to choreograph.  A commanding performer despite his late start in dance, he joined the Martha Graham Dance Company in 1955 for the first of seven seasons as a soloistwhile continuing to choreograph on his own troupe.  In 1959 he was invited to be a guest artist with New York City Ballet, where Balanchine created the Episodes solo for him.

Mr. Taylor first gained notoriety as a dance maker in 1957 with Seven New Dances; its study in non-movement famously earned it a blank newspaper review, and Graham subsequently dubbed him the “naughty boy” of dance.  In 1962, with his first major success – the sunny Aureole – he set his trailblazing modern movement not to contemporary music but to baroque works composed two centuries earlier, and then went to the opposite extreme a year later with a view of purgatory in Scudorama, using a commissioned, modern score.  He inflamed the establishment in 1965 by lampooning some of America’s most treasured icons in From Sea To Shining Sea, and created more controversy in 1970 by putting incest and spousal abuse center stage in Big Bertha.

After retiring as a performer in 1974, Mr. Taylor turned exclusively to choreography, resulting in a flood of masterful creativity.  The exuberant Esplanade (1975), one of several Taylor dances set to music by Bach, was dubbed an instant classic, and has come to be regarded as among the greatest dances ever made.  In Cloven Kingdom (1976) Mr. Taylor examined the primitive nature that lurks just below man’s veneer of sophistication and gentility.  With Arden Court (1981) he depicted relationships both platonic and romantic.  He looked at intimacy among men at war in Sunset (1983); pictured Armageddon in Last Look (1985); and peered unflinchingly at religious hypocrisy and marital rape in Speaking In Tongues (1988).  In Company B (1991) he used popular songs of the 1940s to juxtapose the high spirits of a nation emerging from the Depression with the sacrifices Americans made during World War II. In Eventide (1997) he portrayed the budding and fading of a romance. In The Word (1998), he railed against religious zealotry and blind conformity to authority.  In the first decade of the new millennium he poked fun at feminism in Dream Girls (2002); condemned American imperialism in Banquet of Vultures (2005); and stared death square in the face in the Walt Whitman-inspired Beloved Renegade (2008).  Brief Encounters (2009) examined the inability of many people in contemporary society to form meaningful and lasting relationships. In this decade he turned a frightening short story into a searing drama in To Make Crops Grow and compared the mating rituals of the insect world to that of humans in the comedic Gossamer Gallants. Mr. Taylor’s final work, Concertiana, made when he was 87, premiered at Lincoln Center in 2018. 

Hailed for uncommon musicality and catholic taste, Mr. Taylor set movement to music so memorably that for many people it is impossible to hear certain orchestral works and popular songs and not think of his dances. He set works to an eclectic mix that includes Medieval masses, Renaissance dances, baroque concertos, classical warhorses, and scores by Debussy, Cage, Feldman, Ligeti and Pärt; Ragtime, Tango, Tin Pan Alley and Barbershop Quartets; Harry Nilsson, The Mamas and The Papas, and Burl Ives; telephone time announcements, loon calls and laughter. Mr. Taylor influenced dozens of men and women who have gone on to choreograph – many on their own troupes – while others have gone on to become respected teachers at colleges and universities.  And he worked closely with such outstanding artists as James F. Ingalls, Jasper Johns, Alex Katz, Ellsworth Kelly, William Ivey Long, Santo Loquasto, Gene Moore, Tharon Musser, Robert Rauschenberg, John Rawlings, Thomas Skelton and Jennifer Tipton. Mr. Taylor’s dances are performed by the Paul Taylor Dance Company, the six-member Taylor 2 Dance Company (begun in 1993), and companies throughout the world including the Royal Danish Ballet, Rambert Dance Company, American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

As the subject of the documentary films Dancemaker and Creative Domain, and author of the autobiography Private Domain and Wall Street Journal essay Why I Make Dances, Mr. Taylor shed light on the mysteries of the creative process as few artists have.  Dancemaker, which received an Oscar nomination in 1999, was hailed by Time as “perhaps the best dance documentary ever,” while Private Domain, originally published by Alfred A. Knopf, was nominated by the National Book Critics Circle as the most distinguished biography of 1987. A collection of Mr. Taylor’s essays, Facts and Fancies, was published by Delphinium in 2013.

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.  In 1995 he received the Algur H. Meadows Award for Excellence in the Arts and was named one of 50 prominent Americans honored in recognition of their outstanding achievement by the Library of Congress’s Office of Scholarly Programs.  He is the recipient of three Guggenheim Fellowships, and honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degrees from California Institute of the Arts, Connecticut College, Duke University, The Juilliard School, Skidmore College, the State University of New York at Purchase, Syracuse University and Adelphi University.  Awards for lifetime achievement include a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship – often called the “genius award” – and the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award.  Other awards include the New York State Governor's Arts Award and the New York City Mayor's Award of Honor for Art and Culture.  In 1989 Mr. Taylor was elected one of ten honorary members of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.  Having been elected to knighthood by the French government as Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1969 and elevated to Officier in 1984 and Commandeur in 1990, 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.

MICHAEL NOVAK

Michael Novak became only the second Artistic Director in the history of the Paul Taylor Dance Foundation in September 2018, upon the death of Founding Artistic Director Paul Taylor the previous month. Mr. Novak was a member of the Paul Taylor Dance Company from 2010-2019.

Raised in Rolling Meadows, IL, Mr. Novak began studying dance at age ten. At 12 he developed a severe speech impediment that required intensive therapy. Dance became a liberating and vital force for self-expression. “I wanted nothing more than to achieve in dancing that sense of effortlessness and grace that were so difficult for me to find while speaking aloud,” he said. “With dancing, there were no limits to what I could express.” In 2001, Mr. Novak was offered a Presidential Scholarship to attend The University of the Arts in Philadelphia to pursue training in jazz and ballet. The following year, he undertook an apprenticeship at the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet Society, where he remained until 2004.

Mr. Novak was admitted to Columbia University’s School of General Studies where he was awarded scholarships for academic excellence. He became a member of the Columbia Ballet Collaborative, the University’s critically acclaimed resident company, and was named Artistic Associate responsible for advising on the curation of resident choreographers and directing the group’s branding and promotion. At Columbia, Mr. Novak became immersed in the study of dance history, which ignited his passionate devotion to modern dance.  He developed a keen interest in the work of François Delsarte, the 19th Century French movement theorist who codified the system linking emotion and gesture that would inspire the first generation of American modern dancers. A highlight of his studies at Columbia was performing Mr. Taylor’s solo in Aureole, which led him to embrace the Taylor repertoire. In 2008, Mr. Novak graduated magna cum laude from Columbia, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

In a 2009 program celebrating Serge Diaghilev at Columbia’s Miller Theatre, Mr. Novak embodied Vaslav Nijinsky’s role in L’Après-midi d’un faune with an authenticity that brought him to the attention of dance critics and scholars. He has since performed works by Bill T. Jones and Stephen Petronio and danced with Gibney Dance and the Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company. He has also studied at Springboard Danse Montreal under Alexandra Wells and Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie.

Mr. Novak’s Paul Taylor Dance Company debut in the 2010-11 season earned him a nomination for the Clive Barnes Foundation Dance Award. During his nine-year career he danced 57 roles in 50 Taylor dances, 13 of which were made on him, and created roles for five of the Taylor Company Commission choreographers.  In announcing Mr. Novak’s appointment as Artistic Director Designate in March 2018, Mr. Taylor said, “Michael has mastered our repertory and steeped himself in dance history. He understands the need to nurture the past, present and future of modern dance. I look forward to working with him and preparing him to assume artistic leadership of my Company.”

“I am determined to further Paul Taylor’s vision,” Mr. Novak said upon assuming the role of Artistic Director, “and to bring his gems to every part of the globe … to honor past dance makers and encourage future artists… and to make sure modern dance remains a transformative force for good in our lives long into the future.”  

PETER CHU (Choreographer) is originally from Cocoa Beach, Florida. Chu is a distinguished artist who strives to push the physical bounds of dance. He began his training as a competitive gymnast, later nurturing his artistry at Dussich Dance Studio where his evolution into dance began. As a BFA student at The Juilliard School (under the direction of Benjamin Harkarvy), Chu was pushed further as a technical mover and began an explosive journey into choreography.

Upon graduation, he was awarded the Hector Zaraspe Prize for Choreography. Chu is a remarkable and multi-faceted artist. As a performer, he has danced with BJM _Danse and EZdanza, as the lead in Christina Perri’s Jar of Hearts music video, in Celine Dion’s Vegas spectacular A New Day, and with Crystal Pite’s company Kidd Pivot. 

In 2008, Chu formed a Las Vegas project-based company—chuthis. His multidisciplinary dance company combines innovative lighting and sound with live contemporary movement. In 2018, chuthis. presented paper cuts in an empty bag at Zuiderstrandtheater in The Hague, Netherlands, as a part of the Shortcuts XL program, and was the company in residence at Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School & Camp. A part of the mission of chuthis. is to provide movement education programs for the next generation of artists. Through the chuthis. Movement Intensive, an annual summer event, and chuthis. Moves, a 2-3 day custom workshop for both national and international dance schools, the chuthis. team fosters technical/artistic development and mind/body familiarity while igniting an adventurous side of dance.

Chu has been an honoured recipient of choreographic awards & commissions, including the Hector Zaraspe Prize, A.C.E. Capezio Award, & Hubbard Street Dance International Commission Project. He was also named a Blodgett Distinguished Artist by Harvard University for 2018. Additionally, Chu has served as the Rehearsal Director for Nederlands Dans Theater 2, and as a Guest Rehearsal Director for NDT1.

Chu has created works for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Staatstheater Augsburg, Germany, Gibney Dance Company, Charlotte Ballet, Cirque du Soleil, Charlotte Ballet II, Orlando Ballet Theatre, Hubbard Street 2, Giordano Dance Chicago, So You Think You Can Dance, Naomi Stikeman’s Çaturn, Houston MET Dance, New Dialect, SALT Contemporary Dance, The Juilliard School, Harvard University, Point Park University, Nederlands Dans Theater Summer Intensive, Springboard Danse Montreal, SUNY Purchase, Western Michigan University, & Brigham Young University Contemporary Dance Theatre, among others. Teaching highlights include Harvard University (Guest Lecturer), HSPro, Springboard X | shift perspective, Axis Connect, Hubbard Street Studio Series, The Dance Teacher Summit, and Movement Invention Project.

Most recently, Chu created an evening length work for Staatstheater Augsburg, Germany entitled Left Behind (you) Right. In 2022, Chu will premiere creations for Paul Taylor Dance Company, and his own company, chuthis.

BETTIE DE JONG (Rehearsal Director) was born in Sumatra, Indonesia, and in 1946 moved to Holland, where she continued her early training in dance and mime.  Her first professional engagement was with the Netherlands Pantomime Company. After coming to New York City to study at the Martha Graham School, she performed with the Graham Company, the Pearl Lang Company, John Butler and Lucas Hoving, and was seen on CBS-TV with Rudolf Nureyev in a duet choreographed by Paul Taylor.  Ms. de Jong joined the Taylor Company in 1962.  Noted for her strong stage presence and long line, she was Mr. Taylor's favorite dancing partner and, as Rehearsal Director, was his surrogate in the studio and on tour for more than 40 years. In 2019, she received the 2019 Balasarawati/Joy Anne Dewey Beinecke Endowed Chair for Distinguished Teaching Award from American Dance Festival for her substantial contributions to the sustainment of the Taylor legacy.

ANDY LEBEAU (Rehearsal Director) was raised in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He graduated from the Boston Conservatory of Music with a B.F.A. in dance in 1993. He then moved to New York City to be one of the original members of Taylor 2. Two years later he was invited to join Paul Taylor Dance Company. After retiring from the stage in 2005, Lebeau served as Director of The Taylor School, then Director of Taylor 2, Company Manager, and Rehearsal Assistant to Mr. Taylor. He works closely with Mr. Novak and Ms. Bettie de Jong.

CATHY MCCANN (Rehearsal Director) was a member of the Paul Taylor Dance Company for 13 years. Among the 18 dances Mr. Taylor made on her were Mercuric Tidings, Brandenburgs, Musical Offering and Sunset. She was featured in five Taylor television specials, including the 1991 Emmy Award-winning Speaking in Tongues. In 1991, Mikhail Baryshnikov invited her to join the White Oak Dance Project, where she performed works by Mark Morris and Lar Lubovitch. Ms. McCann has staged Taylor dances for American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, San Francisco Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet and Washington Ballet, among others, and her own choreography has been presented at New York City Center. She has been a faculty member of Adelphi University, Barnard College and Hofstra University, and has taught at the American Dance Festival and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. She was appointed to Director of Taylor 2 by Michael Novak, Artistic Director of Paul Taylor American Modern Dance, in March 2019. She became Rehearsal Director in March 2020.

ERAN BUGGE is from Oviedo, Florida where she began her dance training at the Orlando Ballet School, and went on to study at the Hartt School at the University of Hartford under the direction of Peggy Lyman, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a B.F.A. in Ballet Pedagogy in 2005. She attended The Taylor School and the 2004 and 2005 Taylor Summer Intensives.  Ms. Bugge has performed in works by Amy Marshall, Katie Stevinson-Nollet and Jean Grand-Maître. She was also a member of Full Force Dance Theatre and the Adam Miller Dance Project.  In 2012, Ms. Bugge was the recipient of the Hartt Alumni Award. In 2018, she danced in the feature film The Chaperone choreographed by John Carrafa. She joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Fall 2005.

MICHAEL APUZZO grew up in North Haven, Connecticut. He studied Economics and Theater at Yale University, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2005. Growing up in musical theater, he began his formal dance training in high school, then danced and choreographed in undergraduate companies. After being dance captain for an original production of Miss Julie choreographed by Peter Pucci, Mr. Apuzzo debuted professionally at the Yale Repertory Theater. He has since performed in numerous musicals at equity theaters across the country and in the National Tour of Twyla Tharp’s Broadway show, Movin’ Out. He is a second-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, author of Flying Through Yellow, certified personal trainer, and co-producer of the new Hamptons charity event Dancers For Good. He joined Paul Taylor Dance Company in Fall 2008.

CHRISTINA LYNCH MARKHAM grew up in Westbury, New York and began dancing with Lori Shaw, and continued at Holy Trinity High School under the direction of Catherine Murphy. She attended Hofstra University on scholarship and performed works by Cathy McCann, Karla Wolfangle, Rachel List, Robin Becker, and Lance Westergard. During college she also trained at The Taylor School, and attended the Company’s Summer Intensive Program. After graduating Summa Cum Laude in 2004, she danced with the Amy Marshall Dance Company, Stacie Nelson and The Dance Theater Company. She joined Taylor 2 in Summer 2008, and made her debut with the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Summer 2013.

MADELYN HO, M.D. is from Sugar Land, Texas where she began dancing at Kinard Dance School with Shirley McMillan and later trained with BalletForte under the artistic direction of Michael Banigan. She graduated from Harvard College with a B.A. in Chemical and Physical Biology. While there, she was awarded the Artist Development Fellowship and attended the Taylor School Winter Intensive. She was a member of Taylor 2 from 2008 to 2012 and left to attend Harvard Medical School, during which time she was a guest artist for Alison Cook Beatty Dance and performed with Urbanity Dance. She joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Spring 2015 and completed her Doctorate of Medicine in May 2018.

KRISTIN DRAUCKER was born in Washington D.C and grew up in York, Pennsylvania. She began her training at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under Marcia Dale Weary. In 2005, she was awarded a Fellowship to study Horton and Graham at The Ailey School. Since moving to New York City she has danced with Michael Mao Dance, ArmitageGone!Dance, New Chamber Ballet, and at Bard's Summerscape in Les Huguenots. In 2009, she joined the 50th Anniversary International Tour of West Side Story and in 2010 performed in Tino Sehgal's KISS at The Guggenheim Museum. Ms. Draucker began creating dances in 2014 and has shown her work in New York, Philadelphia and as part of the LaMAMA Umbria Festival in Spoleto, Italy. She joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Winter 2017.

LEE DUVENECK grew up in Arlington, Texas, where he trained with Anne Oswalt and Gwen Price. In 2010, he earned his B.F.A. in Dance Performance from Southern Methodist University, where he studied with Taylor alumna Ruth Andrien and jazz dance icon Danny Buraczeski. While in New York, he has danced for Annmaria Mazzini, Mari Meade and Jessica Gaynor. Mr. Duveneck joined Taylor 2 in 2012, and joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Summer 2017.

ALEX CLAYTON grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, He received his B.F.A. in Dance with a Minor in Visual Arts from Stephens College in 2013. He was a Graham 2 company member from 2014 to 2015. He also performed with companies including 10 Hairy Legs, Abarukas Project, Curet Performance Project and Performa15. He served as Rehearsal Assistant for Paul Taylor American Modern Dance Taylor Company Commissions choreographer Lila York when she created Continuum in 2016. He joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Summer 2017.

DEVON LOUIS who hails from Washington, DC, is a graduate of Duke Ellington School of the Arts. He attended the Ailey School as a recipient of the Oprah Winfrey Scholarship, and furthered his dance education at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival under the direction of Milton Myers. Mr. Louis has performed works by Alvin Ailey, Matthew Rushing, Christopher Huggins, Nathan Trice, Ronald K. Brown and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. He has also performed as a member of Ballet Hispanico’s junior company, BHdos; The Metropolitan Opera; and Nimbus Dance Works. Mr. Louis joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Summer 2018.

JOHN HARNAGE a native of Miami, Florida, studied dance at the Miami City Ballet School and New World School of the Arts. He was a Modern Dance Finalist in the 2010 National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts YoungArts competition. In 2014 he graduated from The Juilliard School, where he performed works by Pina Bausch, Alexander Ekman, Jose Limón, and Lar Lubovitch, among others. He then began working with Jessica Lang Dance, and joined the company in 2015, performing and teaching around the world. He also performed as a principal dancer in Washington National Opera's 2017 production of Aida at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Mr. Harnage joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Fall 2018.

MARIA AMBROSE grew up in Meredith, New Hampshire and began her dance training at age four under the direction of Sally Downs. She furthered her training with Edra Toth and performed with the Boston Dance Company. She attended George Mason University where she was awarded the Harriet Mattusch Special Recognition in Dance. And graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BFA in Dance Performance in 2011. She has performed with Elisa Monte Dance, The Classical Theatre of Harlem, LEVYdance, AThomasProject, and Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance. In 2018, she traveled to China as an ambassador for Parsons Dance to teach dance to young musicians, and then to Japan as part of the Dance International Program. She began studying at The Taylor School in 2012, and joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Spring 2019.

LISA BORRES a native of Staten Island, New York, is a graduate of LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts. At the Hartt School of the University of Hartford, from which she graduated in 2011, she studied with Stephen Pick and Katie Stevenson-Nollet and danced in works by Martha Graham and Pascal Rioult. She participated in Summer Intensives at the Joffrey Ballet School, Martha Graham Dance Company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and Parsons Dance, and has taught dance at The Hartt School. Since 2012, Lisa has been part of the selection process for Ballet Tech, Eliot Feld’s tuition-free school that draws its students from the NYC public school system, whose diversity reflects the full American spectrum. She has performed with Amy Marshall Dance Company, Elisa Monte Dance, DAMAGEdance, and Lydia Johnson Dance. She joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Spring 2019.

JADA PEARMAN began dancing at the Motion School of Dance in Hamilton, Bermuda where she trained extensively in all styles of dance. In 2013, Pearman attended The Grier School in Pennsylvania, as a pre-professional dancer under the direction of Jocelyn Hrzic. Whilst at The Grier School, she worked with choreographers such as Jon Lehrer, Melissa Rector, Kiki Lucas, Phil Orsano and many more. As a member of Grier Dance, she performed at the Palm Springs Choreography Festival, Steps on Broadway Choreography Festival and Koresh Artists Showcase. She attended summer intensives including Alvin Ailey, Point Park, University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Hubbard Street. She earned her BFA from the University of Arizona in Spring of 2019 where she performed works by Martha Graham, Larry Keigwin and others. She joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Summer 2019.

SHAWN LESNIAK from New Haven, Connecticut, began dancing at the age of seven. For most of his youth, Shawn trained in various dance techniques such as ballet, jazz, modern and tap, and he danced competitively for more than a decade. He continued his training at The Ailey School and Point Park University. He has toured both internationally and domestically as a member of Parsons Dance, and has worked with choreographers such as Trey McIntyre, Matthew Neenan, Matthew Powell and Emery LeCrone. Mr. Lesniak joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Winter 2019.

ADAM DICKERSON was raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado, began his formal dance training after graduating high school with the Colorado Jazz Dance Company under the direction of Zetta Alderman and Holly Jones. He continued dancing at Colorado College and was mentored by Patrizia Herminjard and Debbie Mercer. During Dickerson’s college career he performed works by Anna Sokolow, Trisha Lai and attended three consecutive Summer Intensives at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. In 2013, after graduating with a B.A. in Studio Art, he moved to New York City to dance with Graham 2, Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre, Amy Marshall Dance Company, H.T. Chen & Dancers, Lisa Fagan Dance Problems and Fooju Dance Collaborative, and he performed as a guest artist with Dark Circles Contemporary Dance in Dallas, Texas. He joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Winter 2019.

JAKE VINCENT was born in Atlantic City and grew up in Flemington, New Jersey He attended the Taylor School Summer Intensive in 2012, and received a B.F.A. in Dance and Dance Education in 2014 from Montclair State University. He performed with Rioult Dance NY, Von Howard Project, DiMauro Dance, Zullo/Raw Movement, 360Dance Company, Mazzini Dance Collective, 10 Hairy Legs, Douglas Dunn and Dancers and Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance. He joined Taylor 2 in summer 2017. He joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Winter 2020.

JESSICA FERRETTI, originally from Port Chester, New York, started her dance training at Westchester Dance Academy. She graduated magna cum laude in 2019 from Marymount Manhattan College, where she performed works by Larry Keigwin, Jessica Lang, Michael Thomas, Loni Landon, Nancy Lushington, Pedro Ruiz, Chase Brock and Tito Del Saz. She attended the Paul Taylor Summer Intensives in 2016 and 2018 and the Martha Graham Intensive in 2017. She joined Taylor 2 in fall 2019. She joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Summer 2021.

AUSTIN KELLY is from Overland Park, Kansas where he began dancing at Jody Phillips Dance Company and later studied at the University of Hartford’s The Hartt School where he graduated Summa Cum Laude earning a B.A. in Performing Arts Management with minors in Dance Performance and Business Management in 2021. He has performed works by Paul Taylor, José Limón, August Bournonville, Lar Lubovitch, and Stephen Pier. While earning his degree, he simultaneously studied Paul Taylor’s style through The Taylor School’s winter intensives, summer intensives, and virtual classes held during the Covid-19 pandemic. Austin joined Alison Cook Beatty Dance after graduating and currently dances with the Paul Taylor Dance Company.

RAECHELLE MANALO is from Secaucus, New Jersey, studied at the Taylor School under the direction of Raegan Wood as a Teen Ensemble member. She graduated summa cum laude from the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College, SUNY where she was the recipient of the President’s Award for Achievement in Dance, class of 2020. Manalo joined Ballet Hispanico’s BHdos upon graduation and has performed as a member of MeenMoves and the Headlights Theater. She has danced works by Joseph Hernandez, Sameena Mitta, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Annie Rigney, Bennyroyce Royon, Anouk van Dijk as well as masterworks by Merce Cunningham and José Limón and currently dances with the Paul Taylor Dance Company.

Robert E Aberlin, Co-Chair
Nancy H. Coles, MD, Co-Chair
Douglas L. Peterson, Vice Chair
Stephen Kroll Reidy, Vice Chair
Joseph A. Smith, Treasurer
Elise Jaffe, Secretary
Michael Novak, Artistic Director
John Tomlinson, Executive Director
Carolyn Adams, Trustee Emeritus
Emad Bibawi

Sally Brayley Bliss, Trustee Emeritus
Deirdre K. Dunn
John Philip Falk
Richard E. Feldman, Esq.
Adam MacLean
Yvonne Rieber
 William A. Shutzer
C.F. Stone III
Stephen Weinroth
Max R. Shulman - Counsel

Dr. Robert A. Scott, Chair
Carolyn Adams, Vice Chair
Christine Ramsay Covey, Secretary
Lisa Brothers Arbisser, MD
Sally Brayley Bliss
Joan C. Bowman
Darcy Gilpin
Dr. John D. Golenski

Maria Kantorowicz
Ambassador Kenton Keith
Roger A. Kluge
Lee Manning-Vogelstein
Ariane Malia Reinhart
Hal Rubenstein
Max R. Shulman

Artistic Director    Michael Novak
Rehearsal Director    Bettie de Jong
Rehearsal Director    Andy LeBeau
Rehearsal Director    Cathy McCann
Production Stage Manager / Producer of Special Projects    Stacey-Jo Marine
Lighting Supervisor    Christopher S. Chambers
Wardrobe Supervisor    Barbara Erin Delo

Executive Director    John Tomlinson
Director of Finance    Sarah Schindler
Director of Development    Jenna Jacobs
Company Manager    Bridget Welty
Director of Operations    Noah Aberlin
Director of Tour Engagements    Lisa Conlon
Director of The Taylor School    Carolyn Adams
Fundraising Counsel    Lucie Andre
Senior Development Associate    Dorcas Yip

Digital and Social Content    Laura Halzack
Taylor School Manager    Amanda Stevenson 
Director of Worldwide Licensing    Richard Chen-See
Press Agent    Lisa Labrado
Orthopedic Consultant    David S. Weiss, M.D, NYU Langone Health
Archival Consultant    Linda Edgerly, The Winthrop Group
Auditor    Michael Wallace, Lutz & Carr
Travel Agent    Michael Retsina, Altour

10,000+

• Curtis L Carlson Family Foundation
• Robert Lunieski
• Jennifer Marrone and David Short

5,000+

• Jerry Artz
• Kurt and Susan Bjorklund, Dedicated to Silas and Victoria Ford
• Ellie Crosby, The Longview and Crosswols Foundations
• Richard Gregory
• Gail and Stuart Hanson
• Randy Hartten and Ron Lotz
• Marbrook Foundation
• Gary A. Reetz

2,500+

• Drs. Robert Bruininks and Susan Hagstrum
• Susan DeNuccio
• Nancy Gossell
• Shawn Monaghan and Greg Plotnikoff
• Thomas and Conchy Morgan, In Memory of Sylvia and Henry Frisch 
• Sandra Morris
• RBC Foundation-USA
• RBC Wealth Management
• Scarborough Fair Boutique
• Donald Williams and Pamela Neuenfeldt

1,000+

• Anonymous
• Frederick L. Betz
• Mary Benson
• Jeff Bieganek
• Deb Cran and Bob Craven
• Bruce and Judith Hadler
• Karen Hanson and Dennis Senchuk
• Minhchau and Lawrence Harms
• Sally and Richard Leider
• Glenn Lindsey
• Bob and Susanna McMaster
• Medtronic Foundation
• Tim and Gayle Ober
• Kathryn Sedo and Scott Beers

500+

• Margaret Albrecht
• Jeanne Andre
• Kathryn Cahill, In Honor of Ferne Rowland
• R. and J. Cameron
• Rob Carlson and Gregg Larson
• John and Nancy Conlin
• Will and Ginny Craig
• Fran Davis
• Stephen Davis and L Murray Thomas
• Meghan DeBruycker Legacy Fund-Willmar Area Community Foundation
• Bob and Nancy Erickson
• Jo-Ida Hansen
• Brian Lammers and Emily Knox
• Barbara and Jeffrey Land
• David and Leni Moore Family Foundation
• Mark and Cecilia Morrow
• Gwen and Mason Myers
• Rebekah Nagler
• Lance Olson
• Derrill Pankow
• Dale Schatzlein and Emily Maltz Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation
• Richard Taylor
• TCF Foundation
• John Wald and Marianne Remedios
• Mark and Carol Weitz

250+

• Anonymous
• Elissa Adams and Michael Margulies
• Janice Apple
• Kate and Lynn Christianson
• George Ehrenberg
• Pat Gaarder
• Denise and Corey Holtz
• Barry and Karen Johnson
• Jan and Lance Johnson
• Jennifer and Mark Johnson
• Candy Lord
• Holly MacDonald
• David Musolf
• Elizabeth Parker
• Ann Piotrowski
• Patricia and Joseph Pulice
• Judith Rohde
• Gordon Rouse and Sylvia Beach
• Catharine Ruther and David Vanney
• Phyllis Saltzman
• Kathleen Schou
• Dr. Darlene Sholtis and Dr. Heino Beckmann
• John and Kelly Wheaton
• Mark Wright and Elizabeth Walton

100+

• Anonymous
• Paul Aslanian
• Thomas and Jill Barland
• Sharon Bigot
• Jeanne Blaskowski
• David Braslau
• Kristen Brogdon
• Mark and Karena Casey
• JaNan Cavanaugh
• Russell Cowles
• Virginia Dale
• Sandra Dale
• Timothy and Judith Dove
• William Durfee and Devorah Goldstein
• Marcia and Berkan Endres
• Kathy Gremillion
• Richard Gwynne
• David and Julie Hartung
• Joyce and Eugene Haselmann
• Annemarie Herrlich
• Patricia Herrmann
• Christina Herzog
• Gayle Hjellming
• Richard Hruby and Kimberly Broderick
• Kimberly Hutchens
• Janet Johnson
• Tovio Kallas and Beatrice Holton
• Micki and Neil Kay
• Warren and Patricia Kelly
• Randy Kish
• Christina Kraft and Nelson Capes
• Alan and Peggy Lathrop
• James and Sharon Lewis
• Barbara Lind and Craig Poeschl
• Kimberley MacLennan
• Holly Manning
• Candice and Gerald Matykowski
• Kenneth and Judith Matysik
• George and Orla McClure
• Margaret Moutvic-Wasz
• Michael and Lisa Nekich
• Jenine Nordquist
• Jennifer and William Neujahr
• Donald Ofstedal
• Field and Cynthia Olson
• David Pace
• David and Mary Parker
• Jacob Rabinowitz
• Holly Radis-McCluskey and Glen McCluskey
• John Reay and Karen Hanson
• Bridget and David Reddan
• Debra Reischl
• Julia Sand
• Kari Schloner
• Dan Sheehan
• John Shreves
• Jan and Alan Sickbert
• Jon Thomas
• Cindy Tong and Robert Denison
• Ertugrul and Karen Owens Tuzcu
• John Van Bogar
• Cheryl Wall
• Michael Weinbeck
• Cathy Westrum and Annelynn Westrum
• Monica Winker-Bergstrom
• Millie Woodbury
• Roger Worm

Up to $99

• Atashi Acharya
• Kent Akervik
• Gerald and Georgianna Allan
• Arthur and Charlet Allen
• Jean Anderson
• Marcia Anderson
• Michael and Jessica Austin
• Kevin and Shirley Arms
• Peter Bartholome
• Todd Barton
• Austin Beatty
• Michael Blomberg
• Tierra Boose
• Jason Borah
• Mary Boyer
• Patti Brase
• Kathryn Bredemus
• Philip Briggs
• Clifford Brody
• Nancy Brown
• Justin Burke
• Thomas Cabaniss
• Patricia Cagle
• Mary Campbell
• Philippe Catalan
• Fay Chang
• Karen Charles
• Mary Ann and Stephen Chicoine
• David and Nancy Claussen
• Deborah Clendenning
• Beverly Connolly
• Jeanne and David Cornish
• Scott Cragle
• Charlotte Curry
• Neal Cuthbert and Louise Robinson
• Cynthia Daggett
• Emily Dail
• Andre Delattre
• Soleil Des Lauriers
• Cindy Devoy
• Vicki Donatell
• Byron Douglass
• Robert Dufault and Ann Wilcox
• Nancy Duffy
• Lee Dunn
• Jill and Ralph Dupslaff
• Jean Durades
• Alisa Eland
• Kristin Elizondo
• Susan Elsner
• Barbara and Gerald Erickson
• Tamara Eristavi
• Valerie Fazedin
• Elizabeth Fleck
• Debra and Phillip Ford
• Judith Franklin
• Kirk Froggart
• Candance Gossen
• Michael Green and Jane Powers
• Jane Greenberg
• Amanda Grimm and Steven Pope
• Julie Hagemann
• Nils and Heather Halker
• Urbae Hall
• Amy Handelsman
• Jim Hartmann and Michelle Miles
• Jean Haskell
• Richard Haskin
• Cari Hatcher
• Deborah Hennrikus
• Patrick and Kimberley Higgins
• John Hofstede
• Janet Horvath
• Ramona Jacobs and Charles Christianson
• Karin Jacobson and Adam Chapweske
• Ann Jaede
• Jay Jaffee and Wendy Friede
• Bill Jones
• Michael Kanner
• Anna Kerben
• Cassandra Kiehn
• Milo Kim
• Nancy Klausner
• Amy Kosari
• Connie Kuhn
• Arnold Kvam
• Roberta Lamps
• Carol Larson
• Linda Leamer
• Kathryn LeFevere
• Jane Leonard and Lori Lippert
• Elizabeth Ler
• Debra Lex
• Michelle and Kevin Lian-Anderson
• Kathryn Lien
• Kristine Loh
• Ann Loushine-Thomsen
• Marcelienne and Roger Lundquist
• Dianne and Don MacLennan

Up to $99 (continued)

• Kyle Maltz
• Kathryn Manger
• Judy Marcouiller
• Nancy Marcy
• Cynthia Marsh and C.W. Vandersluis
• Susan McNamara
• Margaret Michaelson
• Sanjay Mishra
• Jill Mitchell
• M Valeriana Moeller
• Eric Molho
• Karen Moon
• Daniel Moore
• James Moore
• Ayaka Moriyama
• Summer Morrison
• Ann Mosey
• Chuck Munro
• Bridget Murphy
• Amy Nelson Sander
• Lloyd Nestrud
• Shelley and James Nichols
• Libby Nickel
• Linda and Larry Nielsen
• Nina Norum
• James and Sarah Novotny
• Kristine Olson
• Sandra Olson
• Lynn O’Neal
• Barbara Owens
• Nicolas Paredes Sepulveda
• Ann and Bill Parker
• Judith Parr
• Helen Paul
• Mike Payer
• Matthew Peak
• Marjorie Pearson
• Christina Peterson
• Edward Peterson
• Greg and Rebecca Phelan
• Charisse Pickron
• Holly Pike and Joseph Klein
• Cathy Poff
• Claudia Poser and Ronald Ofstead
• James Potter
• Nancy Price
• Rebecca Quaid
• Mark Rekow and Lynn Mader
• Melanie Richards
• Mary Roberts and Edward Kraft
• Piper Ritter
• Susan Roberts
• Robyne Robinson
• Yvonne Rode
• Susan Rohde
• Susan Rose
• Irina Rukina
• Makie Sanchez
• Edward Sarnoski
• Rebecca Scherpelz
• Robin Schow
• Cynthia Sharon
• Elizabeth Sharpe 
• Michele and Chris Shepherd
• Rebecca and John Shockley
• Kevin Silverstein and Karen Tang
• Carol Skinner
• Emily Soltis
• Patricia Stankovich
• Kathleen Stanley
• Nanette Stearns
• Kate Stolpman
• Vicki Strahan
• George Swan
• Toni Taylor
• Marie-Luise and Anita Teigen
• Ivette Tejeda
• Connor Theisen
• Kay Troan
• Nancy Tykwinski
• Brandon Ure
• Alla Valdberg
• Tatiana Valdberg
• Ann Van de Winckel
• Frank Van Tongeren
• Bill Venne and Douglas Kline
• Carolyn Wahl
• Brian and Katherine Weitz
• Andrew Welken
• Helen and Paul Wells
• Curtis West
• Susan Wiste
• Allie Wolf
• Rachel Wolff
• Winifred Wu and Robert Lund
• Yuhsuan Yeh
• Mary Zilge
• Margaret Zoerhoff
• Roberta Zohara

• Anonymous
• Reade Adams
• Katherine Anderson
• Terry and Vicki Anderson
• Pat Andrle
• J. Michael Barone
• Karen and Alan Beck
• Mark Bergaas and Mark Ceilley
• Carol Bessler
• Fred and Cynthia Betz, In Honor of Esther Stocke
• Dean Billmeyer
• Joyce Brown
• Drs. Robert Bruininks and Susan Hagstrum
• Francis Carter
• James Commander
• Scott Cragle
• William and Virginia Craig
• Dee Ann and Kent Crossley
• Thomas Dillon
• Sheena Dufresne
• Laura and Tim Edman
• David Fiebiger
• Peter Fiore
• Catherine Fischer
• Deborah Ford
• Susan Foster
• Salvatore Franco

• Judith Franklin
• Reid Froiland
• Maiken Givot
• Karen Grasmon
• Marilyn Haight
• Nils and Heather Halker
• Thomas Hanna
• Jeffrey Helgerson
• Helen Hillstrom
• Janet Hively
• Anna Iltis
• Charlie Johnson
• Susan Keljik
• Mark Kieffer
• Joseph Kuznik
• Arnold Kvam
• Carol Leach
• Kristin Lefferts
• James Lehmann
• Kathryn Lien
• Ronald Low
• Peter Lund
• Stephanie McDonald
• Alfred and Ann Moore
• Daniel Moore
• Darcia Narvaez
• Paul Nasvik
• Pamela Neuenfeldt and Don Williams

• Don Notvik
• Steve Oakley
• Paul Olsen
• Steve Panizza
• Robert Paschke
• Daniel Peterson
• David and Margaret Peterson
• Chia-Hsing Pi
• Holly Radis-McCluskey and Glen McCluskey
• Jane Rosemarin and Val Lardwehr
• Bruce Schelske
• Connie Schuelka
• Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation
• John Sebolt
• Nancy Shallcross
• Rebecca and John Shockley
• Foster Solem
• Chris Solheid
• Laurine Speltz and Denis Ryono
• Richard Steege
• Paul Stever
• William Tajibnapis
• Nicole Thomas
• Curtis Trout
• John Vilandre
• Michael Volna
• Nancy Wellington
• David and Rachelle Willey

• J. Michael Barone
• Cynthia Betz
• Dean Billmeyer
• Kristen Brogdon
• Dr. Robert Bruininks
• Dee Ann Crossley
• Laura Edman

• Cathie Fischer
• Nils Halker
• Cari Hatcher
• David Jensen
• Helen Jensen
• Pamela Neuenfeldt
• Kari Schloner

• Cynthia Betz
• Jeff Bieganek, Chair
• Kristen Brogdon
• Dr. Robert Bruininks
• John Conlin
• Deb Cran

• Susan DeNuccio
• Karen Hanson
• Cari Hatcher
• Jill Hauwiller
• Bob McMaster
• Katheryn Menaged

• Cory Padesky
• Holly Radis-McCluskey
• Gary Reetz
• Robyne Robinson
• Kari Schloner
• Donald Williams