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By MARY THERESE BIEBEL; Times Leader Staff Writer
Sunday, November 08, 1998 Page: 1G
If a hunchback, a bird man, a be-ribboned innocent and a bevy of bustled
Victorians don’t sound menacing enough, perhaps the title of their dance will
send a shiver.
“Nightshade” is one of choreographer Paul Taylor’s darker pieces, and it
speaks to those times when evil appears to triumph.
“The very last image is everyone falling to the floor and the bird man
character has the little girl hanging around his neck,” said veteran dancer
Rachel Berman, who will perform Tuesday when New York City’s Paul Taylor Dance
Co. brings an evening of modern dance to the Scranton Cultural Center.
The performance, set for 7:30 p.m., opens the 70th season of the Scranton
Community Concert Series and will include three repertory dances- the romantic
and graceful “Airs,” laden with duets and partnering; the wildly athletic
“Esplanade,” where dancers leap into each other’s arms and roll off each
other’s backs, and the sinister “Nightshade,” where characters struggle
against a stifling society and each other.
“Everything looks nice on the outside but there are deep, dark secrets,”
Berman said. “I think there’s a lot of repressed sexual tension between the
men and women.”
“Airs,” in contrast, is a light and lyrical showcase for beauty.
“People always talk about Paul’s `light’ and `dark.’ He likes to show all
sides of the coin,” Berman said. “The work is so diverse, it’s really
wonderful to perform.”
Wonderful and exhilarating, yes. But exhausting, too.
A former competitive swimmer who has created more than 100 modern dance
pieces since founding his company in 1957, the 68-year-old Taylor appreciates
stamina. And his work still commands his athletic dancers to propel their
bodies “beyond the wall.”
“You hit the wall and just push yourself. It’s amazing what your body can
do,” said Berman, 34, who has danced with the company for 10 years.
“The whole last section gets your heart rate going,” she said, describing
the show’s crowd-pleasing closing number. “After all the leaping into each
other’s arms (in `Esplanade’) I run around and leap off a man’s back and fall
to the floor. I can barely catch my breath.
“It starts out just plain walking and progresses into running and then in
the end becomes really daredevil.”
“Esplanade” still bears the influence of the 1970s, when it was born. The
men wear orange jeans and the women, brightly colored dresses. Berman believes
Taylor’s inspiration for the piece was a day of people watching.
“Paul is fascinated with gesture and everyday movement,” she said. “He is a
student of life. He draws from everything he sees. He loves to observe people
and nature.”
After the last curtain call, the dancers are usually ready to collapse,
Berman said. “We lie on the floor and stretch a little and we’re just dripping
with sweat.”
Audience members, Berman said, are blissfully unaware. They file out and
tell each other, “Wow. That was so fun.”
A hapless Victorian woman tries to escape from a sinister character in Paul
Taylor’s `Nightshade.’
Dancers from the Paul Taylor company weave their bodies into the shape of a
large, exotic flower.
If you go
WHO: Paul Taylor Dance Co.
WHAT: Scranton Community Concert Series.
WHEN: 7:30 p.m., Tuesday.
WHERE: Scranton Cultural Center, 404 N. Washington Ave., Scranton.
ADMISSION: Adults, $35-$25. Students, $22-$15.
INFO/RESERVATIONS: 342-4137.
Dance workshop injects Taylor style
Dance students who want to share in Paul Taylor-style fun and exhaustion
may attend a workshop taught by company dancers on the day be