The Taylor Organization presents Modern Is Now: Stories of our Future, an event benefitting the Paul Taylor Dance Company, hosted live by Taylor Artistic Director Michael Novak and fellow Columbia University graduate Alicia Graf Mack, Dean and Director of the Dance Division at The Juilliard School, on Thursday, November 19, at 8:00 p.m. The hour-long program was envisioned by Mr. Novak as a celebration of the dancer’s return to the Studio following six months of COVID lockdown and will raise funds needed to sustain the Company today and into the future. The Taylor Organization has teamed up with Broadway Unlocked to produce the event in an exciting virtual theater space. The event is FREE but registration is required. Register at https://www.ptamd.org/benefit2020 to receive a personalized link. The evening is made possible by Jody and John Arnhold and the Arnhold Foundation.
About the Event
“I am excited to innovate new ways of connecting our audience and of fueling the future of the Paul Taylor Dance Company,” said Mr. Novak. “Our program pays tribute to muse, mentor, rehearsal director, and beloved Taylor icon Bettie de Jong, along with showcasing archival films, special guests, and films featuring the Taylor dancers’ return to the studio,” said Mr. Novak.
“This spirit of innovation and our non-traditional approach has always driven the Taylor Company,” Novak added. “What binds us together are the stories of our artists and family and how innovation, determination, rebellion, and artistic integrity – values that exist in our repertory – are propelling us forward. This event allows our patrons, audiences and students to see how we are driving forward – vibrant, dynamic, expressive, and passionate – while aware of the need of our patrons’ financial support to carry us into the year ahead.”
Event Highlight
The event highlight is a special tribute to longtime Rehearsal Director Bettie de Jong, honoring her six-decade commitment to preserving Mr. Taylor’s 147 dances and to mentoring generations of his dancers. Ms. de Jong was Mr. Taylor’s muse, as she was in the original cast of 24 dances, creating iconic roles in many of them, and was a dancer in the Company from 1962 through 1984. Ms. de Jong’s friend and Company alumna Carolyn Adams will present the dedication and introduce testimonials from Taylor alumni on the deep impact she has had and continues to have on Taylor family dancers.
Filmed excerpts from some of Mr. Taylor’s most beloved and iconic dances will be featured including a site specific performance of “I Guess the Lord Must Be In New York City” from A Field of Grass shot in East River Park on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Also featured will be a selection from Runes, the men’s quartet from Cloven Kingdom, and the euphoric final section of Esplanade. All danced by the current Taylor Company.
More About the Performance
The benefit performance is free to all who sign up and includes a 30-minute pre-show and a ‘chat roulette’ room for Taylor fans from all over the world to randomly connect for 30-second conversations, as well as a gallery of videos that were submitted through the company’s Instagram of students and Taylor fans from around the world performing sections of Esplanade. Ticketed experiences include a dance after-party with Taylor dancers and a live DJ hosted by PTDC’s young patrons’ group TaylorNEXT; a Taylor specialty cocktail lesson taught by a top mixologist from Union Square Café; a home-delivered, gourmet three-course meal by Union Square Café; commemorative gifts; and private Zoom-style breakout rooms for patrons and guests.
Throughout the evening a live telethon room will be active that will allow anyone to make a donation by speaking to a dancer in the Company.
Celebrity guests will include Company friends Alec Baldwin, Michael Kelly, Padma Lakshmi and dance world luminaries Kyle Abraham, Carolyn Adams, Misty Copeland, Peter Chu, Margie Gillis, Larry Keigwin, Lauren Lovette, Michelle Manzanales, Pam Tanowitz and Lila York.
Virtual Red Carpet
Guests are invited to walk the virtual red carpet before the show and visit the Modern Is Now Portrait Lab hosted by R. Couri Hay & Patrick McMullan. Celebrated New York society columnist and publicist R. Couri Hay is teaming up with A-List celebrity photographer Patrick McMullan to offer Modern Is Now attendees an exclusive photoshoot in their virtual photo studio. Guests will enter the Portrait Lab where they will be greeted by Couri and Patrick and asked to “strike a pose.” Images will be shared with guests and across Taylor social media channels, possibly even landing in the pages of top NYC media outlets.
Events Leading up to the Benefit
Daytime events leading up to the benefit include two hour-and-a-half master classes with an esteemed Taylor alums Ruth Andrien and Lisa Viola, followed by a 30-minute Q&A, screenings of the 1998 Academy Award nominated documentary Dancemaker, and rarely viewed archival footage.
The benefit is being chaired by Nancy Coles Goldstein, MD, John G. Heimann, Douglas L. and Teresa Peterson and Stephen Kroll Reidy.
About the Paul Taylor Dance Company:
The Paul Taylor Dance Company is one of the world’s most highly acclaimed and sought-after performing arts ensembles. Founded in 1954 by choreographer Paul Taylor, PTDC was led by Mr. Taylor until his death at 88 in 2018, after which dancer Michael Novak became Artistic Director. The Company performs Mr. Taylor’s repertoire, comprising 147 dances, as well as those by other choreographers, and has toured to more than 500 cities in 64 countries around the globe.
About Broadway Unlocked:
Broadway Unlocked theatre powered by All Together Now pushes the boundaries of theatre beyond the footlights with live digital content including opening night parties, town halls, streaming galas, dance festivals and more. All Together Now is a technology and media company that believes in the power of passionate people gathering around the things they love and the endless possibilities those moments create.
This sounds like it was a great benefit.