Paul Taylor in India - Pt 3

A very common phrase I hear is, "There are no coincidences." However, sometimes I think it is necessary for us to let go of imagining that we control everything that touches us in life. Individually, we cannot possibly be the sole catalyst of events that are humanly inescapable, and that also affect so many others beyond ourselves. Alternatively, it is how we respond to life in the moment that can help us define our paths forward and how we reflect on what led us to this moment in time.

1984 rehearsal of Oakland Ballet for "The Green Table" with Anna Markard. Photo: Ron Reisterer

For many different reasons, learning the Kurt Jooss dance, "The Green Table" from his daughter Anna Markard has remained alive in my own teaching and staging of dances. She was always prepared, and she was also always ready to adjust as she saw fit for what the dancers in the studio needed. And ultimately, she let the intent of the dance in question guide her critiques and knowing when not to compromise on her choices.

Paul Taylor Dance Company introduced me to visiting India during our 1997 tour. Then I returned on my own in 2018 as a Fulbright Senior Teaching Fellow for six months during which time I worked with numerous different nascent dance training academies, teaching classical ballet and modern (in the style of Paul Taylor) dance all over Mumbai, Delhi and Goa.

Sadly, Mr. Taylor died the very night I was flying to India from NYC. On this trip, Paul Taylor's first manager, and a luminary of American leadership in the field of dance around the world, Charles Reinhart, has now sadly passed away. Both me were the same age, at least they were born in the same year, and when I joined the Taylor Company as a dancer, I quickly got to know "Charlie" like an "uncle" who was always a constant presence, even if we only saw him every few months.

Screen captures of Charles Reinhart in "Dancemaker" documentary from 1998.

So, spending time in India feels intrisically connected both to Paul Taylor and the sense of sharing an American dance legacy with this country and its culture. On this trip, Amanda Stevenson, manager of the Taylor School joined me to help deepen the breadth of what we could cover in a few short weeks of an "intensive" style immersion of both Paul Taylor's world of dance, as well as how ballet training can help to bridge the differences between the classical Indian dances so revered here, and the allure of Western contemporary dance styles found on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, et al.

It was quite the extended journey to get here, when Amanda missed her connection in London from NYC. So I thought it only fitting that I meet her at the airport for her first visit to India!

I am still fascinated by getting around Mumbai on foot or in a rickshaw, and I wish a video could do justice to the casual nature with which life narrowly avoids collisions. In many ways, I find Paul Taylor's choreography for groups can offer a similar sensation of exhillaration that collisions aren't happening between dancers on stage. LOL!

Lastly for this post, is an image of the studio where we have worked primarily, and the dancers, as they get a break to watch video of Taylor's dances being performed by his namesake company.

Institute of Classical and Modern Dance, Mumbai, India 2025!