Paul Taylor in India - Pt 4

I am always intrigued by my fascination with teaching dance in different countries. And I have been fortunate to be deeply versed in the stylistically different forms of classical ballet and American modern dance. While in India, even though I came to teach modern in the style of Paul Taylor, classical ballet class was profoundly appreciated, and I quickly added ballet classes to my schedule. In doing so, I was also able to continue exploring the ways that these two dance forms both utilize and benefit from knowledge of the other. A thesis that dominated the early posts in this blog.

July 2025, Indian Youth Dance Company and guests...
from L to R: Tahira, Arva, Vidushi, Soumya, Aditi, 'moi', Achintya, Saurabh, Zelina, Navya, Anaiya, Rishi, Dovhani, Yonita... (I think I got the names right)

It still surprises me that after decades of so carefully planning out my lessons, and inevitably veering radically off script once I started class, that not much has changed. I still switch up my plan immediately once I see what I think would best serve the dancers in the room. This can come as early as the first exercise, or as late as halway through the class. But it inevitably happens. Maybe a difference is that I am more confident in my fourth decade of teaching that my instincts are rooted in past successes. 

So what makes teaching European classical ballet and American moden dance different in India? For me, it is seeing that there are not a lot of live performances of either form readily available to attend for young dancers. As such, their knowledge of the styles could seem a little naive, though I prefer to look at it through the lens of offering ways of connecting what they already know about movement and body mechanics and applying that knowledge to the smallest physical actions. 

It is always unfair to make generalizations about a culture and people as though they exist are all the same. Yet there is so much to be found in Indian everyday life that doesn't appear quite so prevalent in the USA or most European countries in which I have spent time. Here, even the public statues have carefully formed hands in gestures that mean something to onlookers. The blend of religious and tribal cultures are reflected openly in the food, public celebrations, clothing, and colors. And all of it "dances" with varying rhythms, which many take for granted since it is how they have grown up in the world.

Learning a movement discipline with very different roots than their culture, can seem incredibly alien because it is so different. And yet our bodies and the mechanics of movement are not so different. Guiding Indian trained dancers attention to the mechanics of how pliés, contractions, port de bras, laterals, parallel versus turned-out can all be broken down and put back together in different textures, in different rhythms, is part of the reward of watching them bring themselves to dance forms they only know through watching videos. My run-on sentence seemed necessary in my excitement at seeing how these dancers might potentially be defining Indian contemporary ballet and dance in the future. There will always be deep divisions between belief systems and approaches to life, yet it is the coming together through those imagined barriers that unspoken languages of communication are borne, evolve and take on life of their own.

18 July 2025. Final bow for "Origins". A show that celebrated the Indian born talent in dance that thrives around the world, and aspires to bring other dance forms into the vernacular of their own country.

The joy of participating in any performance production is getting to know the performers and crew quite intimately for the duration. It is a space where everyone's common goal is to do and show their best! 

With the exception of only two guest performers on the stage, I have had the privelege of working (if only briefly with a few) with everyone on the stage. Many of the performers and the audience members who came to see the show had been in classes that I taught when I was in India for six months back in 2018. And while I may never be able to remember all of their names, the looks in their eyes, how they move, what makes them individuals, has made them unforgettable to me. It is amazing that seeing someone walk up to me will be instantaneously recognizable for how I was looking at them in a dance class. But I do apologize that I am not so good with names. LOL.

You will need to ask Amanda about how this experience was for her. We have a couple short days to wrap up here in Mumbai, before we are back at our desks and in the studios back in NYC. But a last note here is that I was able to introduce Amanda to Yehuda Maor, whom I have known since the early 1980's. Yehuda was born in Israel where he danced with Bat Dor in some of Taylor's iconic works, before moving to the USA where I met him in California. As a dancer with both Oakland Ballet and ODC/San Francisco, I used to take open classes from Yehuda, and have run into him around the world as we both continued to explore international projects. Yehuda's presence in India inspired two film projects, "Yeh Ballet" and "Call Me Dancer", about his discover and training of Manish Chauhan. "Yeh Ballet" was written/directed by Sooni Taraporevala who attended "Origins" as well.

"Origins" post-show, Amanda, Yehuda and me. Behind us chatting are Manish Chauhan and Sooni Taraporevala.