Ballet, a dance style developed over several centuries, champions erect carriages, spellbinding loft and flowing extensions.
But in a program opening Saturday evening, Colorado Ballet dancers must defy their balletic instincts and rely on another important aspect of their training – versatility.
They will be called on to perform a trio of works by predominantly modern-dance choreographers, each with a distinctive style and movement vocabulary that incorporates facets of ballet at times but more often defies it.
“Paul’s whole thing was forget the arabesque,” said Ruth Andrien, talking about Paul Taylor, the dance legend who marked his 50th anniversary as a choreographer and company leader in 2004.
“We’re not in repose. We’re not balanced and beautiful in that way. We’re in transition. We’re displacing space, moving through, compelling through space.”
Taylor and Twyla Tharp long ago secured lasting places in the history of American dance, and 31-year-old choreographer Jessica Lang is quickly making a name for herself as well.
No selection on this program, which runs for seven performances in repertory with a revival of “Cinderella,” is likely to be more of a hit than Taylor’s “Company B.” Commissioned in 1991 by the Houston Ballet and Kennedy Center, it became an almost instant classic.
Set to the effervescent songs of the Andrews Sisters, the piece for 13 dancers transports audiences to the 1940s. Although largely an escapist romp, the fun is tinged with a hint of melancholy, as the ugly reality of war looms in the background.
Taylor has never achieved the fame of Martha Graham or George Balanchine, but it is hardly an overstatement to call him a titan of American dance.
He has led his own company since 1954, choreographing more than 120 pieces. Unlike some artists, whose best work comes early in their careers, the 75-year-old choreographer’s creative fecundity has in no way diminished with age.
There has never been a singular gimmick or movement philosophy that characterizes Taylor. He constantly reinvents himself, using all kinds of music and evoking a spectrum of moods.
He is content to operate in the mainstream of modern dance – he probably defines it, in fact – with his cleanly defined forms, uncomplicated movements and unerring taste.
Andrien, who traveled to Denver to stage “Company B,” has seen all these qualities up close. She was a member of the Paul Taylor Dance Company from 1974 through 1983.
“I was the first person to join the company after Paul retired,” she said. “My era was where Paul stood back from the stage, and his craft grew even stronger.”
The first new work in which she appeared was “Esplanade” (1975). Taylor used everyday movements, such as walking and running, to create a signature, high-energy masterpiece.
Andrien is one of 27 alumni of the Taylor company authorized to stage the choreographer’s work, something she does at least twice a year. She has worked with an array of companies worldwide, including the Paris Opera Ballet.
“I think it is important for dancers to pass on what they know, and Paul respects his classics very much,” Andrien said.
She focuses on eight Taylor dances. With the exception of “Company B,” she had prominent roles in each. Among them are some of Taylor’s most celebrated creations, including “Arden Court,” “Cloven Kingdom” and “The Rite of Spring.”
For ballet dancers used to a more ethereal, posed approach, Taylor’s “off-balance, off-center and down-into-the-ground” movement can prove a knotty challenge. But Andrien said most are up to the task.
“I experience them as always being artistically hungry for content,” she said. “They like it when they’re given a whole new vocabulary and they have to stay within this structure.”
Often a ballet troupe’s version of a Taylor work will look slightly different than the way his company might do it, but Andrien said he doesn’t mind as long as the dancers bring authenticity to the movement.
“You want to have it initiated from deep within the body and you want it to come out of their personal values, just out of them, and that’s as tough as it is for an actor trying to do a part,” Andrien said.
“After you practice your technique, practice your steps, then you’re yourself. And then it becomes in the Taylor style – natural. We strive for natural.”
Fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at 303-820-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com.
