Author: Kirstie Spadie

UNC School of the Arts 2023 Spring Dance featured world premieres by budding choreographers and the much-anticipated rebirth of Merce Cunningham‘s Travelogue. Curated by new Dean of the School of Dance, Endalyn Outlaw (née Taylor), Spring Dance exemplified the strength of the two distinguished ballet and contemporary programs. In the majestic green and gold Stevens Center, which will see a 28-million-dollar renovation this coming fall, high school and undergraduate students showcased UNC School of the Arts’ high caliber of athleticism and artistry in full bloom. As a UNCSA graduate in Contemporary Dance (1987-1991), it was a privilege to return to the school that cultivated my contemporary dance training.

This place, this stage, this community of dancers sharing their art to the fullest with a live audience was deeply moving. Nothing was left unsaid with the dancers’ final pose, on the floor pointing up towards the sky as if daring the dance gods to give them more. Even though This Place was second on the program, it drew a well deserved standing ovation.

Paul Taylor Dance Company first performed at the American Dance Festival at Connecticut College in 1961. Six decades later, the company brings a diverse and daring ensemble of highly gifted dance artists. Paul Taylor, a world-renowned choreographer, studied dance at Julliard and danced with Martha Graham for seven seasons. In 1954, he started his own company and became a prolific dance maker, earning him the MacArthur Award, the Samuel H. Scripps ADF Award, and the Americans for the Arts Lifetime Achievement Award. Upon his retirement, Taylor tapped company dancer Michael Novak as artistic director. Under Novak’s leadership, the company of dancers represents a continuing powerful hold of modern dance.