IU Auditorium will perform Taylor 2 this Friday

Taylor 2, a dance troupe that performs the work of American choreographer Paul Taylor, will perform at 8 p.m. Friday at the IU Auditorium. 
 
Taylor 2’s routines span across several decades of Taylor’s work. The original performance was formed in 1993 with 16 members.

A three-day residency where the dancers are offering master classes to IU’s dance majors and minors is accompanying the performance. On Wednesday, they taught dance classes at the School of Public Health building.

“People that want to study dance at a college have the opportunity of guest partners,” said Ruth Andrien, Taylor 2’s company director.

The troupe performed with IU Conservatory students, had a career panel and performed for IU students in various HPER classes.

Andrien travels with the troupe. Once a Taylor dancer herself, Andrien said she knows what it is like to be a dancer and be influenced by other dancers.

Based on her past experiences, she said how much of an asset it would be for IU’s dancers to be exposed to the troupe’s classes.

“Paul Taylor is considered to be the world’s leading choreographer, and even if they don’t become dancers in the Taylor company, exposure to diverse choreographic styles will help them in any future endeavor,” she said.

Despite offering the master classes for IU students, troupe members said the highlight of their stay in Bloomington will be their performance Friday.

This is the first time the Taylor 2 crew has worked in Bloomington, though they have performed in a variety of locations such as Boston, New York City and Philadelphia, as well as internationally in Africa and India.

Andrien said she is eager for her dancers to work on the IU Auditorium’s “opera”-like stage.

“We dance on a lot of small, tiny stages, and we have an actual professional theater here,” Andrien said.

Andrien said the choreography Taylor 2 uses is meant to take place on a medium-to-large sized stage, much like the stage inside the IU Auditorium. However, she said the troupe’s adaptability makes it stand out. 

Manuel Sanchez, a Taylor 2 dancer, said he agrees with that idea.

“We’ve done ‘Esplanade’ in a hallway,” Sanchez said, using musical sounds and gestures to tell the story. “We went to a hospital. It was a cancer ward, and the little kids couldn’t really leave their rooms. We did the whole first section with a boom-box.”
Andrian said she is thrilled to have her dancers perform on campus Friday.

“We are very excited,” she said. “Especially because it’s such a beautiful theater.”