Taylor 2 Troupe performs at the IU Auditorium

Silence is golden.

When the Taylor 2 dance ensemble took the stage Friday night at the IU Auditorium, the troupe showcased decades of choreography from famed dance maker Paul Taylor.
The bodies did all the talking.

“It was wonderful to have a large audience,” Rehearsal Director Ruth Andrien said of the Bloomington crowd. “The larger house really charges the dancers on.”

The Taylor 2 dancers performed in front of minimalist backdrops that varied between shades of pastel blue and seductive red lighting. Their use of costumes and varied movements told the tales of Taylor’s dances.

The first act of the night was Taylor’s “Aureole,” written early in his career in 1962.
A foundational piece, the dancers wore white sheer and performed with extended arm movements to George Frideric Handel’s classical music.

“The first one didn’t impress me quite as much,” 13-year-old ballet dancer and audience member Sarah Bredemeyer said. “I felt like I was getting set up for something not-that-great, but it kept getting progressively better.”

As the evening progressed through Taylor’s second act “Images” (1977) and third act “Piazzola Caldera,” (1997) the scenes became more colorful and vibrant, utilizing flamboyant costumes and romantic tension.

“I especially liked the second part because it felt like it was building up to something amazing,” attendee Zoe Layton said. “I love the build-up.”

“Images” illustrated the Minoan period of Greek society with bright dresses and spiritual dance themes. Some of the troupe’s dancers said they had a difficult time capturing the essence of the scene.

“When I learned it, I did everything correctly,” troupe performer Christina Lynch Markham said. “And when Paul saw it, he said ‘you need to be hallucinating.’”
Markham’s dance character was designed to portray mental unrest.

“I’m actually hitting myself,” Markham said. “It’s about being ritualistic and abusing myself.”

When Taylor constructs dance routines for his company, his methodology and technique can be secretive, Andrien said. Taylor often brings a sculpture into the studio for inspiration.

“He does a lot of research but never talks about it,” Andrien said.

Taylor 2, which tours the world as a six-member representation of Taylor’s primary company, faces the struggle of travel interfering with new routines. At any given point, the troupe hits the road with up to 15 dances in its repertoire. Dancers are given DVDs with videos of choreography to memorize.

“We only have one week to learn the entire piece, so you have to remember everything,” troupe performer Rei Akazawa said.

The troupe’s efforts were met with applause after every movement, sometimes meriting an outburst of clapping after an impressive move.

Andrien said she attributes the skills of the troupe’s dancers to direct inspiration.
“His really great dancers come from really great music,” she said.