PRESS RELEASE
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS
COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS AND COMMUNICATION
September 18, 2013
CONTACT: Amanda Horton, (501) 450-3682; ahorton@uca.edu
PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY
TO BRING MODERN DANCE TO UCA
By Brandon Riddle
College of Fine Arts and Communication Media Office
CONWAY —The world-renowned Paul Taylor Dance Company will bring modern dance to the University of Central Arkansas on Tuesday, Oct. 8.
The 7:30 p.m. performance is set for the Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall as part of UCA Public Appearances’ Night Out Series.
Amanda Horton, director of UCA P
ublic Appearances, said the Company is one of the most highly respected, sought-after ensembles in the dance industry.
“They have amazing artistic choreography and some of the most talented performers in modern day dance,” she said.
Named after famed choreographer Paul Taylor, the original Taylor Company began in 1954 with a performance featuring five other dancers. His decades of experience, 139 dances and notoriety have led to a company that now features 16 dancers who perform worldwide.
The Paul Taylor Dance Company has toured in more than 520 cities in 62 countries, spending more than half of each performance season traveling to American cities. Dancers.
Taylor serves as artistic director. Bettie de Jong is rehearsal director and John Tomlinson is executive director of the Company.
The dancers – Michael Trusnovec, Robert Kleinendorst, James Samson, Michelle Fleet, Parisa Khobdeh, Sean Mahoney, Eran Bugge, Francisco Graciano, Laura Halzack, Jamie Rae Walker, Michael Apuzzo, Aileen Roehl, Michael Novak, Heather McGinley, George Smallwood and Christina Lynch Markham – explore profound issues such as war, spirituality, sexuality, morality and mortality.
The Company will host a master dance class for local advanced dancers from 6-7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7, at Blackbird Academy of Arts, Inc., 1058 Front St., Suite 102. Those interested in participating should contact Blackbird at (501) 336-8200 or dance@blackbirdacademy.org.
UCA Public Appearances is sponsoring the free event at Blackbird.
“We are excited about connecting our area dancers with this educational opportunity where they will be exposed to professional artists,” Horton said. “I am thrilled to be able to engage and enrich our community with the resources of the Reynolds Performance Hall.”
Taylor, 83, was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., and studied dance at The Juilliard School in New York City. He first gained notoriety as a dance maker in 1957 with “Seven New Dances,” a study in non-movement.
His works are set to a mix of styles that includes medieval masses, Renaissance dances, baroque concertos, classical symphonies, tango, ragtime, rock, barbershop quartets and Tin Pin Alley, according to the Company’s website.
Taylor received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1992 and won an Emmy Award for “Speaking in Tongues,” a 1988 piece exploring religion. Then-President Bill Clinton awarded Taylor the National Medal of the Arts in 1993.
Tickets, available at the UCA Ticket Central Box Office, are $30-$40 for adults, $27-$37 for senior citizens, $25-$35 for UCA alumni, $23-$33 for UCA faculty and staff, $10 for children and free for UCA students with a current student ID. For tickets, call 450-3265 or toll free from anywhere in Arkansas at 1-866-810-0012 or visit www.uca.edu/tickets.
For more information, contact Horton at (501) 450-3682 or ahorton@uca.edu.
The UCA College of Fine Arts and Communication includes the Departments of Art, Communication, Mass Communication and Theatre, Music and Writing. The college’s primary mission is the preparation of the next generation of artists, educators and communicators. For more information about CFAC, visit www.uca.edu/cfac or call (501) 450-3293.
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