Paul Taylor Dance Commissions Work from Doug Varone

Paul Taylor has selected Doug Varone to create a dance on the Paul Taylor Dance Company as part of the "Taylor Company Commissions" program of Paul Taylor American Modern Dance (PTAMD).

PTAMD seeks to strengthen and expand American modern dance, one of our nation's great home-grown art forms. Mr. Taylor is commissioning a younger generation of choreographers to make works on his dancers with a goal of presenting the dances at Lincoln Center, where they can be seen by large audiences at the David H. Koch Theater.

"Taylor Company Commissions will give the next generation of outstanding choreographers an opportunity to work with my brilliant dancers," said Mr. Taylor. "The results thus far have been outstanding."

Award-winning choreographer and director Doug Varone works in dance, theatre, opera and fashion. He is a passionate educator and articulate advocate for dance. His work is known for its emotional range, kinetic breadth and the diversity of genres in which he works. His New York City-based Doug Varone and Dancers has been commissioned and presented to critical acclaim by leading international venues for three decades.

Mr. Varone's previous commissions include those from the Limón and Martha Graham Companies (New York), Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Rambert Dance Company (London), Dancemakers (Canada), Batsheva Dance Company (Israel), Bern Ballet (Switzerland) and An Creative (Japan) among others. His dances have been staged on more than 75 college and university programs around the country.

In opera, Mr. Varone is in demand as both a director and choreographer. Among his four productions at The Metropolitan Opera are Salome with its Dance of the Seven Veils for Karita Mattila; the world premiere of Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy; and Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps, designed by David Hockney. His Met Opera production of Berlioz's Les Troyens was broadcast worldwide in HD. He has directed multiple premieres for Minnesota Opera, Opera Colorado, Washington Opera, New York City Opera, and Boston Lyric Opera, among others. His numerous theatre credits include choreography for Broadway and Off-Broadway and regional theaters across the country. His choreography for 2012's musical Murder Ballad at Manhattan Theatre Club earned him a Lortel Award nomination. Film credits include choreography for the Patrick Swayze film, One Last Dance. In 2008, Mr. Varone's Bottomland, set in the Mammoth Caves of Kentucky, was the subject of PBS's Dance in America: Wolf Trap's Face of America. Most recently, he directed and choreographed MasterVoices' production of Dido and Aeneas at New York City Center, starring Tony Award winners Kelli O'Hara and Victoria Clark alongside his Company.

Mr. Varone will work multiple weeks from now until February 2018 to choreograph on the Paul Taylor Dance Company at the Taylor Studios on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Previous Taylor Commission recipients are Doug Elkins, Larry Keigwin and Lila York, whose dances - The Weight of Smoke, Rush Hour and Continuum, respectfully - were presented in the 2017 Season of PTAMD at Lincoln Center.

Paul Taylor, one of the most accomplished artists this nation has ever produced, continues to shape America's home-grown art of modern dance as he has since becoming a professional dancer and pioneering choreographer in 1954. Having performed with Martha Graham's company for several years, Mr. Taylor uniquely bridges the legendary founders of modern dance - Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Doris Humphrey and Ms. Graham - and the dance makers of the 21st Century. Through Paul Taylor's American Modern Dance, he is presenting great modern works of the past and outstanding works by today's leading choreographers alongside his own vast and growing repertoire. And he is commissioning the next generation of dance makers to work with his renowned Company, thereby helping to ensure the future of the art form. As an integral part of his vision, these dances will be accompanied by live music whenever so intended by the choreographer.

The world-renowned Paul Taylor Dance Company sets the global standard for modern dance excellence. Since the Company's founding in 1954, Paul Taylor has choreographed 146 dances, many of which have attained iconic status and are celebrated throughout the world. Mr. Taylor continues to create at least two new works annually for his 18-member Company. PTDC has performed in some 520 cities in 64 countries. The 2018 Lincoln Center season marks the Company's 64rd performing year. His autobiography, Private Domain, was published in 1987 and the Company was the subject of the documentary film Dancemaker, nominated for an Academy Award in 1999. Mr. Taylor's book of essays "mostly for fun," Facts and Fancies, was published by Delphinium in 2013. He has achieved countless accolades including two of our nation's highest artistic distinctions: the Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts.