Michael Novak News

Marilyn Maye continues to prove her energy and talents outstrip performers half her age. Her latest show at Feinstein's/54 Below in NYC is an amalgam of some of her greatest hits (the tried and true crowd pleasers) and some newer added songs (like the aforementioned title song) along with a healthy dose of some Broadway hit tunes (with special nods to Jerry Herman's 'Mame' and 'Hello Dolly' - both roles Ms. Maye has played).

The Franklin Performing Arts Company will open its 29th season this weekend with Yasmina Reza's award winning comedy Art  at THE BLACK BOX in Franklin. 

Paul Taylor American Modern Dance (PTAMD) returns to Lincoln Center for its annual Season at the David H. Koch Theater from October 29 to November 17, featuring the Paul Taylor Dance Company (PTDC). Paul Taylor: Celebrate the Dancemaker honors the legacy of founder Paul Taylor, who died in 2018. 

The Paul Taylor Dance Company marks its 18th Pillow appearance with The Celebration Tour, an exclusively Taylor-choreographed program to commemorate the passing of their founder, July 24-28 in the Ted Shawn Theatre. Having created 147 original works over the course of his celebrated career, Paul Taylor is remembered for dances that capture life's joys and tackle some of society's most complex issues. The New York Times has praised Mr. Taylor as 'one of the most singular and searching imaginations of our time,' and remembers him as one who 'brought a lyrical musicality, capacity for joy, and wide poetic imagination to modern dance over six decades.' The Celebration Tour's Pillow program includes, Aureole, Concertiana, and Promethean Fire, and features archival footage of the Taylor company performing at Jacob's Pillow. 

The American Dance Festival (ADF) continues its summer offerings with the return of Rennie Harris Puremovement to The Carolina Theatre with Rennie Harris Funkedified complete with live music. Cuba's Malpaso Dance Company makes its ADF debut at Page Auditorium. ADF's hOt sUmMeR pOP uPs! with choreography by Mark Dendy, ADF's Movies by Movers, ADF's Samuel H. Scripps Studios summer camps and classes, ADF Ruby Fridays, and FREE tours of the ADF school will continue throughout the season.

The American Dance Festival (ADF) continues its summer offerings with the return of Pilobolus to Page Auditorium in a program of classic works. ADF and the Nasher Museum of Art will co-present the ADF-commissioned The Duet Project: Distance is Malleable, Eiko Otake's collaboration with the artists Beverly McIver, Alexis Moh, DonChristian Jones, and Mark McCloughan.

At auditions attended by more than 350 women held on May 17 and 20, Maria Ambrose, Lisa Borres and Jada Pearman were selected by Artistic Director Michael Novak to join the world-renowned Paul Taylor Dance Company. Jessica Ferretti was chosen to join the acclaimed Taylor 2.

The American Dance Festival (ADF) continues this week with the ADF debut of North Carolina-based Murielle Elizéon & Tommy Noonan/Culture Mill and their presentation of the ADF-commissioned They Are All.

Former Paul Taylor Dance Company Member Cathy McCann has been named Director of Taylor 2 Dance Company (Taylor 2) by Artistic Director Michael Novak effective May 20, 2019. Ms. McCann was hired after current Taylor 2 Rehearsal Director Ruth Andrien announced that she was stepping down from the role after nine years.

Marilyn Maye brought her new show in celebration of her birthday month to Feinstein's/54Below for two weeks in April.

The Celebrity Series of Boston announced its 2019-2020 season today, marking 81 years of bringing the world's greatest performing artists to Boston.

Your kid hit our kid with a stick on the playground - we want to make things right, don't you? Come on over to our place for coffee and clafoutis and let's discuss.

Dance Lab New York celebrates its new identity, reflective of its mission to be an inclusive hub for dance makers of all genres at their annual Spring Gala on Monday, March 25, 2019 at the Ailey Citigroup Theater.

Dance Lab New York (formerly Broadway Dance Lab) will celebrate its new identity, reflective of its mission to be an inclusive hub for dance makers of all genres at their annual Spring Gala on Monday, March 25, 2019 at the Ailey Citigroup Theater (405 W 55th Street, NYC).

The American Dance Festival (ADF) will award the 2019 Balasaraswati/Joy Anne Dewey Beinecke Endowed Chair for Distinguished Teaching to longtime Paul Taylor Dance Company rehearsal director Bettie de Jong. A ceremony will take place on Thursday, June 27, 2019 in Reynolds Industries Theater at the opening night performance of the Paul Taylor Dance Company.

The Clive Barnes Foundation, under the leadership of former Royal Ballet soloist Valerie Taylor-Barnes, awarded its prizes today for the 9th Annual Clive Barnes Awards, recognizing excellence in Theater and Dance, to Edmund Donovan (Theater, Lewiston/Clarkston) and Zoey Anderson (Dance, Parsons Dance). The awards were presented by Michael Novak, artistic director of Paul Taylor Dance Company and Tony-winner Beth Leavel, currently starring in Broadway's The Prom. The event, hosted by New York Post columnist and WOR radio personality Michael Riedel was held at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center.

Dance maker Paul Taylor first presented his choreography with five other dancers in Manhattan on May 30, 1954. That modest performance marked the beginning of 64 years of unrivaled creativity, and in the decades that followed, Mr. Taylor became a cultural icon and one of American history's most celebrated artists, hailed as part of the pantheon that created American modern dance. The Paul Taylor Dance Company will make its ninth appearance at the Eisemann Center, 2351 Performance Drive, Richardson, Texas on Saturday, February 9, 2019 at 7:30 pm. Tickets start at $39 and are available at www.eisemanncenter.com.

Paul Taylor Dance Foundation (PTDF) announces the launch of "Paul Taylor: Celebrate the Dancemaker," a multi-year worldwide celebration of Paul Taylor's astonishing legacy as well as his vision of a future for modern dance. Led by Mr. Taylor's chosen successor, Artistic Director Michael Novak, this celebration will focus on three components - domestic and international touring of the Paul Taylor Dance Company (PTDC) and Taylor 2 entitled "The Celebration Tour"; worldwide licensing of Mr. Taylor's dances; and the Paul Taylor American Modern Dance (PTAMD) 2019 New York Season at Lincoln Center.

Pam Tanowitz has begun to choreograph a dance on the Paul Taylor Dance Company (PTDC) to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach as a Guest Resident Choreographer of Paul Taylor American Modern Dance (PTAMD). Ms. Tanowitz was selected by Paul Taylor prior to his death in August. Her new work will premiere as part of Orchestra of St. Luke's Bach Festival next June, and will then be part of PTAMD's Fall Lincoln Center Season.

Twenty years ago last month in a small college town in Wyoming, a young gay man was brutally beaten and tied to a fence post, left to die. The name Matthew Shepard has become synonymous with gay rights and in particular with the national hate crime legislation that bears his name, passed into law 11 years after his murder. Unfortunately Matthew's story is not unique, but for some reason it capture the nation, and he became a symbol for a larger movement toward equality and justice. Much has changed for the better in the last 20 years, including the hate crime legislation and the repeal of 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' and the Defense of Marriage Act. But hate crimes still happen, against members of the LGBTQ community, against Jews, against people of color, against immigrants. As demonstrated by this sad fact, along with the current White House resident's threat against the very existence of our transgender citizens, the good work being done in Matthew's name is far from over. This Tuesday offers a great opportunity to continue that work by voting for equality, for compassion, for humanity, for the environment, for justice. Thanks to Uprising Theatre Company for sharing the spirit of Matthew Shepard by presenting THE LARAMIE CYCLE at this moment in time.