For the first time in its 71-year history, the Paul Taylor Dance Company has two resident choreographers, both of whom will make world premieres during the company’s Lincoln Center season (Nov. 4-23). Although they come from very different worlds – Lauren Lovette is a former principal dancer with the New York City Ballet (NYCB) and Robert Battle performed with the athletic contemporary Parsons Dance Company before founding his own Battleworks Dance Company and later serving as artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for 12 years – they both represent Paul Taylor Taylor, 1930-2018) an aspect of the unique aesthetic.
“I think Balanchine’s influence on Paul cannot be underestimated,” Taylor’s artistic director Michael Novak told the Observer. When Taylor was a member of Martha Graham’s company, George Balanchine invited Taylor to be a guest artist at NYCB and even composed a solo for him. Number of episodes (1959). Although Balanchine created neoclassical ballets and Taylor created modern dances, both choreographers had a deep respect for music. Balanchine always listed composers before choreographers in program copy, and Taylor followed suit. “Lauren represented this lineage in her craft and musicality,” Novak said, “and broke with the conventions of expected forms. Through Balanchine, she intuitively understood Paul.” He was drawn to this aspect of her choreography when he hired her as the company’s first resident choreographer in 2022. “And,” he added with a smile, “her rebellious side has always fascinated me.”
Fighting comes more directly from the Taylor lineage. Although he never danced with the company, his mentors were Caroline Adams and David Parsons, both former Taylor principal dancers. When Bartel brought Taylor’s work to Ailey, he was able to meet and talk to Taylor. “Paul loved Robert,” Novak said. “So there’s a relationship there.” Bartel, who will serve as resident choreographer in 2025, also brings a physicality and emotion similar to Taylor’s.
“Combined,” Novak said, “they are incredible intersections in Paul’s journey as a choreographer.” Lovett and Bartel’s new works, both premiering on November 11, are distinct but have overlapping themes: looking to the past for inward look, self-acceptance and—like Taylor and Balanchine before them—a reverence for music.
Lauren Lovett’s Stimulate
Lovett’s Stimulateis her seventh work for the company and is set in the works of John Adams terrible symmetry and inspired by her experience with ADHD. “I have severe ADHD,” Lovett told the Observer. “I’ve always known this about myself and thought it was a negative thing and a frustrating thing. But now I realize, especially after making this piece, it’s actually a really cool thing. It helps me do what I do.” Lovett Productions Stimulate It took just four weeks—the shortest amount of time she needed to create a work—and came at a time of major personal transformation. She moved north, gave birth to a daughter in the process, and realized she could thrive under pressure. “I’m very focused. Now I can step back and look at it and I love this piece and think that if I was in the other half of my brain or trying to line everything up perfectly, I wouldn’t have been able to think of it. It had to come in bits and pieces.”
The work for seven dancers succumbs to its intense score. Lovett dances to the same music by Peter Martins terrible symmetry (1988) While serving in NYCB, she wanted to create a modern perspective, even though the job gave her nightmares. “The music was perfect because it’s a very up-tempo, relentless, anxious soundtrack, and I wanted to explore anxiety. I wanted something with a high-pitched breathiness because that’s how I’ve been feeling lately and what I’m seeing in the world right now.” The score is truly relentless and complex. Lovett channels this energy in her choreography, layering solos, duets, trios and quartets without interruption. “They just kept dancing,” she explained. “Each dancer dances really hard for a minute or two, then comes off stage, breathes for 30 seconds, and comes back out. So it’s a marathon piece, but it’s appropriate. Everyone gets enough rest to finish it.”
Like Balanchine and Taylor, Lovett was fascinated by musical detail. “They did a lot of tricky little movements in a short amount of time. I loved hearing every little note, finding a potential phrase, and then bringing it to life through movement. There was also a lot of running. I think if I had to dance,” she laughs, “I would complain.”
The creative process was an eye-opener for Lovett. Despite the immense physical and mental strain – or perhaps because of it – she completed the work in record time. “I couldn’t doubt myself. I couldn’t nitpick. Instead of trying to suppress every thought that came to my mind every ten seconds, I gave up trying to control things and exploited them. I let the dancers bring themselves to the work, and I’m very happy with the results.”
Robert Barthel to the rhythm of jazz
fighting to the rhythm of jazzIt was his first work for the company and featured 15 dancers and was set to a range of jazz, gospel and swing songs by Wycliffe Gordon, Ella Fitzgerald, Mahalia Jackson and Steve Reich. It was inspired by the woman who raised him, an artistic and dynamic figure who introduced Bartell to poetry, jazz and the importance of community.
“I didn’t initially think that I was celebrating my mother and her influence on my life,” Bartel told the Observer , “but when I chose the music, it just came out…all of it had to do with my youth and the profound impact she had on me — not just as a person, but as an artist.”
One part in particular makes their relationship even more compelling. It’s set to Steve Reich’s clap musiccovered with a poem. “I was originally going to recite it and record it, but I was at my mom’s house in Miami and I was telling her the poem and she picked up the piece of paper and started reading it. And I was like, Oh my gosh, it must be her! So you hear her voice, and underneath it’s my voice, reciting the poem. It was the first time we worked together.”
While Battle’s action style remains strong and smooth, its tone has changed. “I think in this work I’m not as afraid of being personal as I was in the past. I feel like, in this next phase of my career, I don’t have to hide my true voice or gloss over it or be tough or anything. Just say what you want to say. Let it come from the heart. Alvin Ailey said that some of the greatest works of art are those that are the most personal. At this stage in my life, that really resonates with me.”
There is vulnerability in work, and there is joy. “My mom was always happy,” he said. “She’s been through a lot more than we have — racism, bigotry — but there’s always laughter, always comedy, always joy. I like to think of it as a form of resistance. In many ways, this work is a celebration of the things I’ve learned over the years watching her.”
For Bartel, choreographing for the company feels like coming home. “[Taylor has] It’s been in my orbit throughout my dance career and now I feel like I’m part of a legacy that wasn’t just accidental. He also enjoyed getting to know the dancers on a deeper level. “I can’t say enough about how amazing they are as artists and how wonderful it is to work with them. I think sometimes people think it’s an obvious thing, but it always needs to be said because they are the physical manifestation of legacy. “
Other works this season
In addition to two world premieres, the company will perform a selection of Taylor classics: Skudorama (1963), Esplanade (1975), Digitization (1978), Sunset (1983), Company B (1991), Offenbach Overture (1995), cascade (1999), Troilus and Cressida (reduced version) (2006), beloved traitor (2008), Gossamer Warrior (2011) and concerto (2018). A bright spot is the revival speaking in tongues (1988), last performed in 2013, is a work about religious extremism in America that won an Emmy Award for its television broadcast. Most works will be performed live by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.
Lovette also returns this season card (2022) with Jody Sperling Long live Laloy! (2024), Battle’s Company Premiere High above the mark (1999) New York premiere with Hope Boykin how does love sound (2025).
“We’re doing a lot of Taylor’s comedy this season,” Novak said. “That’s intentional. I need it and the company needs it. Comedy has a very strong morale. It’s good for us and good for the audience.” speaking in tongues and beloved traitor There are some heavier pieces that explore faith in contrasting ways, but most are heartwarming. “This is very much an emotional, warm show and we can’t wait to share it.”
Paul Taylor Dance Company performs at David H. Koch Theater Lincoln Center Season Until November 23, 2025.
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