“Aureole” through the years
Here’s one of my two very favorite Paul Taylor works (the other is “Esplanade”). The video is a very short compilation of brief clips from performances over the decades – the piece is now 60 years old. I’ve seen the dance live during the 60s, 70s, 80s, and probably a few times since. The video only captures a small portion of its transcendent joyfulness, but it will have to do. A special treat is a 1967 snippet of Paul Taylor himself dancing (1:10 to 1:20). He’s the person I first saw in the role, and everything he did onstage was memorable. Built more like a football player than most dancers, you can see why they called him “The Hulk”:
Here’s just the Taylor part, if you were having trouble isolating it:
He would have made a great baseball player!
Isn’t this the ring around a woman’s nipple?
J+M:
You’re thinking of the anatomical term “areola.” An aureole is the cloud of light that surrounds the entire figure of a saint or other sacred personage in religious art.
For 20 years I lived on Vandam Street between 6th Avenue and Varick Street.
A neighbor who lived in his townhouse across the street was Paul Taylor. He was very gracious and helpful when our block association was dealing with local crime problems during the 70s and 80s.
Another good neighbor on the street was the great diva Leontyne Price.
I really liked the music, although doing modern dance to a baroque piece by George Frideric Handel is kinda edgy.
https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/04/paul-taylor-aureole-modern-dance
“Upon its premiere, at Connecticut College, Aureole alienated some of the hard-line modernists, who thought it too accessible, too lyrical. For everyone else it was love at first sight.”
Did You Know (I didn’t):”George Frideric Handel (23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) composed works including 42 operas; 25 oratorios; more than 120 cantatas, trios and duets; numerous arias; odes and serenatas; solo and trio sonatas; 18 concerti grossi; and 12 organ concertos.” (Wikipedia)
https://imslp.org/wiki/List_of_works_by_George_Frideric_Handel
612 numbered in the HWV system (splitting the major works into movements); 15 in the Appendix; 22 that are “missing.”
I have no clue which of his works is the basis for the dance; even Wikipedia was no help.
https://www.nytimes.com/1962/08/06/archives/dance-debut-of-aureole-a-modern-white-ballet-paul-taylor-troupe-at.html
“Dance: Debut of ‘Aureole,’ a Modern ‘White Ballet’; Paul Taylor Troupe at American Festival Work Set to Concerto Grosso of Handel”
The full article by the NYT is no longer available; and Handel has 18 Concerti Grossi, so, there we are.
https://www.britannica.com/art/concerto-grosso-music
“…common type of orchestral music of the Baroque era (c. 1600–c. 1750), characterized by contrast between a small group of soloists (soli, concertino, principale) and the full orchestra (tutti, concerto grosso, ripieno)…. About 1750, having reached its apogee with George Frideric Handel’s Opus 6 (1740), the concerto grosso was eclipsed by the solo concerto.”
The dance was interesting, but I prefer Baryshnikov.
Speaking of dance and ballet, I did remember about that one teacher you had, Natasa Boskovic, and I found photos of her from various eras on Serbian sites. She has an award named after her in Serbia:
http://pancevo.mojkraj.rs/vesti/kultura/item/14435-pancevki-tatjani-tatic-sinoc-urucena-nagrada-natasa-boskovic
A signed photo from 1935, as Odettte:
https://www.blic.rs/kultura/vesti/noc-muzeja-srpska-istorija-belog-i-crnog-labuda-u-narodnom-pozoristu/82cwz3w
I don’t remember if I linked her obituary, but it’s in the NYT, July 2, 1973.
It’s likely the National Theater in Belgrade, Serbia has some material, next time I’m around there I’ll look/ask around. If I find anything good I’ll post it on a blog or something and link it here, explaining what it is.
Her name is actually:
Nataša Boškovi?
That’s Nataša Boškovi?, and as is somehow typical, the special characters aren’t transferring properly. It’s pronounced:
‘Natasha Boshkoveets’, roughly.
There is an official biography, but it seems to be only in Serbian.
Anyway.