Paul Taylor Dance Company: Where Musicality Reigns Supreme

Sarah Jenkins · 2026-01-29

You know that feeling when you watch dancers move, and it's like they're not just dancing to the music, but they're dancing *inside* it? That's the Paul Taylor Dance Company. I've been thinking about their recent performances, and honestly, musicality isn't just a part of their work—it's the whole point. For choreographers and studio owners, watching this company is a masterclass. It's not about the flashiest jumps or the most complicated turns. It's about how movement and sound become one single, breathing thing. That's the magic we're all trying to capture in our own studios, right? ### What Makes Their Musicality So Special? It's deeper than just hitting the beat. The dancers have this incredible ability to live in the spaces *between* the notes. They use silence as powerfully as they use sound. A sudden stillness can feel just as loud as a leap. It teaches us that choreography isn't just about filling space with steps; it's about creating a conversation with the score. I remember watching a piece where the movement seemed to anticipate the music, arriving a split-second before the note. It created this delicious tension that pulled you right in. That's advanced stuff. It requires dancers who aren't just listening—they're predicting, feeling, and embodying the composer's intent. ### Lessons for Your Studio Practice So, how do we bring some of that Taylor magic into our own classes and rehearsals? It starts with listening. Real, deep listening. - **Play with Phrasing:** Don't just teach eight-counts. Have your dancers move through the musical phrase, even if it's 7 counts or 11. It breaks the robotic feel. - **Embrace Dynamics:** Connect the quality of movement directly to the volume and texture of the music. A soft piano passage deserves a different energy than a crashing cymbal. - **Silence is a Tool:** Choreograph moments of complete stillness. Let the absence of movement highlight the music, or vice versa. It's about training dancers to be musicians with their bodies. One of my favorite quotes about dance comes from Taylor himself, though I'm paraphrasing here: 'The music is the floor we dance on.' Think about that for a second. It's not a backdrop; it's the foundation. Every step, every fall, every recovery happens because of that foundation. If your dancers aren't connected to the floor, they'll fall. Same goes for the music. ### Moving Beyond Imitation Here's the real takeaway for us as educators. We can't just copy Taylor's steps. That's not the point. The goal is to absorb his philosophy—that profound respect for the score—and let it inform how we build our own work. Are we serving the music? Or are we just using it as a metronome? When you watch this company, you see decades of this principle in action. The musicality feels effortless because it's so deeply ingrained. That's the level of integration we should aim for. It makes the performance unforgettable. It transforms technique into art. And honestly, that's what keeps audiences—and our students—coming back for more. They might not know why they're so moved, but we do. It's the music, living and breathing right there on stage.