美国国家公共电台 NPR Paul Taylor, Giant Of Modern Dance, Has Died

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

A moment now to remember one of the most prolific¹ and influential² figures in the world of modern dance, Paul Taylor. The movements he created onstage were inspired by everyday people doing everyday things. And that includes people doing nothing at all. His approach turned audiences away at first, but he eventually turned them around with dances he created for the company he founded. These were works that were eventually adopted by other dance companies around the world. Paul Taylor died of renal failure yesterday in Manhattan at the age of 88. NPR's Andrew Limbong has this appreciation³.

ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE⁴: In Paul Taylor's "Esplanade," the dancers are in red, oranges, pinks, and they're constantly moving.

DOUGLAS SONNTAG: They run. They fall. They slip. They slide. They tumble.

LIMBONG: That's Douglas Sonntag, the former director of dance for the National Endowment for the Arts.

SONNTAG: Here's the thing about Paul Taylor's dances. They are very rich. There's a surface that you can look at, and it's shiny and bright. But there's also can be a subtext and a subtext below that that can get very dark. Or it can get very just sort of human in the fact that, you know, people are complicated. And things aren't necessarily straightforward⁵.

LIMBONG: Paul Taylor was born in 1930, just outside of Pittsburgh. He wanted to be a painter. He went to Syracuse University as a swimmer to pay for it. And then, he told NPR in 2004, something changed. He was discouraged about painting and went into the library.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

PAUL TAYLOR: And I picked up a dance magazine, picked up some dance books and then looked at the pictures. And I liked to move. And I thought, well, maybe that's it. I'll just try that (laughter). So I left college and came to New York to take dance classes.

LIMBONG: He went to Juilliard and began a career dancing at the age of 22, relatively⁶ old in the world of dance. But once in New York, he embedded⁷ himself in the art scene there, collaborating⁸ with the likes of artist Robert Rauschenberg and composer John Cage. He formed his own company but stopped dancing in 1974 at the age of 44, after collapsing⁹ onstage. But he went on to truly make his mark in the dance world as a choreographer¹⁰. A work like "Eventide" showed that he was a sharp observer of the details of how people lived, even something as minute as how they walked.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

TAYLOR: I happen to think it's beautiful. If it's structured well and framed, it can be something to watch. If you give a dancer no steps to hide behind, no dance steps, and you just make them walk, they become really revealed. You really can tell what kind of people they are. It's like being naked practically.

LIMBONG: But it was still thrilling. Here's Orion Duckstein, who danced for Paul Taylor, talking to NPR in 2004.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

ORION DUCKSTEIN: Paul will ask for tremendous changes of direction. And he'll ask for these things. And you'll think, well, that's not - well, all right. I'll try.

LIMBONG: Taylor got his dancers to try because of the kind of person he was.

MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV: He has an extraordinary, dry sense of humor, which kind of attracted me personally to him. He was amazing person.

LIMBONG: Dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov.

BARYSHNIKOV: I really, truly believe his work will live on for a very, very long time.

LIMBONG: In 2008, Paul Taylor wrote an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal describing why he made dances. It included a lot of the usual reasons for making art - to feel less alone, to offer reprieve¹¹ from the world - but then he also wrote, quote, "because I want people to know about themselves."

Andrew Limbong, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF TRISTEZA'S "STUMBLE ON AIR")

1 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

2 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

3 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

6 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

7 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

8 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。

9 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

10 choreographer   

n.编舞者

参考例句：

• She is a leading professional belly dancer, choreographer, and teacher. 她既是杰出的专业肚皮舞演员，也是舞蹈设计者和老师。 来自辞典例句
• It'stands aside, my choreographer of grace, and blesses each finger and toe. 它站在一旁，我优雅的舞蹈指导，并祝福每个指尖与脚尖。 来自互联网

11 reprieve   

n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解

参考例句：

• He was saved from the gallows by a lastminute reprieve.最后一刻的缓刑令把他从绞架上解救了下来。
• The railway line, due for closure, has been granted a six-month reprieve.本应停运的铁路线获准多运行6 个月。