Event
Paul Taylor Dance Company
with the Naples Philharmonic
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Michael Novak, artistic director
Naples Philharmonic
Manuel López-Gómez, conductor
Taylor/Elgar — Sunset
Taylor/Bach— Promethean Fire
Taylor/Jackson— Scudorama
The Paul Taylor Dance Company has been reimagining modern dance since 1954. With over 147 groundbreaking works spanning seven decades, the company ceaselessly pushes the boundaries of movement and emotion. This program treats audiences to a trio of masterpieces choreographed by Paul Taylor.
The program opens with Sunset, a poignant meditation on the bonds of camaraderie and the toll of war that presents a delicate yet powerful exploration of loss and longing. Promethean Fire follows, delving into the depths of human emotion, traveling through conflict and destruction to resolution and renewal. Finally, Scudorama — written in 1963, the days of the Cuban missile crisis—offers a haunting reflection on mortality and uncertainty, capturing the tension of its time.
Together, these works showcase the artistry and emotional depth that have defined the Paul Taylor Dance Company for decades.
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Paul Taylor Dance Company
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, Taylor became a cultural icon and one of America’s most celebrated artists, hailed as part of the pantheon that created American modern dance.
The Paul Taylor Dance Company has traveled the globe many times over, bringing Taylor’s ever-burgeoning repertoire to theaters and venues of every size and description in cultural capitals, on college campuses and in rural communities — and often to places modern dance had never been seen before. The company has performed in more than 500 cities in 64 countries, representing the United States at arts festivals in more than 40 countries and touring extensively under the aegis of the U.S. Department of State. In 1997, the company toured throughout India in celebration of that nation’s 50th anniversary. Its 1999 engagement in Chile was named the Best International Dance Event of 1999 by the country’s Art Critics’ Circle. In the summer of 2001, the company toured in the People’s Republic of China and performed in six cities, four of which had never seen American modern dance before, and has since returned on four separate multi-week tours. In spring 2003, the company mounted an award-winning four-week, seven-city tour of the United Kingdom. The company regularly tours throughout North America, South America, Asia and Europe.
While continuing to garner international acclaim, the Paul Taylor Dance Company performs more than half of each touring season in cities throughout the United States. In celebration of the company’s 50th anniversary and 50 years of creativity, the Taylor Foundation presented Taylor’s works in all 50 states between March 2004 and November 2005. That tour underscored the Paul Taylor Dance Company’s historic role as one of the early touring companies of American modern dance. Beginning with its first television appearance for the Dance in America series in 1978, the company has appeared on PBS in 10 different programs, including the 1992 Emmy Award-winning Speaking in Tongues and The Wrecker’s Ball — including Company B, Funny Papers and A Field of Grass — which was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1997. In 1999 the PBS American Masters series aired Dancemaker, the Academy Award-nominated documentary about Taylor and his Company. In 2013, PBS aired Paul Taylor Dance Company in Paris, featuring Brandenburgs and Beloved Renegade. The 2014 documentary Paul Taylor Creative Domain won critical and public acclaim for its revelation of Taylor’s creative process, as it followed the famously private choreographer and his Company through the entire process of creating a new work from initial concept to opening night.
Naples Philharmonic
Naples Philharmonic
Founded in 1982, the Naples Philharmonic normally performs over 140 orchestral and chamber concerts, as well as opera and ballet, education, community and special event concerts from September through June each year.
Meet the Musicians
Alexander Shelley
Artistic and Music Director Meet Alexander
Jack Everly
Principal Pops Conductor Meet Jack
James Ehnes
Artistic Partner Meet James
Manuel López-Gómez
Associate Conductor Meet Manuel
Alvin Ho
Assistant Conductor Meet Alvin
Manuel López-Gómez
Manuel López-Gómez
Hugely successful appearances across the globe with many of the world’s finest orchestras have established Manuel López-Gómez’s reputation as a forceful, visionary and inspiring conductor. In addition to his concert work, Manuel is passionate about opera, having previously conducted and recorded the world premiere of Atahualpa by Carlo Enrico Pasta as well as engagements conducting Roméo et Juliette, Il viaggio a Reims and Le nozze di Figaro.
For more than 15 years, Manuel worked side-by-side with Gustavo Dudamel on symphonic and opera projects in Caracas, Los Angeles, Paris and at the Salzburg Festival.
Manuel began studying violin, piano, chamber music, composition and conducting in Venezuela. A product of El Sistema, he views the musical training of young people as a key duty. Beginning in 2024, he serves as associate conductor of the Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra and, most recently, as associate conductor of the Naples Philharmonic.
Meet Manuel
