Thursday, May 08

Paul Taylor in GB

GREAT BARRINGTON - Few artists of our time have had the profound impact on their art form that Paul Taylor has had on dance over six decades.

In the 1950s, Paul Taylor's work was so cutting edge that Martha Graham dubbed him the "naughty boy" of dance. In the '60s, he shocked even true dance devotees by setting his trailblazing movement to music composed 200 years earlier. In the '70s, he put incest center stage and revealed the beast lurking just below man's sophisticated veneer. In the '80s, he looked unflinchingly at intimacy among men at war and marital rape. In the '90s, he warned against blind conformity to authority and ridiculed exclusionary men's clubs. In the new millennium he has condemned American imperialism, lampooned feminism and looked death square in the face.

Fifty-four years after he made his first avant-garde works, Taylor is among the most sought-after choreographers working today, commissioned by leading companies, theaters and presenting organizations the world over.

On Saturday, May 31, The Paul Taylor Dance Company will offer two performances at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center.

The 2 p.m. performance is a one-hour

family-friendly matinee featuring "Diggity" and "Cloven Kingdom." The evening performance features "Diggity," "Arden Court" and the company premiere of "Changes," set to songs of The Mamas and The Papas.

Tickets are $20 for the matinee and $50 for the evening performance. Info: 413-528-0100 or mahaiwe.org.

Ballet auditions

PITTSFIELD - The Cantarella School of Dance will hold Academy & Junior Company (of the Albany Berkshire Ballet) auditions on Friday, May 9, at 6:30 p.m.

The Cantarella School of Dance is known for its outstanding balanced dance curriculum. Intermediate and advanced students are encouraged to audition for this comprehensive training program designed for those who want to commit more time to the art of dance. Classes accelerate talented students, exposing them to nationally known teachers in a pre-professional instructional setting.

In addition, both the Academies and the Junior Company perform frequently in the Berkshires and the Capital Region.

Graduates have gone on to dance with the Albany Berkshire Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Jacob's Pillow and the Pennsylvania, Ohio, Portland, and Washington ballets.

Madeline Cantarella Culpo, director-founder and artistic director of the Albany Berkshire Ballet, is an alumna of the Juilliard School and is a nationally recognized teacher of dance. She has taught throughout the United States, including at Jacob's Pillow, and was featured in the 1996 issue of Dance Magazine in an article titled "A Tribute to Teachers Who Have Produced Outstanding Results."

Cantarella is located at 116 Fenn St. Info: 413-442-1307 or

abballet@rnetworx.com.