Paul Taylor Dance Company performs with power and fragility

Paul Taylor’s often called an influential choreographer. That’s not quite right. He’s one of the most important figures in American dance, but his work is so distinctive that it’s hard to see its influence on any other choreographer’s work.

There’s ample evidence of how singular Taylor’s work is in the concert that the Paul Taylor Dance Company is performing through Monday at the FSU Center for the Performing Arts. The Sarasota Ballet is presenting the concert, which opened Friday and continues through Monday. (The four performances on Saturday and Sunday sold out quickly, so a Monday performance was added.)

The program comprises three of Taylor’s works: “Brandenburgs” from 1988, “Lines of Loss” (2007) and “Black Tuesday” (2001).

“Brandenburgs,” set (as you might guess) to music from Bach’s “Brandenburg Concertos,” combines power and delicacy in a frenetic and athletic half-hour of pure dance. There’s no discernible narrative. The piece is Taylor’s visual and emotional interpretation of the music. It’s an odd interpretation — he finds humor and strength in the seemingly serious and delicate composition — but he makes you hear what he hears. The dance moves so quickly that it’s almost literally a blur at times. Dancers move at impossible speeds; it seems sometimes as though Taylor felt compelled to have the dancers make a new move for every single note of the Baroque concertos. Even apart form the choreography, the dancers are phenomenal to watch for their energy. The synchronization is sometime less than perfect but it doesn’t dampen the effect.

The only element that could be considered a flaw in the piece is the costuming. Most of the men wear bizarre and unattractive form-fitting deep blue one-piece outfits that seem unintentionally comic.

“Lines of Loss” is danced to a series of musical selections by more modern composers (John Cage, Arvo Part and others). There’s more of a suggestion of a narrative in this one, but at its heart, it’s a mood-evoking piece with an unsettling, other worldly feel. The lighting design by Jennifer Tipton (who lit all three pieces) adds a lot of texture, but the piece goes on a bit too long.

“Black Tuesday” is a set in New York during the Great Depression and populated by homeless people. The music consists of popular and evocative songs of the era (“Brother Can You Spare a Dime?” is the most familiar) and the dance starts out with pretty straightforward versions of the Charleston and other dances that people would have been doing in the clubs. Gradually, it morphs into a more Tayloresque style with a modern vocabulary and startlingly liquid moves from the cast. Tipton’s lights and the costumes by Santo Loquasto add to the flavor.

The dancers in Taylor’s company are remarkably versatile, performing an impressive stylistic variety and dancing with tenderness, emotion and force, often at the same time. But the appeal of this concert is the choreography, even more than the dancing. Other dancers may be able to perform these works, but only Paul Taylor could have thought of them.

Details: Through Feb. 27, Mertz Theatre at the FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Monday, 2 p.m. Sunday. $35-$110. 941-359-0099, sarasotaballet.org.

This story was originally published February 24, 2017 at 11:42 PM with the headline "Paul Taylor Dance Company performs with power and fragility."