Review: Eryc Taylor

That Eryc Taylor is talented is a no-brainer; that he still needs focus is the question that needs addressing, and I think that this is a very pressing problem for his career.

Taylor presented five works on his program at the Alchemical Theatre Laboratory on October 15, 2015. What began as engrossing in the first work, The Zone, began to feel repetitive as the evening progressed. His movements: limber body, pulsating feet and chest is admirable, but the ability to go beyond this needs some brainstorming on Mr. Taylor's part.

Time and again I kept saying to myself throughout the evening, "I just saw this in the previous work. What's different?" And difference is what counts. The thought process behind his choreography has not been resolved. What exactly was he saying? Pure dance-fine. But what else? Please explain, since this is very important.

Taylor is a shrewd observer of human nature; he brings his empathy and compassion to his choreography. The problem is he can only utilize his insight to a point, the point where everything becomes jumbled. I believe this has been pointed out in other reviews, and here I am bringing it up again. Unjumble yourself, Mt. Taylor, as it were. You're a wonderful thinker, so think about what you are doing and how this can be best represented through your choreography.

Each of the works seemed on the verge of promising some powerful insight into human nature, but never delivered. So what might have been engrossing became ordinary, even conventional. Which is exactly what we don't want to see.

Each dance-The Zone, The Hunt, The Time, The Box, and Lumen, could have been lumped together and called The Evening. Sad, but true. I was looking for the extraordinary, but I got the ordinary. And I truly wanted more.

What's next for Mr. Taylor is anyone's guess. My suggestion: look deeply into yourself and examine just what it is that you want to say. And while you're doing this, think deeply about your choreographic compositions. They need to sing, not stumble.

Photograph: Rachel Neville

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