In 1968 I had the pleasure of spending a week with Paul Taylor when his dance company were at the Theatre Royal, St Helens, in Merseyside. I offered to show him photographs of a dance work that I had created the year before, a choreographed mass for the opening celebrations of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. “Pictures of rehearsals, please,” he said. “Rehearsals are always more fun than performances.”
His thoughts on choreography were illuminating, even when mischievous – “I put in some bad bits of choreography to make the good bits look better.” One such insight emerged when embarking on a DIY project at his second home on Long Island. Deciding to build an adjoining hut, he determined to use only driftwood, and no nails. “It’s just like choreography,” he said. “You give yourself some simple limitations, and then do the best you can.”
