Modern dance giant Paul Taylor dies at 88
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(Photo: AFP)

Paul Taylor, a towering figure of US modern dance who imbued his choreography with joyful, poetic exuberance, died, his eponymous company said Thursday, at age 88.

Taylor, who died Wednesday, brought a radical new approach to the art form in the 1950s, creating a bridge between early modern masters like Martha Graham and Isadora Duncan and experimental contemporary dance.

He is one of the last giants of modern dance to pass away, after Graham, Merce Cunningham and Pina Bausch. His dance company was one of the first from the United States to tour around the world.

"Paul Taylor was one of the world's greatest dancemakers, and his passing deeply saddens not only those of us who worked with him, but also people all over the world whose spirits have been touched by his incomparable art," said Paul Taylor Dance Foundation artistic director Michael Novak.

"We are grateful for your love and support as we begin to carry on his legacy with the utmost fidelity and devotion," added Novak, a dance company member who Taylor picked earlier this year to serve as his successor.

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 29, 1930, in the wake of the Great Depression, Taylor grew up in the US capital and surrounding region.

While attending Syracuse University on a swimming scholarship, he discovered dance in books he read at the library and transferred to the Juilliard School in New York.

He assembled a small group of dancers in 1954, performing himself until focusing more exclusively on choreography 20 years later.

Taylor created more than 140 dances since 1954, performed by Paul Taylor Dance Company, its smaller ensemble Taylor 2 as well as other dance companies around the world.

Since 2014, his dance company called the Lincoln Center, the performing arts hall in the heart of New York City, its second home for a three-week season each year – a rare honor for a modern dance troupe.

Paul Taylor American Modern Dance, as the initiative is known, presents both works from Taylor's own repertoire as well as new pieces by leading contemporary choreographers.