First performed in 1993, "A Field of Grass" is a dance set to songs by Harry Nilsson with choreography by Paul Taylor.
Short but Only Deceptively Sweet -- A master of mixing dark and light, Paul Taylor outdid himself in "A Field of Grass," a stunningly succinct re-creation of the apocalyptic 1960s and the decade's appetite for love, death and drugs.
In 1996, the Paul Taylor Dance Company performed the piece at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, Massachusetts.
"A Field of Grass" (1993), set to Harry Nilsson's pop recordings, re-creates the sounds, sights and sensations of the swinging '70s by Taylor's authentic perceptions of those halcyon times. It opens with the versatile [Patrick] Corbin sitting in the lotus position smoking a joint. As the other dancers (Rachel Berman Benz, Kristi Egtvedt, Chen See, Andrew LeBeau, Caryn Heilman and [Jill] Echo), clad in the faded, bell-bottomed jeans of the period, join him, the communal movements recall the galactic, discographic, love-in attitudes of the acid-induced Age of Aquarius. [2]
- [1] New York Times, Jennifer Dunning (1993-12-26) "THE YEAR IN THE ARTS: Dance/1993; 'Swan Lake' Went Slapstick, And the 'Nutcracker' Movie Deserved a Slap for Casting"
- [2] Hartford Courant (Hartford, Connecticut), Tony Angarano (1996-07-25) "Paul Taylor's 'Overtures' Sparkles Like Champagne"