Taylor, Paul, 1930–, American modern dance choreographer, b. Pittsburgh. Taylor trained as an artist before he received scholarships to study dance. In 1953 he made his debut with the Merce Cunningham company and performed his first dance composition. From 1955 to 1961 he won acclaim both as a leading soloist with the Martha Graham company and as the creator of witty and innovative avant-garde dances for his own company, which he had formed in 1954. He has choreographed more than 100 works, including Jack and the Beanstalk (1954), Aureole (1962), Esplanade (1975), Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rehearsal) (1980), Company B (1991), The Word (1998), Arabesque (2000), Promethean Fire (2002), and Le Grand Puppetier (2004). His later works have been generally less radical than his earlier ones.
See his autobiography, Private Domain (1987); The Paul Taylor Dance Company (video, 1978).
