7th Annual Evening with the Paul Taylor Dance Company to Benefit Celiac Disease Center

SEVENTH ANNUAL EVENING WITH THE PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY

TO BENEFIT CELIAC DISEASE CENTER AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

New York, NY, March 6, 2012 – The New York City Celiac Meetup Group will host the seventh annual Evening with the Paul Taylor Dance Company to benefit the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University on Tuesday, March 20, 2012 at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. The 7pm performance, featuring three masterworks by Paul Taylor – Oh, You Kid!, Beloved Renegade and Brandenburgs – will be preceded by a gluten-free light supper, provided by the Center, for special ticket-holders from 5:45 to 6:45pm in the theater’s Promenade.

“The Celiac Meetup Group is happy to host this fabulous event again after last year’s tremendous success,” said Meetup Group leader Erin Smith. “We’re providing our community with a great evening of dance while benefitting the important work of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University.” Ms. Smith said that last year’s event drew more than 125 people with celiac disease.

“We are thrilled that the Paul Taylor Dance Company teams with the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University,” said Peter Green, MD, Director of the Center. “The matchless artistry of Mr. Taylor and his dancers is truly inspiring.” Cynthia Beckman of the Center added, “We’re grateful to the Taylor Company not only for helping to raise awareness about celiac disease but for the funds they help raise as well.”

Grandma Rose's Bake Shoppe is donating cupcakes for the dessert portion of the pre-performance reception. 

The series of performances, begun in 2004, was created by Alan Olshan, the Taylor Company’s Director of Marketing and Communications, who has celiac disease.

Oh, You Kid! contains a Coney Island-style revue of vaudeville numbers and a melodrama featuring a damsel in distress. Beloved Renegade depicts the experiences of an artist – “poet of the body and the soul” – described in Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass.” The New York Times called it “the best new choreography of 2008” and hailed Mr. Taylor as “among the great war poets.” Brandenburgs is one of Mr. Taylor’s magnificent collection of works set to music by a master of the baroque, and the dance’s exuberance matches the ferocious energy of Bach’s spirited concertos.

Tickets for the evening are $300, $135, $75 and $25. A portion of each ticket benefits the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University when the buyer mentions promo code CELIAC at the box office (63rd Street and Columbus Avenue); when calling 212.496.0600; or online at www.ptdc.org/tickets. A facility fee of $2 applies to all tickets, and service charges apply to phone and web orders.

The Paul Taylor Dance Company’s 2012 season, its first at Lincoln Center, features 22 dances by Paul Taylor and runs from March 13 through April 1. The March 13 performance is sold out.

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All photos by Jordan Matter.