As an artist, my main objective is to explore the natural therapeutic properties of dance, beginning with the creative process and ending on the stage. Most of my works have been developed through visceral movement exploration, while all of my works have been process-based. My process has consisted of journaling, internal and external research, and conversation. In cultivating my process, I find that I am motivated by architectural designs, as they inspire my creation of spacial floor patterns. I advocate for healing through movement. I believe in the power of dance. I believe that performative body-to-body communication can touch humans in ways that words cannot. I greatly appreciate the unique perspectives of the viewing audience. Ultimately, I strive to achieve an emotional response from members of the audience, in hopes that viewing my work will assist them in their own healing journeys.
Background
Taylor King is a trained concert dancer and graduate of Saint Mary’s School in Raleigh, North Carolina; a graduate of East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance; and a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a Master of Fine Arts in Choreography. Taylor King is an ABT® (American Ballet Theatre) Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 5 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She has successfully completed courses from the National Dance Education Organization’s Online Professional Development Institute. Her training has taken her to Ghana, where she studied in the Ewe tradition of Gahu, a traditional dance style, and Tokoe, a modern local dance. Taylor spent a year at Laurence School in Van Nuys, CA, a private K-6 school where she designed a new dance curriculum and directed the dance program. She is a former educator at Northfield Mount Hermon School (“NMH”), a boarding college preparatory school in Massachusetts & instructor of record at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Currently, Taylor serves a few roles in Hamilton, NY. She is an Adjunct Professor of Dance at Colgate University, Head Coach of Colgate University’s Pom Team, and Instructor of pointe (ballet) at The Spot Dance Center. Taylor also serves on the Board of Directors at Arts at The Palace, a community arts organization in Hamilton, NY.
Taylor is originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, wherefrom the age of two, she began her journey as a dancer, by studying ballet at The Ballet School of Chapel Hill. She continued to pursue her passion for dance by studying other styles of dance such as rhythmic tap, modern dance through Graham and Release technique, jazz, capoeira, and hip-hop. Taylor has trained and performed with artists such as Teal Darkenwald, Mark Haim, Gene Medler, Janet Lily, and Galina Panova. She was a performer and visiting choreographer with Quantum Dance Collective directed by Meg Van Dyke in their last running season. Prior to her tenure at NMH, she was an instructor at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, teaching all levels of jazz and ballet, as well as general education coursework to introduce students to the field of dance. At Northfield Mount Hermon School she taught all levels of ballet, advanced tap, contemporary, hip-hop, step, and jazz, all while choreographing for both levels of the dance company. In 2019, she received the Perry Faculty Fellowship Award for excellence in teaching at NMH, a 4-year stipend award. In 2021, she was selected as the faculty founder's day speaker.
Taylor established a collaborative dance company, VEERdance, with Fern Katz and Verity Nichols. VEERdance is an emotive contemporary dance company emerging from a desire for collaboration. Through dance, VEER pushes and blurs boundaries. With a highly varied technical skillset, the company’s repertoire blends balletic movements, physical floor work, partnering, and contemporary technique to create dance theatre performances. VEERdance has been selected to perform in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York City. The company has received grants from the West Stockbridge & Montague, MA Local Cultural Councils.
Taylor has been fortunate as a choreographer to have her work be selected in dance showcases, venues, and festivals throughout the east coast. In 2020, her piece Dies Irae was selected to be performed at the Showcase performance at The National High School Dance Festival in Pittsburgh, PA. Taylor is a novice dance filmmaker and her first work, Friday the Thirteenth, was selected in the Lift-Off Spring Showcase 2021 based in London, England in 2021.
“Body-to-body communication can reach humans in ways that words cannot”
When teaching, I treat the studio as a place for respect, dedication, and enjoyment. My philosophy as an educator is a mixture of “old school” dance classroom etiquette, with a modern twist of collaborative learning. When I am teaching, I believe the classroom should truly be a place of multi-faceted learning. I am the facilitator of those facets. I give information and with my guidance, I encourage students to share their own knowledge with one another in a Socratic-type approach to dance. I do not believe the teacher is the only holder of knowledge. I encourage dialogue, and I encourage new exploration. I also have a strong interest in somatics and anatomy. Therefore, I incorporate both in my classes. I find it important that students understand their bodies from the inside out. For this reason, I avoid using mirrors, in an effort to help build spacial awareness and heighten proprioception. I have worked with students of many different ages and physical abilities. No matter the skill, experience, or body type, I teach multiple dance styles including ballet, rhythmic tap, modern, hip-hop, and jazz.
