The Weis Center for the Performing Arts will welcome Micaela Taylor and her Los Angeles-based contemporary dance ensemble, The TL Collective, on Saturday, October 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the Weis Center.
The company is known for its fusion of contemporary dance and theatrical hip-hop, including elements of groove and acrobatics accompanied by high-level athleticism.
The dancers in the ensemble are: Marlie Couto, Maddie Lacambra, Kaia Makihara, Madison Tanguay, Micaela Taylor and Jessie Lee Thorne.
The performance is made possible, in part, by an Arts Forward grant from the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), made possible through support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
ABOUT THE TL COLLECTIVE
The TL Collective was founded by Micaela Taylor in 2016, ignited by her passion to create engaging and diverse work. After a successful launch in LA of premiered work, Molecular Fuel, Taylor continued to create new works that were performed throughout intimate spaces in LA. PopMadness (2017), SeeColour (2018), and ROSEWOOD (2018). Due to rave reviews, in 2017 Taylor was commissioned to perform her work; PopMadness in Grand Performances which further exposed her work to the greater Los Angeles community. Since then, The TL has solidified their repertoire with commissions and presentations by Grand Park, Ford Amphitheatre, The Broad Stage, The ACE hotel, and Jacob’s Pillow. The TL Collective is now on the rise as one of LA’s emerging dance companies.
ABOUT MICAELA TAYLOR
Micaela Taylor is a dancer, choreographer, and the Artistic Director, Founder, and Choreographer of the TL Collective. Trained in hip-hop and ballet, she has created her own dance genre called Expand Practice, exuding emotion from the core and creating varied physical shapes and textures as expressions of one’s authentic self. Her quirky style of exaggerated facial expressions, gesture, and athletic theatricality sets her work apart. Taylor created her own technique and is building The TL Collective all from the ground up. She received the Inaugural Springboard EMERGE Choreographic Award, was named in Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” in 2019, and graced the cover of Dance Magazine in April 2020. Most recently she was awarded San Francisco’s Audience choice Award for “Best Solo Artist.” A millennial herself, Taylor is a role model and influencer to aspiring BIPOC artists and is creating groundbreaking work that introduces commercial styles to concert dance. Taylor’s work has been presented at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, The Broad Stage, Ford Amphitheatre, Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, and more. Alongside the launch of her company, Taylor has been commissioned to choreograph and teach by Rambert Dance Company, The Getty Museum, BODYTRAFFIC, Springboard Danse Montreal/Gibney Dance Company, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, B12 Festival Berlin, Carlos Acosta’s Acosta Danza, and more. Upcoming commissions include Martha Graham Dance Company and a co-commission by Jacobs Pillow and American Dance Festival.
FEATURED PROGRAM
While at the Weis Center, they will perform three works: Pull, Drift, and MisFit. This three-part program focuses on an evolution of a mindset, from being pulled, to drifting, to realizing who they are.
Pull focuses on the twists and turns of life, focusing on one person that starts their journey melancholy and focused, yet finishes with hope and contemplation. Seamlessly shifting to Drift, we see the layers of emotion peel back.
Drift seeks to demonstrate an individual’s ever-changing relationship to self, while exposing a personal season of self-growth.
MisFit inhabits six dancers that question their identity and how they fit in with society while staying true to self. Focusing on the concept that everyone at some point in their life feels like a misfit. Through a journey of scenes of different styles of music and dance…do they find themselves?
TICKETS
Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors 62+ and subscribers, $15 for youth 18 and under, $15 for Bucknell employees and retirees (limit 2), $10 for Bucknell students (limit 2) and $15 for non-Bucknell students (limit 2).
This performance features a special rate for local youth dancers and dance studios: youth are $5 and the accompanying parent/guardian is $15. Use Coupon Code DRIFT at checkout, after selecting seats.
Tickets can be reserved by calling 570-577-1000 or online at Bucknell.edu/BoxOffice.
Tickets are also available in person from several locations including the Weis Center lobby (weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and the CAP Center Box Office, located on the ground floor of the Elaine Langone Center (weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
PLEASE NOTE
Bucknell’s face covering requirements follow CDC guidelines, based on current rates of transmission of COVID-19 in Union County. When transmission rates are high, face coverings are required of everyone in all public and academic indoor campus spaces, including the Weis Center. Masks are not required indoors when transmission rates are low or medium. This guideline applies to all visitors regardless of vaccination status. Please always have a mask available when you are on campus. KN95s are recommended. To view Bucknell’s current status, visit bucknell.edu/COVID-19.
For more information about the Weis Center for the Performing Arts, go to Bucknell.edu/WeisCenter or search for the Weis Center on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.