Paul Taylor Dance Company April 29, 2009

The Paul Taylor Dance Company's well-received new work "Beloved Renegade" will be a highlight when the troupe returns after a year's hiatus with three programs, presented by San Francisco Performances.

Set to music by Poulenc, "Beloved Renegade" is inspired by the works of poet Walt Whitman. Reviewing the piece in February, New York Times critic Alastair Macaulay called it "one of the great achievements of Mr. Taylor's long career..." Rounding out Program B are "Mercuric Tidings" and a revival of the long-lost "Scudorama," which was created in 1963 and has not been performed since 1973.

Program A includes "Changes," a lighthearted piece set to music by the Mamas and the Papas. The San Francisco Ballet commissioned the work as part of its New Works Festival last season, but this will be the first time the Paul Taylor Company has performed it in the Bay Area. Rounding out this program are "Byzantium" (1984) and the popular "Esplanade" (1975).

Program C consists of three Paul Taylor Dance Company favorites: "Arden Court" (1981), "Private Domain" (1969) and "Offenbach Overtures" (1995).

In addition to these mainstage programs, the Company will offer a Family Matinee at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 2, also at Yerba Buena. This approximately hour-long performance is geared to young attention spans, ending with a Q&A session with the dancers. The Taylor Company will also do a special performance for public-school students, as well as an open rehearsal scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 29. The latter event is free of charge and open to the public.

For more than a decade, San Francisco Performances has presented the New York-based Paul Taylor Company in regular seasons in the Bay Area. That five-year arrangement ended last season, when the troupe took a break from performing here.

$49/$32.

Official Website: http://www.performances.org