The Taylor School is the educational wing of Paul Taylor’s American Modern Dance and The Paul Taylor Dance Foundation, a performing arts organization with a 60 plus year history as a major force in modern dance. The Taylor School offers everything from Taylor style youth classes to professional level training classes, to dance camps and Taylor Intensives al at its studios on the lower East Side. Additionally, The Taylor School offers outreach programming in the form of Taylor residencies, workshops and master classes at public and private schools in New York City and nationally. The Taylor School also proudly hosts the Taylor Teen Ensemble, an audition only touring teen company that perform excerpts of Mr. Taylor’s work throughout the tri-state area and beyond.
According to the Director of the Taylor School in New York City (Raegan Wood) as the educational wing of the Taylor organization, The Taylor School offers classes primarily in Taylor style modern dance. Their Taylor Tots classes for 2 year olds and 3 year olds as well as their Taylor Levels 1 and 2 for ages 4 years old through 9 years old maintain a focus on relative movement as well as physical skill development.
Since Raegan has been teaching for close to 30 years she has had many, many proud moments so it would be very difficult for her to pinpoint her single proudest moment. She says that she takes great pride in the overall quality of dance education that The Taylor School offers. Their Taylor Teen Ensemble is a wonderful example of the standard of excellence that they strive to maintain at The Taylor School. With Mr. Taylor’s blessing, Raegan started the Ensemble a few years ago and it has blossomed into a group of enthusiastic, disciplined and talented young artists that reflect the friendly culture and high quality of training at The Taylor School.
In Raegan’s opinion, the biggest mistakes she sees dancers make from a physical point of view, is 
that dancers often unknowingly abuse/misuse their bodies before they learn how to properly use them. The earlier that teachers can help students understand how their bodies work and move as unique instruments of expression, the better off dancers will be. Proper bone alignment, core strength, core-to-limb integration, proper stretching and strengthening techniques, all of these and more are essential to good dance training.
From a psychological point of view, dancers tend to be very hard on themselves. Though this may be a natural progression from being generally very hard working (a basic requirement of being a dancer), younger dancers can tend to leave out the strengths or positive sides of their work and only focus on their mistakes or their weaknesses. Reagan recommends that dance teachers and dance students view and discuss student progress and achievement in the round. Assess all sides, so that the student has all the information. This way, students can learn and apply constructive work habits.
Raegan says that The Taylor School’s primary goal this year is to significantly grow its student population in its on-site programs (youth/adult classes, professional classes, dance camps, intensives), as well s in its off-site programs (K-12 Outreach).
Reagan believes that there are two main factors that caused her to come onboard as Director of the Taylor School. First, teaching dance is her passion and, in addition to being a former member of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, she has had years of experience teaching dance to multiple age groups. Second, and most importantly, Mr. Taylor thought the union of Raegan and The Taylor 
School would work well, and indeed Reagan thinks it has so far.
As part of the larger Taylor organization, their Taylor-style modern classes can’t help but draw from their proximity to the source of inspiration. Mr. Taylor walks the halls whenever he is at the studio creating a new piece. The Taylor Company members cross paths with the 4 year olds and 5 year olds on days when Taylor company rehearsals run back to back with Taylor School classes. Here at the Taylor School, the creativity and artistry flow freely from one part of the organization to another, from one dancer to another, at every level of expertise.
If you would like more information about Paul Taylor American Modern Dane and The Paul Taylor Dance Foundation, visit their website at http:/w2.ptamd.org, cal them at 649-214-5826 or fax them at 212-96-5673.
Please post a comment if you have had any experience with Raegan Wood of The Taylor School.
