For choreographer Micaela Taylor, it’s all about rhythm

Micaela Taylor’s latest creation, ‘Bow Out’, features as part of English National Ballet’s forthcoming ‘Rhythm Riot’ programme at Sadler’s Wells. David Mead talked recently with the American choreographer about her work.

“I had rhythm, I think, at a young age,” says Micaela Taylor. “I remember my mom telling me how I just started to moving to the beat of popular song that came on when I was just three years old. So, she put me in dance. It just so happened to be my passion and what I just love doing.”

Rhythm Riot seems a very apt home for a choreographer for whom rhythm remains everything. “It’s very important. I think it comes somewhat naturally. When I hear a certain rhythm that I connect to, I tend to want to dance to it. But it’s not just about the rhythm of the dance moves, but also that of the story and how it’s being told. I find myself wanting to follow the rhythm of beginning, climax, end, coming to a sort of answer or resolution.” Having said that, she says that Bow Out is kind of open-ended.

The inspiration for the ballet was the Nicolas Brothers, the American duo who came to the fore in the 1930s with their fusion of jazz, ballet, acrobatics and tap, all delivered with elegance and showmanship. “I never pursued tap dance as a career or a style but I was just always mesmerised by their charisma, their explosive energy; and their poise and sophistication.”

She was particularly drawn to the Brothers’ Jumpin’ Jive. “I thought, I want to explore this and kind of create something just based off of their energy and what they brought to their performance. And those iconic stairs that they dance off and the split jumps they do over one another.”

And yes, she promises, the audience will be able to make the link, in the atmosphere, the energy, and Candice Mac’s set and costume design. “But we’re not tap dancing.”

Taylor explains that the title is a reference to the sort of bow the Nicolas Brothers always did at the end of a performance. “It always seemed all part of the choreography for me, part of the performance. So, there was something about bowing that I wanted to highlight. Then I just came with this idea of, like, a five, six, seven, eight and we’re out. Like the end note of a count. And so, I just bow out. That’s it. We’re done. We’re in and out. We’re there.”

When it comes to music, Taylor says, “I love all sorts. If it’s good and I can rock to it, I don’t mind what kind of genre it is. But with this one, I wanted to pay tribute to that era.” When working with composer Tru, a regular collaborator, she says they talked a lot about horns, drums and percussion, but also about precisely how to bring out that sound. “You definitely hear a lot of that at the beginning but then it transcends into something else as we start to play with violin and strings, and a little bit of a kind of a synth that just takes it to an otherworldly place.”

Bow Out will be Taylor’s first time working with a live orchestra. When we met, she still hadn’t heard them play the music but admits to being really excited. “I’m sure it’ll be fantastic and just add so much more dynamic to the space and for the dancers.”

When it comes to the movement itself, Taylor’s choreography is often physically tenacious. “I’m from Los Angeles. It’s a commercially driven place. I have a groovy, hip hop, isolation sort of background, but then I transitioned into classical form. So, you see lines and shapes and that articulation, but it all stems from the core, the strongest part of the body that initiates everything,” she says.”

But dance doesn’t only happen from the neck down. She adds, “I like the idea of the face being involved. I think the way that someone uses their eyes, looks out of them, flutters or rolls them, can change things a lot. They are really important. Audiences do look at faces and I think sometimes that’s forgotten.”

Taylor didn’t start choreographing until post-college when she started dancing professionally with a small LA dance company called ate9. “It’s a gaga based company led by Danielle Agami. We were essentially creating every day. We had a short performance where she allowed each us to create a small portion of it. And it was during that process that I fell in love with the process, the idea of having a vision in my head and seeing it brought to life with the dancers.”

Although she very much speaks with her own voice, when it comes to choreographic idols, Taylor is quick to name Crystal Pite, Kyle Abraham and Hofesh Shechter. “I think there’s something earthy and grounded about their work that really reminds me of my dance history and background. A sort of expressing from the soul and the core. And Crystal Pite’s storytelling is just beyond this world. I think she’s the best at it.”

Watching videos of Taylor’s previous works, one cannot fail to be struck by the energy, of shifting choreography full of complexity and drive. “We definitely move a lot,” she says. “Sometimes I can be a little bit critical like, ‘Oh slow down. It’s too much’ but I enjoy seeing the effort and the stamina being built as a collective. You see them going forward and it’s almost like they’re on a treadmill in some parts of the work. I like to see just a lot of communal energy and unified dancing together. But, of course, there are always duets and solos to bring out more of the essence of the work in the narrative and to provide some calmer moments.”

She calls her approach to dance ‘expand practice’, which is all about expanding the narrative, one’s physicality from the inside out. That means watching each other and elevating, ramping up, whatever genuine emotion is there. And that could be something very everyday that is somehow brought into the space.

Taylor explains that her process in the studio is to start with a phrase that she’s already created so that the dancers have something to latch on to. “Usually, it’s kind of that way throughout the process. I have an idea of a phrase and I show them, but then it becomes collaborative in the sense that I’m watching them not only when they’re dancing, but when they’re not dancing, watching how they interact with each other, how they talk, what are their mannerisms because that really adds value to the human quality coming out through the work which is really important to me.”

In the studio, Taylor loves to see dancers taking risks. She agrees that can be difficult to encourage initially, with dancers having a feeling of uncertainty. “It’s so funny because I feel that same nervousness as choreographer. I’m confident in the phrase or the idea, but still you’re working with new people. I try to lead by example. I try to take risks as a mover with them in the beginning so that they can feel that I’m with them. That kind of works for me, sort of going in the thick of it with them, sweating together, doing all the things together.”

Taylor says she hopes Bow Out will leave the audience feeling the explosive energy of the work but also a questionable joy. “There’s this underlayer when it comes to joy that I’ve always been amused with. That something is too good to be true. This sense of, I feel happy but… Is something bad gonna happen? Not that I’m too superstitious, but this idea of feeling, ‘Oh wow, things are going really well. What’s gonna happen next? So, that sort of feeling of fun and exuberant energy, but also that there’s maybe something hidden.”

As with all her work, though, she says that what is important is that people get something from it, that it’s not completely vacant of any sort of impact. “But that doesn’t have to be exactly what I envisioned, my story, the narrative that I have.”

‘Bow Out’ by Micaela Taylor can be seen as part of English National Ballet’s ‘Rhythm Riot’ programme at Sadler’s Wells, London from September 24 to October 3, 2026.