In sweltering humidity, Paul Taylor Dance Company took the stage at Wolf Trap’s open air theater on Tuesday night for an evening of modern dance. The only thing unpleasant about the two hour performance was the temperature, and even that was easy to ignore as Taylor’s dancers took to the stage.

The renowned company’s visit is a homecoming of sorts— Paul Taylor grew up in the D.C. area before leaving to study at Syracuse and Julliard. (And they’ll be back again soon. If you didn’t catch PTDC this time around, they’ve already scheduled performances for March 27 and 28, 2009 at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Auditorium.)

PTDC has been one of the most sought after modern dance companies in the world since its inception in 1954. As usual, the company knew how to play its cards well when it came to impressing the audience. And with almost 130 works to his name, Paul Taylor has quite a hand to play. While all of Taylor’s works are masterpieces, the company started off slow with the amusing Diggity, transitioned to the energetic Equinox, and finished the program with Esplanade, one of the company’s signature works. Each work was just satisfying enough, until the next was even better.

Photo of Paul Taylor Dance Company in Esplanade courtesy of Wolf Trap.