Q&A with Paul Taylor's Transcendant Eran Bugge

Eran Bugge getting a lift from Rob Kleinendorst in Esplanade. Photo: Paul B. Goode

On PTSE—Paul Taylor Season Eve—here's a conversation with Eran Bugge, a dancer of uncommon lyricism and velvety plushness now in her ninth year with the company. This season, her growing Taylor repertoire duets with Michael Trusnovec in Airs and Dante Variations, as well as key roles in Sunset and Esplanade, among many others. The company appears at the Koch Theater in Lincoln Center through March 30.

Ephemeralist: What repertory are you most looking forward to dancing this season?

Eran Bugge: It really is so hard to choose! I think I am most excited about Sunset, Airs, and Dante Variations.

Ephemeralist: Sunset is my favorite Taylor dance. Can you talk about performing in it, and the atmosphere that it creates?

Eran: Sunset is such a gift to perform. The set and the lighting really help to create a world that you can lose yourself in. There is a sort of longing, a sadness that hangs over even the lightest of moments for me. I know that by the end I will be standing among all those soldiers—are they ghosts already? Am I with them on the field? Am I there to carry their souls away? Am I waiting for them to come back home? So many moments in that dance are just perfection to me. The music couldn't be more beautiful, the steps and couldn't be more perfect, there is depth to the characters and a through line even though it isn't a narrative. I can't speak enough about it.

Ephemeralist: Dante Variations is more serpentine and sinuous, and a shift from the bright lyricism of some of the other dances in which you're featured. What's your role in this work, and do you have any mental imagery that helps you prepare for it?

Eran: I am dancing the role created for Lisa Viola. The character is definitely a dark conflicted creature, but she is fierce and strong as well. First I dance a solo as Michael Trusnovec creeps in the background, then we switch roles and then we have a pretty confrontational duet. I have really been having a blast exploring this dark side. It is an especially fun exercise since the other duet I dance with Michael this season is Airs—completely opposite! Pure dance and pretty lines vs. angst and contortion. I like to think that the woman I play has a bit of an upper hand on him so it is fun to play the aggressor.

Eran Bugge, 4th from right, in Mercuric Tidings. Photo: Paul B. Goode

Ephemeralist: And Piazzolla is such a stylistic contrast to all the other rep. What section are you dancing in, and who with?

Eran: I dance the first duet with Robert Kleinendorst and the trio with Robert and Laura Halzack, another Lisa Viola original role. There are similarities between my Piazzolla woman and my Dante woman, but I think in Piazzolla I am trying to be more angry, while also sexy. It's important to be sharp and crisp and clear in Piazzolla, but I am trying to delve deeper into the character and let the technical stuff take care of itself as a result.

Ephemeralist: Are there any roles you haven't done yet that you'd like to?

Eran: So many! That is an impossible question— I dream of trying out so many roles in so many dances. I'd be thrilled with anything Paul would throw my way and trust that he knows what would suit me best or be the next great challenge to expand my range. I could stay dancing here forever just to get a chance to try them all.