Lynne Taylor-Corbett is a choreographer, director, lyricist, and composer. She was born in Lakewood, Colorado.
Life
Taylor-Corbett grew up in the Denver, Colorado area, gaining her first exposure to dance through her mother, a pianist for ballet classes. She left Colorado for New York City at the age of 17, where she initially found work as an usher at the New York State Theater, home of the New York City Ballet, shortly before joining the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, where later in her choreographic career as part of the company's Women's Choreography Initiative, she would create her ballet Prayers from the Edge, inspired by her experiences and observations while touring with the Ailey company, particularly of performing in the Middle East and Africa following the Six-Day Arab-Israeli War in 1967. She also danced and choreographed for a small ensemble, The Dance Theatre Collection, where her work garnered enough attention to draw increasingly prestigious commissions through the 1970s and into the 1980s, including from Mikhail Baryshnikov during his tenure as artistic director at American Ballet Theatre. She works in theatre and film, and also choreographs for dance companies, both ballet and modern, and is the principal guest choreographer for Carolina Ballet. She choreographed the dance Great Galloping Gottschalk for the American Ballet Theatre, which premiered the work in Miami in January 1982. Taylor-Corbett was nominated for the 2000 Tony Award, Best Direction of a Musical and Best Choreography for the musicalSwing! and also received a 2000 Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Choreography. Her recent stage work includes both directing and choreographing the musical My Vaudeville Man!, which ran off-Broadway at the York Theatre Company from November 2008 through January 2009. She received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Choreography with her collaborator, Shonn Wiley, for My Vaudeville Man!. Lynne Taylor Corbett has created some of her most inspiring choreography on Carolina Ballet. She has worked with the company extensively for 10 years and has developed deep knowledge of the strengths of the Carolina Ballet dancers. Lynn has also familiarized herself with the North Carolina Triangle region. In North Carolina, Lynne is most recognized for her lively crowd pleaser "Carolina Jamboree" featuring music by the Red Clay Ramblers,. During the live performances of Carolina Jamboree, The Red Clay Ramblers are integrated with the professional dancers. Lynne wanted local music to be soul of her work in Carolina Jamboree and this is clearly presented by having the live band elevated on stage with the dancers. The intermissions of the piece are even choreographed balletically and musically. The Red Clay Ramblers play interludes with active audience and dancer participation. Carolina Ballet received rave reviews for its revival of Carolina Jamboree in 2013, both at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium and at the Durham Performing Arts Center. The ballet choreography in Carolina Jamboree evokes lively folk dancing shown through several solos, pas de deuxs, and group dances. The "Red Rocking Chair" female solo is deeply moving in its depiction of a mother who has lost her newborn. Lynne's Taylor Corbett's work in Carolina Jamboree carries a strong sense of nationalism towards American dance. The ballet is split into three acts. The first: "Appalachia Stories," the second: "The Mystery of Nell Cropsey," and the third: "Fiddlesticks." All three sections touch on the hardships of the Great Depression and the joys of overcoming such hard times. Carolina Jamboree is a true testament to Lynne's Taylor-Corbett's talent. The piece showcases dancers abilities both technically and emotionally and it is a joy to view as an audience member. https://web.archive.org/web/20140225023602/http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/04/20/2836399/review-fancy-free-and-carolina.html The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society announced that Taylor-Corbett is the recipient of the 2008 Joseph A. Callaway Award for excellence in stage directing and choreography. Her son, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, appeared in the children’s series Hi-5 which airs on the Learning Channel. He has appeared in the off-Broadway show Altar Boyz, and in the production of In The Heights on Broadway.
