Michael Novak, Artistic Director of Paul Taylor Dance Company, is carving a profound mark in the dance industry with an unwavering commitment to usher in a new era of expansion for the Taylor organization, driven by his passion for artistic innovation, inclusion, and education. Before assuming his current role, Michael built an impressive career as a critically acclaimed Taylor dancer, hailed by The New York Times as “a marvel of plasticity and penetrating imagination.” In 2018, after eight years performing with the company, he was appointed by Paul Taylor to succeed him, entrusting Michael with the responsibility of preserving and evolving the company. That same year, after Paul Taylor’s death, Michael officially became Artistic Director and retired from performing.

Under Michael’s direction, Taylor continues to be one of the world’s leading dance companies, with robust domestic and international touring; an annual season at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; an ever-expanding repertory that includes both Paul Taylor’s groundbreaking work alongside new choreographic voices, to reflect contemporary themes and diverse perspectives; several educational programs to inspire the next generation of dancers and dance advocates; and a recent expansion to large new headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, offering greater resources to the creative community in New York City, the heart of the dance universe. The New York Times hailed his inaugural season as Artistic Director as “groundbreaking and inspirational.” In 2019, he partnered with Orchestra of St. Luke’s Bach Festival, curating the first presentation in a single engagement of all six of Paul Taylor’s iconic dances set to music by the Baroque composer. In memory of Mr. Taylor, he launched The Celebration Tour, a multi-year international touring retrospective of the Taylor repertoire. He co-directed the company’s first virtual, live-streamed benefit, Modern Is Now: Stories of Our Future, hailed by many as the high bar for digital dance benefits. In 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he brought the Taylor Company to 16 venues in 11 American cities for a total of 51 performances, earning the designation “Best of Dance 2021” from The Washington Post. That same year, he selected Taylor alumna and dance educator Carolyn Adams to head the Taylor School. A few months later, he was named to the Crain’s New York Business “40 Under 40” list for his leadership.

In 2022, he appointed former New York City Ballet dancer Lauren Lovette as the Taylor Company’s first Resident Choreographer, while simultaneously producing a historic restaging of Kurt Jooss’s The Green Table. Presenting a juxtaposition of dance works that span centuries is central to Michael’s vision, and has garnered significant attention, elevating the modern dance idiom at Lincoln Center and around the world. He appointed Robert Battle as the second Resident Choreographer in 2024, as part of a larger vision for a new commissioning model for the company.

Born with a passion for movement and expression, Michael began his formal dance education at a young age, with foundational training in his hometown of Rolling Meadows, Illinois. He later studied at University of the Arts, the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet, Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, Springboard Danse in Montréal, and the Taylor School. In 2005, Michael was admitted to Columbia University’s School of General Studies, where he was awarded scholarships for academic excellence. He became a member of the Columbia Ballet Collaborative, the university’s critically acclaimed resident company, and was named Artistic Associate, advising on the curation of resident choreographers and directing the group’s branding and promotion.

At Columbia, Michael became immersed in the study of dance history, which ignited a passion for modern dance. He developed a keen interest in the work of François Delsarte, the 19th-century French movement theorist who codified the system linking emotion and gesture that would inspire the first generation of American modern dancers. While at the university, he performed Mr. Taylor’s solo in Aureole, leading him to embrace the Taylor repertoire. In a 2009 program celebrating Diaghilev at Columbia’s Miller Theatre, Michael embodied Vaslav Nijinsky’s role in L’Après-midi d’un faune with an authenticity that brought him to the attention of dance critics and scholars.

Upon graduation, he received his BA in dance, magna cum laude and with departmental honors, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. As a distinguished alumnus, he was the keynote speaker for the Class of 2020, and now serves as a member of their Board of Visitors.

Photo credit: Rachel Neville