The Oregonian/OregonLive reporter Amy Wang outlines the 20th dance season of White Bird. Walter Jaffe and Paul King moved to Portland in 1996 and were “bereft of the wealth of dance performances they’d enjoyed in New York.”
Jaffe had been on the board of the Paul Taylor Dance Company in New York, so when the company was in town for the Western Art Alliance conference, they met up with Jaffe and King and asked if the couple would present them in Portland.
“So we did,” King said. The performance at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall a year later drew 1,400 people.
King and Jaffe have no dance experience, just a passionate love of the art form. This year’s season is packed with powerful performances and a wide array of styles from modern to hip-hop, ballet and flamenco.