I have four words for you — PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY.

I was privileged to attend the company's opening night on Thursday at New York City Center. The music was engaging, the costumes brilliant and the choreography unlike anything I've seen before. And hey, thanks to High 5, you can also get in on this artistic action!

When the Paul Taylor Dance Company is at work, you won't just be watching them perform—you'll be living an experience that challenges you to let your own ideas interact with what you see. Even as you're enjoying the show, you'll be experimenting with your own powers of interpretation.

The first of the three dances, ...Byzantium, takes its title and theme from the W.B. Yeats poem "Sailing to Byzantium." The playbill includes the poem's last line to focus audience members' attention: "Of what is past, passing, or to come." It wouldn't hurt to brush up on your Yeats so that you can decide how Paul Taylor's choreography might be playing with the poem's images, themes and final line. I saw the struggling journeys, the bottom feeders on the ocean floor and the final arrival in Byzantium. Yeats's Byzantium might not be an actual place, but instead an idea to understand. Taylor's Byzantium gives rise to three figures—perhaps representing the past, the passing, and what is to come—moving in interconnected ways. They are soon joined by a fourth dancer, lending new dimension and meaning to the dance.

Of course there isn't only one way to interpret what's happening on stage. During the generous intermissions, you'll have the chance to talk about it with your neighbors. It is to Paul Taylor's credit that there will be plenty to discuss!

...Byzantium is followed by De Sueños (Of Dreams). The title warns audience members against searching for specific significance in what they're about to see. Who knows what dreams might bring and what they might mean? In the meantime, the dancers' movements create several narratives. The mood is initially light, but it is soon darkened by melancholy parades of characters—the cross dresser, the man holding and licking a skull, the doomed buck—as the stage becomes a playground for the grotesque, the beautiful and the surreal.

Arden Court uses its music and movement to innovate a more classical style. The variety in choreography demonstrates the breadth of Paul Taylor's imagination and the strength of his commitment to taking artistic risks and engaging audience members. The dancers must possess not only physical, but also artistic stamina. They maintain high quality energy and execution.

As for the audience members, one thing is for certain—seeing the Paul Taylor Dance Company perform will be a great opportunity to stretch your mind. Once again, High 5 is giving you arts-goers the chance to see something new and exciting. It's time to experiment and enjoy!