American dancer and choreographer Paul Taylor was BOTD in 1930. Born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, he won a scholarship to Syracuse University university, where he studied painting and joined the swim team. After graduating, he studied modern dance at Juilliard School, leaving to become a founding member of Merce Cunningham’s Dance Company. In 1955 he joined the Martha Graham Dance Company as a soloist, and danced for George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet. He opened his own dance company in 1962, focusing on modern dance. An astonishingly prolific choreographer, he created 147 dance pieces, fusing classical technique with his natural athleticism, often using Baroque and avant-garde musical scores. He collaborated regularly with artists Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns, and nurtured the careers of Pina Bausch, Mark Morris and Twyla Tharp. Even amid the gay friendly world of ballet, Taylor never came out publicly, though many of his dance pieces featured same-sex dance partners. In his 1987, he dropped veiled references to affairs with men and women. He had a 50 year relationship with George “Babe” Wilson, first as a lover and later as a friend, until Wilson’s death in 2004. Taylor died in 2018, aged 88. His works continue to be performed by dance troupes worldwide.